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CASK ALE WHISPERER

Blog by Nigel Walsh

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A Baltimore Drive-by

Baltimore gets a bad rap.

But then so does Philly and so does DC and so does Chicago and so does NYC.

Even Minneapolis, what’s that all about?

Oh.

Yeah.

Most of that bad rap comes from the usual “reliable” and “honest” news sources.

So, for us folks who actually live in these cities, we do our best to ignore the rantings and ravings of the “popular” media and just go about enjoying our lives in our vibrant and diverse locales, while keeping a sensible eye and a sensible ear on our immediate surroundings.

I have seen the “safe” places and they scare me.

I will tell you what else scares me.

A week without access to cask ale.

But it was with good reason (reasons) and I survived it.

What kept me out of circulation last week, during the week, was the critters.

We picked up another dog walking/sitting job last week to go along with our regular two-walks-a-day assignment, which kept up totally locked up from Tuesday through Thursday.

Monday was spent wandering the mean streets of Maspeth while our car was getting its frontal suspension components repaired.

And then there was the trip to the Baltimore area from Friday through Sunday for a family event.

The event was in the southwestern burbs just inside the Baltimore beltway, but we took the long way around because we had folks to pick up from BWI airport first.

We practically lived in our car for the entire three days this past weekend.

Cars and casks do not go together too well.

But I did the research though, just in case there was a small window of opportunity to get out for a swift one.

And there are still places in the city and surrounding area that have the real stuff on real beer engines.

We came very close to a couple of those places, but the timing and the threat of another massive snowstorm scared us off.

By the time we were done with the family stuff (absolutely brilliant by the way), all we wanted to do was drop off folks at the airport again and hurry home while we could.

Which was a shame because just another fifteen miles south of BWI is the Chesepiooc Real Ale Brewery in Crofton MD.

Even closer is the Heavy Seas Brewery in Halethorpe MD; only five miles and on the way home, with a short detour away from the highways.

These will have to wait for a warmer day for me, maybe a future trip to DC?

There were no cask outlets to be found where we were staying in Pikesville, although Union Craft Brewing was only seven miles away closer to downtown, and even accessible via public transport, sort of.

Fortunately, Pikesville is kind of cute in a retro-60s way, and if the conditions on the ground (five-foot snow-plough drifts and no sidewalks) and in the air (sub-sub-freezing and windy) were any better, I would have explored more on foot.

So, we drove.

And drove.

All weekend.

I would have loved to explore the Baltimore waterfront area (Inner Harbour, Federal Hill, Fells Point) again, just to see what cask outlets are still operating in the area.

I had visited a few times when I lived in DC, mostly by the MARC commuter trains but once by car, which I left at Ft. McHenry and walked.

A comfortable walk, not at all intimidating.

Those were back in the cask ale heydays ten years ago, when the Pratt Street Ale House was still brewing Oliver’s beers in its basement, when Heavy Seas had a taproom in Little Italy, and when Fells Point still had the Wharf Rat and Bertha’s Mussels alongside Max’s Taphouse.

I see that Pratt Street still features Oliver’s, but I was unable to confirm that they have continued the cask program, although they do feature the beer engines on their photos page on the website.

But Max’s does have cask thankfully, and that alone would be good reason to visit Baltimore for the discerning cask ale drinker.

Baltimore proper is definitely worth a revisit in the near future.

But, back in NYC.

This week we have one of my favorite events coming up on Saturday, February 7th.

Yes folks, it is time again for the Strong Rope Caskiversary!

This is the 10th anniversary edition too.

I will be there.

By foot, or bus, or subway, or ferry.

Or some combination thereof.

But not, never, by car.

Scorecard w/e 02/03/26

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

  • Wait!
  • What?
  • Nothing?
  • Not even a sniff?
  • And Dry January is officially over.
  • We need to fix that.

Upcoming Cask Events (Festivals and Otherwise)

  • 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
  • 3/25/26-3/28/26: 2026 edition of NERAX. Tickets now available.
  • 5/23/26: NYS Brit Festival @ Seneca Lake Brewing Company, Rock Stream NY

Upcoming Random NYC Casks

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).
ASK NIGEL

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