Sunday, April 27th was a long one.
A long day-trip to Philadelphia by Greyhound/Flix bus, much exploring around the historic (Old City), tasty (Chinatown) and cool (Northern Liberties) areas of Philadelphia, and a four-hour thirty-sample session at the Yards Brewing Real Ale Invitational cask festival.
I had managed to hit thirty samples at my last visit to the event in 2022 and promised myself that this time I would try to moderate it, but after two and a half hours in and almost twenty tastes already, what else was I going to do for the remaining ninety minutes of the event and another ninety minutes between the end of the fest and my return bus to NYC?
Besides, I knew that I would have access to (much needed) bathrooms at Yards, so I stayed put and ordered two-finger pours for the rest of the afternoon.
See?
Moderation.
So overall, I downed about the equivalent of five imperial pints over the four hours, and all on a solid base of walking pork buns (yep, I am addicted to Chinatowns and portable Chinese munchies) and jollof rice (which could be my next food addiction).
Similar to the 2022 event, this one was also held in the brewing and warehousing area of the brewery (think Costco), and exhibited somewhere in the neighborhood of forty unique casks from twenty-eight unique breweries, including a dozen from Yards themselves.
The majority of the visiting breweries were from the southeast Pennsylvania area, many from in and around Philadelphia itself, with a handful of outliers from southern New Jersey, Delaware and Maryland.
The beer styles were all over the place with no real trend, but there were more IPAs (East and West Coast) and APAs than I have seen on cask for quite a while.
The ABVs were also all over the chart, with a high of 12% for a Belgian Quad (Urban Village) to a low of 3.4% for a Yards Shandy, and I would say that the average or at least the mode would be between 4.5% and 5.5%, so overall it was similar to most of the events that I have attended over the last couple of years.
My top five beers, in no particular order, were:
- The 5.2% Keller Pils from local lager heroes Human Robot, served from a wooden gravity keg; as expected this was the first to kick and I made sure to get my taste in early.
- A 3.7% Burton Golden Bitter from Tonewood (Oaklyn NJ), which was everything that its name promised.
- The 4.2% Best Bitter from Forest & Main (Ambler PA); another beer that I went for early, not so much because I thought it would go quickly, but I just wanted to get the bitters in first before my palate started to wear out, and besides I have enjoyed every single Forest & Main cask that has come my way in the past.
- Stark Raving Normal, a 4.3% pale mild from New Ridge Brewing (Philadelphia PA), which was also exactly as advertised on the tin.
- Last but not least, in fact first, was the 5% Baas Hammer Lager from Troubles End brewery (Collegeville PA), which came right out of the blue; an amber lager (what even is a Hammer Lager?), malty but very well balanced, it really surprised me just how well done it was. It also went pretty quickly, and not just because I was sending everybody that I ended up speaking to over to try it. It was brilliant!
Honorable mentions to the dark milds from Carbon Copy (Philly PA) and Yards themselves (two versions: coffee and unadulterated), the Iron Hill barley wine (9.8% oy!), and the Level Up: Mosaic hazy IPA which was my first pour and came from one of the two locations outside the building; there is something about walking into a brewery for a beer festival with a beer already in your hand.
Great event, and I saw enough of Philly during my walking excursions that I am considering an overnighter there in the near future.
I am aware of nine venues that still serve cask ales in Philly itself, and Ambler, home of Forest & Main, appears to be a manageable commuter ride away.
The city has food, history, culture and diversity, all the stuff that gets me excited, especially the food; I hear that there is even a Pie and Mash shop in South Philly, hold me back!
All just two hours away by bus.
A long two hours.
Next Week
I really should be working on a write-up of the “May The Cask Be With You” cask festival, which was held way out at Po’Boy Brewery in Port Jefferson Station NY (another really long trek) this past Sunday, to benefit the Barton Center for Diabetes Education.
But that will have to wait, because it is May folks, and that can only mean one thing.
Mild!
Scorecard w/e 5/6/25
In the past week the Cask Whisperer has enjoyed the following casks:
- Old Glenham Black Country Bitter @ Jones Wood Foundry
- Old Glenham Black Country Mild @ Jones Wood Foundry
- Old Glenham Black Country Mild & Bitter @ Jones Wood Foundry
And hung out with the good folks of Wild East Brewing as they celebrated their Cask Marque certification!
- Wild East Dissonance Brown Ale w/Applewood & Brown Sugar @ Wild East Brewing, Gowanus NY
- Wild East Moderance ESB w/Hyssop @ Wild East Brewing, Gowanus NY
And also tracked down the Eckhart Beer crew as they introduced their roaming stichfaß to the thirsty residents of Astoria.
Because it is May, that can only mean one thing … Mild!
Okay, two things … Mild and Maibock!
- Eckhart Beer Maibock @ Heart of Gold, Astoria NY
And then …
On Sunday, April 27th, the Cask Whisperer enjoyed samples of the following beers on cask, at the 2025 Yards Real Ale Invitational festival in Philadelphia:
Brewer | Brew | Style |
Attic Brewing | Glass Landscapes | Rice Lager |
Big Oyster Brewery | Cage Dive | New England IPA |
Big Truck Farm Brewery | Cruiser Lime | American Light Lager |
Broken Goblet | Norma | Coffee Doppelbock |
Cape May Brewing Co. | Keller Pils | Keller Pils |
Carbon Copy | Keen | Dark Mild |
Conshohocken | Puddlers Row Pub Ale | Extra Special Bitter |
Dewey Beer Company | Sizzle Special | New England IPA |
Dock Street Brewing | Rye IPA | Rye IPA |
Evil Genius | Is Pepsi OK? | English Porter |
Forest and Main | Best Bitter | Best Bitter |
Human Robot | Keller Pils | Keller Pils |
Iron Hill Brewing | Barley Wine | English Barley Wine |
Levante | Escalante Al Pastor | Mexican Lager |
Love City Brewery | High Roller Hazy IPA | Hazy IPA |
Lucky Cat | Sunshine, Blue Skies | American Blonde Ale: Blueberry |
Mainstay Independent Brewing Co. | Keller Pils | Keller Pils |
My Local Brew Works | Bolo Dark Especial | English Brown Ale |
New Ridge Brewing | Stark Raving Normal | Pale Mild |
Sacred Vice | Crippled Affection | American Pale Ale (APA) |
Sly Fox – Pottstown | Hop Project: Elani | American IPA |
Tonewood | Burton | Golden Bitter |
Troubles End | Baas Hammer Lager | Hammer Lager |
Urban Village Brewing Co. | Dime Piece – 2025 | Belgian Quad |
Wissahickon | Fault Line | West Coast IPA |
Yards | Brawler | Dark Mild |
Yards | Coffee Brawler | Dark Mild |
Yards | Level Up: Mosaic | Hazy IPA |
Yards | Philly Pale Ale: HBC 638 | American Pale Ale (APA) |
Yards | Shandy | Shandy |
Upcoming Cask Events (Festivals and Otherwise)
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
- The Scratch Beer “Black Walnut” Dark Lager appears to be returning to Tørst in cask form this Saturday, May 10th.
Eckhart Beer Co. are rolling out the cask(s) around town (and country) again and are down to the last two venues:
- 5/9/25 at DeCicco, & Sons, Somers NY
- 5/17/25 at Plattduetsche Biergarten for Das Bock!
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).
- Happy Valley Arcade Bar, 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).
