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CASK ALE WHISPERER

Blog by Nigel Walsh

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Whisperers Gotta Whisper

I finally managed to get to Drop Off Service to check out that rumored Forest & Main cask.

Happily, it was still on.

Even more happily, it was in very good condition.

I don’t know how they managed to keep in such good nick after a week, but it was good enough for me to stay around for four pours.

Which was three more than I intended, as I had just walked to the East Village from home, after stopping by JWF for a couple of pints of Old Glenham, and I was planning on walking to As Is in Hell’s Kitchen afterwards for a quick gravity pour; you know, the whole mpg thing.

I was chatting with the bartender about the cask, and he was complaining that they had occasional cask supply issues with their distributer; late arrivals and even missing deliveries.

So I pointed out that Strong Rope still do their own deliveries in NYC (as far as I knew) and that they usually offer casks if available.

I also gave him the contact information for Old Glenham and vice versa, knowing that Old Glenham do venture into the NYC congestion pricing zone when delivering at The Shakespeare.

Just doing my schtick.

Whisperers gotta whisper.

I didn’t walk to As Is after I finally left Drop Off Service, but I might as well have; by the time that I strolled from Avenue A to Union Square and from Broadway to 10th Avenue, and suffered a slow-moving crowded R train in between, I was actually ready for another beer.

But only one this time.

Although I missed the drama of the actual tapping of the wooden keg, there was still plenty of Eckhart’s deliciously malty helles to be consumed.

There were also samples of some of their snacks, including an awesome looking mortadella which I also had to decline, sadly; doctor’s orders.

I did stay awhile though, as the whole Eckhart crew were present and I had some catching up to do; they are still dealing with the expected last minute hassles before they can open their tap room in Bushwick, but it is getting closer.

I also wanted to hook them up with Jones Wood, hoping for future joint ventures.

Just doing my schtick.

Whisperers gotta whisper.

Hey, and I walked home too, chalking up over eight and a half miles for the day (to go with the seven beers), contributing to a weekly score of 39.77 mpg.

Hey hey, check out the scorecard below, there are some interesting Oktoberfests on the horizon.

Scorecard w/e 8/12/25

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

Upcoming Cask Events (Festivals and Otherwise)

Upcoming Oktoberfest Events (With Confirmed/Potential Cask Sightings)

Upcoming Random NYC Casks

  • No randoms so far 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).
ASK NIGEL

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