Warning!
This week’s post will be one that only an accountant can love.
There will be some qualitative stuff in here somewhere, but it is primarily quantitative.
Yes, it is mostly about the numbers …
… and lists …
… lists and numbers.
My excuse is that I have a crappy head cold … but not COVID.
Sessions
I am defining a session as any visit to a pub or bar or brewery or bottle shop where I managed to enjoy a cask beer, regardless of whether I had one or more pints during that visit.
Going back over all of the weekly scorecards for 2024, it would appear that I had 80 sessions this year, or about 3 sessions every fortnight.
I had enjoyed 66 unique brews during those 80 sessions.
That makes a lot of sense, as I typically spend one evening each week in Jones Wood and also go exploring around the city every other weekend.
An average session in JWF would be 3 to 3.5 pints and at all other venues would be closer to 2 pints per visit; this is confirmed from the scorecards which come up with an average of just over 3 pints per session overall.
So, on an average week, I have downed around 4.5 pints of cask.
I am going to see if I can reduce that to maybe 3 pints/week to keep my doctor happy.
Events
Events are just that, a special occasion where special casks were presented for Whisperer consumption; whether it was one cask or one hundred casks.
I attended 19 cask ale events in 2024 and sampled (usually 2 – 2.5oz pours) 266 different casks, all pretty evenly split between small (<10 samples), medium (10-20 samples) and large (20-30 samples) events.
All 266 casks could be considered as unique brews; some more unique than others …
The Beers
Don’t worry, not all of them, just the favorite ones.
Favorite session beers:
- Fifth Hammer Leo Neverlenny
- Strong Rope Lily’s Elixir Baltic Porter
- Marlowe Eager to Share Pale Ale (could have been Bass)
- Wild East Radiance (with and without Brettanomyces)
- Sierra Nevada Celebration
- Seneca Lake Steamship FES
- Old Glenham Session Bitter (reminded me of Brakspear Ordinary)
- Old Glenham Ambleside Best Bitter (Boddies all the way)
- Suarez Family Amenable English Bitter
- Matthews Dark Mild
Favorite event beers:
- W A Meadwerks “Oldest Fashion”
- Wild East Contour Interval Infinity (from the foeder)
- Miles, the Prince Kangal Sahti
- DC Brau On the Wings of Armageddon (an old favorite)
- Odd Bird Extra Stockton ESB (both versions Fullers and Taylors)
- Nod Hill Eynsham Dark Mild
- Union Street Brewing A Winters Mood Dark Mild
- Hermit Woods Heirloom Cider
- Fox Farm American Zoigl
- Finback Polo West Coast IPA
- Strong Rope Olmstead Cold IPA
- Handgrenades Homebrew Club Mild on the Run
- Elgood & Sons Cambridge Bitter
Cars and Buses and Trains and Ferries
Most of my sessions in 2024 were located within NYC, specifically Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens, and most were reached by foot, ferry and subway.
The two exceptions were The Ambleside in Mt. Kisco and Marlow Artisanal Ales in Mamaroneck, both reached by Metro North train.
A handful of the events were also in Brooklyn and Queens, but others took me much further afield, by bus, train and car.
In New York State, I attended events in Bay Shore (twice at The Brewers Collective), and Patchogue (Blue Point Brewing) out on Long Island, and also two events in the Finger Lakes at The Beerocracy at Rock Stream; I missed my annual trip to Marcy (Woodland Farm Brewery) due to event conflicts.
I made return visits to Ridgefield (Nod Hill) and West Hartford (Noah Webster House) in Connecticut, Boston MA (NERAX), and Derry NH (Cask & Vine/Daydreaming Brewing).
Two new events this year were in DC (DC Brewers Guild) and Stockton NJ (Odd Bird Brewing).
2024 Highlights
Happy things:
- Arrival of Marlowe Artisan Ales
- Arrival of Ambleside
- Not one, but two Caskalots at Fifth Hammer
- Discovery of Odd Bird Brewing
- DC Cask Event after so many lean years
- NYC Opening Bash & Blocktoberfest
2024 Lowlights
The depths of despair:
- Loss of The Grand Delancey in January
- Loss of Spuyten Duyvil in April
- Loss of Greenpoint Brewing
- Upstate move of Big Alice
- Missed event at Woodland Farm
- Missed event at River Horse
- Missed event at Yards in Philly
- Two Roads cask event did not appear to happen
Missed opportunities in 2024
The weather won out over the last week, so I did not get to complete the Honolulu Virtual Marathon in a single day.
I will be back.
I was hoping for a return visit to Beacon NY but could not find a free weekend.
Same for Philadelphia and Ambler PA.
A wish list for 2025
A weekend in Philly.
A visit to Backbeat Brewing in Beverley MA.
A visit to Chesepiooc Brewery in Crofton MD.
A long overdue return to the Bulls Head in Lititz PA.
Have a happy 2025 folks, and ignore all of the unpleasantness that will surround us all next year.
Have a safe 2025 folks, and pay close attention to all of the unpleasantness that will surround us all next year.
Scorecard w/e 12/31/24
In the past week the Cask Whisperer has enjoyed the following casks:
- Old Glenham Baggins Wood IPA @ Jones Wood Foundry
- Fifth Hammer Leo Neverlenny Pale Ale @ Jones Wood Foundry
Upcoming Cask Events (Festivals and Otherwise)
1/17/25: RIF-RAF Rhode Island’s Finest Real Ale Festival (session 1) @ The Guild Pawtucket RI
1/18/25: RIF-RAF Rhode Island’s Finest Real Ale Festival (session 2) @ The Guild Pawtucket RI
4/2/25 – 4/5/25: 26th Annual NERAX will be held in Boston MA. Save the dates!
Upcoming Random NYC Casks
- Not seeing anything out there this week.
NYC Cask Venues
Known Operational/Active Beer Engines
- Jones Wood Foundry (x2)
- Fifth Hammer
- Wild East
- The Shakespeare (x3)
- Cask Bar & Kitchen
- Drop-off Service
Occasional Pins (worth a follow on Instagram)
- Strong Rope
- KCBC
- Tørst
- Blind Tiger Ale House
- Threes Brewing
- Brouwerij Lane (First Friday Firkins)
- The Owl Farm
