The good news this past week is that I was able to resume social beer drinking.
The less than good news is that my doctors want me to temper it a bit going forward, say by 50%, and to make up the difference with good old NYC tap water.
But back to the good news; I only received my recommended diet yesterday, which was one day after the Women’s Euro Final and three days after Thursday, aka “down the pub day”.
Both of those days included some time spent in Jones Wood Foundry, and as usual both of those sessions were just what the doctor ordered didn’t know about.
To be fair to myself, I did take it easy last Thursday, with just a couple of pints of Old Glenham Session Bitter (one from the bottom of a cask and one from the top of the next), a non-alcoholic cocktail and, in anticipation, a glass of good old NYC tap water.
I can do this thing!
I can’t say the same for Sunday though.
Well it was a football game, despite what some of my misogynist buddies would claim, and it did go to overtime, and then penalties, and we did win, and I did bump into some NYC Cask Crew folks on the way out.
So I did end up downing four (he means five) cool chewy pints of Old Glenham Loom before heading home.
On the diet front, I completely and voluntarily cut out butter (not so bad) and cheese (that’s going to hurt) as soon as I got back from my procedure two weeks ago, and walked into the doctors office yesterday with a “wish” list of favorite food items that I was hoping to get the all-clear (or partial-clear) on.
No such luck.
Ice Cream? | Maybe once a month, but not the full pint. What’s the point in that? |
Cheese? | No chance. I knew it. |
Shepherd’s Pie? | Ha! |
Bangers and Mash? | You’re kidding, right? |
Meat Pies? | <<Doctor gives puzzled dirty look>> |
Pizza? | We already disallowed cheese. |
Doughnut? | Now you are taking the piss. |
Looking grim going forward.
I am going to need a second opinion on some of those calls.
But no beer ban, so maybe it won’t be so bad.
For my regular sessions, I am going to have to switch to half pints, backed up with good old NYC tap water.
Cask festivals will be a different prospect.
I can reduce the number of samples that I try, or I can reduce the size of said samples, which is more difficult than it would seem.
Or I could just take a wee sip of each sample and tip the rest.
No, that is not going to happen.
Thankfully, I have a month to come up with a strategy, as the next cask festival on the horizon (Noah Webster House) is not until Saturday, September 6th.
Although, that is likely to be immediately followed by a small cask event at Jones Wood itself; a handful of pins in the JWF garden space plus the two handpumps.
It is still in the early concept stages, but we are looking to highlight the regular NYC (and environs) cask producers (aka the usual suspects).
Beer tokens and multiple sized pour options.
Even small pours for us folks who have to temper it a bit going forward.
Scorecard w/e 7/29/25
In the past week the Cask Whisperer has enjoyed the following casks:
- Old Glenham OGB Session Bitter @ Jones Wood Foundry
- Old Glenham Loom Cornish Ale @ Jones Wood Foundry
Upcoming Cask Events (Festivals and Otherwise)
- September 6th: 10th Annual Noah Webster Real Ale Harvest Festival at the Noah Webster House, West Hartford CT
- September-ish: Watch this space
Upcoming Random NYC Casks
Nope – nothing 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
Cask Venues Reachable from NYC by MTA or NJ Transit Train in Under two Hours
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, Marlowe beer range).
- Nod Hill Brewing, Ridgefield CT (two handpumps, Nod Hill beer range).
NJ Transit NJCL Line
- Triumph Restaurant and Brewery, Red Bank NJ (one handpump, Triumph beer range).
