You will all be happy to hear that the Whisperer is not cranky this week.
The weather may be cranky, but what do you expect for January?
But I am back to my old curmudgeonly self.
It was a close thing though.
I did manage to get out to Jones Wood for a few pints early last week, and I started New Years Eve full of energy, dismantling a giant hippopotamus pork shoulder and cooking up a proper roast all day.
It was just for my wife and myself, as we had no guests and no real plans for the evening, other than checking in on friends in the UK at 7pm, and maybe staying awake to pop open a bottle of Prosecco for the toast at midnight.
Come 11pm with another full day wasted spent indoors looming up, and the couch looking dangerously comfortable, we decided to get bundled up to walk over to the Central Park Reservoir to get a glimpse of the fireworks; we hadn’t done that in a couple of years
The streets were deserted for the few blocks between the Whisper Cave and the Reservoir, but we soon saw the reassuring lights of a couple of police cars at the park entrance, and about 15-20 hardy souls up on the running track.
We joined them and waited with anticipation; phone alarms set for 12 midnight so that we could say good riddance to 2025 welcome in 2026 on time.
The alarms were not necessary as the fireworks started on the dot.
They went all out this year.
Very colorful.
The fireworks were a good twenty blocks south of our spot on the big pond, but still very visible over the trees of the Ramble, and they rose high enough that we were able to see them and also see their reflection on the frozen surface of the water.
The poor geese were not happy; it must have sounded like hunting season for them.
Twenty-five minutes later, we turned to cross the raging mass of angry wildlife (he means the New York Roadrunners Club) and escape the park.
I am not usually one for New Year resolutions but quietly made one to myself on the short walk home.
I resolved to get out of the house for at least half an hour each and every day of 2026.
Health permitting of course.
But regardless of weather.
It may turn out difficult to keep, but it gives me a chance to let my stubbornness direct my actions.
And I am nothing if not stubborn.
We managed it almost six years ago during the worst of COVID (is it really that long ago?); masking up and walking the Bridle Path, watching the field hospital come and go, and watching Central Park Spring turn into Central Park Summer, with just a handful of fellow observers.
I almost sabotaged the resolution immediately, by cracking that bottle of fizz as soon as we got home and staying up until 3am to finish it off.
But January 1st dawned bright, if freezing, with a lovely dusting of fine snow, perfect for a slow stroll around the Reservoir and Great Lawn.
The following day it wasn’t anywhere near as pretty.
It was a proper grey Winter’s Day, and we would need an excuse (or resolution perhaps?) to drag ourselves outside.
We were running low on coffee and also needed to pick up some medications, so a bracing walk to Costco and Aldi along the East River/Harlem River walkway was decided upon.
January 3rd was a Saturday (woohoo!), so it was just a matter of deciding where I was going to go for that beer.
Fifth Hammer answered the call.
Long Island City looked like a ghost town, and the brewery was also quiet until around 1:30pm, when the locals shook off their hangovers, I deduced.
Even the waterfront park was empty of humanity.
Another striking day on Sunday so back to the park, this time heading north past the ballfields to the Conservatory Garden.
I was curious to see if there was actually anything planted, or even viable during this time of the year.
There wasn’t.
And we saw only three other adventurers and one friendly English Setter in the gardens.
The flowers may be gone for the season, but the skeletal trees have their own uncanny beauty.
We returned again to the park today; this time heading south and west to conquer the two high peaks in the park at Vista Rock (Belvedere Castle) and Summit Rock (Seneca Village), checking out the maintenance going on at the Shakespeare Garden between the two.
Coming up, I have dog walking for the next three days, and then a two-day trip to Pawtucket RI with a friend for the RIF-RAF Cask Ale Festival, so my resolution is looking good for the rest of this week at least.
So here we are, five days into 2026 and my fragile resolution is still holding.
How are yours doing?
Scorecard w/e 01/06/26
In the past week the Cask Whisperer has enjoyed the following casks:
- Old Glenham OGB Session Bitter @ Jones Wood Foundry
- Old Glenham Spinners Stout @ Jones Wood Foundry
- Fifth Hammer Billy Neverwilly Pub Ale: Nugget @ Fifth Hammer Brewing
Upcoming Cask Events (Festivals and Otherwise)
- 1/9/26: RIF-RAF Rhode Island’s Finest Real Ale Festival (session 1) @ The Guild Pawtucket RI
- 1/10/26: RIF-RAF Rhode Island’s Finest Real Ale Festival (session 2) @ The Guild Pawtucket RI
- 2/7/26: Strong Rope 10th Anniversary/Caskiversary @ Strong Rope in Red Hook
- 3/20/26: Two Roads 2026 Cask Fest @ Two Roads Brewing, Stratford CT
- 3/22/26: An Afternoon of Casks V @ Nod Hill Brewery, Ridgefield CT
- Save the dates! The 2026 edition of NERAX will be from March 25th to 28th next year. Tickets will be available in early 2006.
- 5/23/26: NYS Brit Festival @ Seneca Lake Brewing Company, Rock Stream NY
Upcoming Random NYC Casks
- Nothing on my radar yet.
NYC Cask Venues
Known Operational/Active Beer Engines
- Jones Wood Foundry (x2)
- Fifth Hammer
- Wild East
- The Shakespeare (x3)
- Drop-off Service
- Rough Draft
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
- City Swiggers
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).
- Little Dog Brewing, Bradley Beach NJ (one handpump, Little Dog beer range).
