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CASK ALE WHISPERER

Blog by Nigel Walsh

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The Lull Before the Storm

Hey, have you checked out the scorecard below?

There is a lot of cask things happening these next two weeks.

And to properly prepare myself for them (possibly all of them), I had a pretty quiet week.

Well, beerwise that is.

I did get to add another new venue to my ever-expanding list of places to keep an eye on, thanks to the good folks at Eckhart Beer who are rolling their stichfaß out again, filled with all manner of tasty lagers.

Last Friday evening, I tracked them down to Malt & Mold on Second Avenue in the Gramercy neighborhood of Manhattan, and timed my arrival to coincide with the tapping of a delicious Czech Amber Lager.

Alright, so I arrived a little early and settled in with a draft pour of their Rye Rauchbier before the mallet hit the spigot, my second time trying it, and again I was impressed with how deliciously moderated the smokiness was; I would love to try that one from the wood.

I stayed for a couple of the cask ambers, schmoozing with the Eckhart crew, the M&M owner Kevin, and a couple of the regulars at the bar (two and four-footed).

What a nice friendly place.

Oh, and the amber lagers were amazing.

Come Saturday morning, I was out and about again, heading for the Astoria ferry to get to Brooklyn Navy Yard and beyond to Gowanus.

There was the annual Saison Day event going on at Threes; I attended last year and had a great time, but my destination was going to be a little quieter this time around.

All I wanted to do was wrap my lips around a pint or two (or three, and a mango sour) of Wild East’s latest cask offering, Digital Dissonance, a humble brown ale.

It came with a coffee infusion, but no complaints there, it was so refreshing and so easy to drink, the three pints were practically inhaled.

I can’t believe that I am saying that about a brown ale.

It also came with a killer bunny (no ordinary r-r-rabbit) courtesy of the Brooklyn Horror Society, who were holding a Doom & Bloom Spring Market in the barrel room, and handing out easter eggs to the punters in the bar.

Cheers folks, your chocolate kisses were the perfect accompaniment to the coffee brown ale.

And that was it for me last week.

Ah, but next week, next week will be different.

Scorecard w/e 4/22/25

In the past week the Cask Whisperer has enjoyed the following casks:

Upcoming Cask Events (Festivals and Otherwise)

4/24/25 – 4/26/25: Scratch Days @ Torst, Brooklyn NY

4/24/25 – 4/26/25: Caskalot at Fifth Hammer Brewing, Queens NY

4/27/25: 2025 Yards Invitational at Yards Brewing Company, Philadelphia PA

5/1/25: Cask Marque Celebration 6pm at Wild East Brewing, Brooklyn NY

5/4/25: 7th Annual Cask Ales FUNdraiser @ Po’Boy Brewery, Port Jefferson Station NY

5/17/25: Das Bock! @ Plattduetsche Biergarten, Franklin Square NY

5/24/25: New York State British Real Ale Festival @ Seneca Lake Brewing, Rock Stream NY

6/7/25: Log Jammin’ V @ Human Robot Beer, Philadelphia PA

Upcoming Random NYC Casks

Eckhart Beer Co. are rolling out the cask(s) around town (and country) again:

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

Cask Venues Reachable from NYC by MTA Train

Metro-North Hudson Line

  • Draught Industries, Beacon NY (one handpump, Old Glenham beer range).
  • Coopers, Beacon NY (one handpump, Old Glenham beer range).

Metro-North Harlem Line

  • The Ambleside Pub, Mt. Kisco NY (four handpumps, Old Glenham beer range).

Metro-North New Haven Line

  • Marlowe Artisanal Ales, Mamaroneck NY (one handpump tapped Thursdays, Marlowe beer range)
  • Nod Hill Brewing, Ridgefield CT (two handpumps, Nod Hill beer range).
ASK NIGEL

This Post Has 2 Comments

  1. Spanish Johnny April 25, 2025 Reply

    hi made it to Fifth Hanmer for Friday happy hour and will be back Sat afternoon, hope to see you here.

    1. Nigel Walsh April 26, 2025 Reply

      Hi Johnny, you missed me yesterday. I was in Thursday and early on Friday.
      Taking a break today.
      Philly tomorrow!

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