How much do I love Strong Rope?
Enough to venture out to furthest Red Hook on the coldest day, in this year of freezing days?
Enough to commit to said venture despite the suspension of all East River ferry services due to icebergs (or something like that) in the New York harbor?
Enough to soldier on even after finding out that the closest subway to their Red Hook taproom, Smith St. at 9th, was also shuttered (not that it was that close anyway).
The answer is yes, possibly.
I mean, you are listening to someone who dragged his poor wife, and occasionally his poor son, out to their Gowanus taproom every other Saturday during the immediate post-covid period, on the off-chance that they would have a pin on the bar and some barrels outside to sit on.
Someone who attended his (not theirs) first Caskiversary in 2019 and hasn’t missed one since.
Someone who has managed to complete the hike from the Gowanus taproom to the Red Hook taproom, not once but thrice.
And it is a hike to the Red Hook taproom.
Not just from the Upper East Side of Manhattan, but from pretty much anywhere in the city, even Brooklyn, even that Smith & 9th subway stop.
On an average Saturday it may be a toss-up, but whenever there is a possibility of a Strong Rope cask, you could be sure that I would make the effort, regardless of the outside conditions.
That effort would usually involve a ferry from East 90th Street to Brooklyn Navy Yard and a trek through Downtown Brooklyn, Cobble Hill, Carroll Gardens and most of Red Hook itself.
Yeah, I know there are the B57 and B61 buses, but who wants to wait around for a subway/bus or ferry/bus transfer?
Going home again, I would take the lazy option and get the ferry from Red Hook itself with a change at Pier 11.
I could do the reverse walk, but then I would need to map out some bathroom breaks.
With no easy options available to me this past Saturday I did the best that I could, taking the 4 express train (hah!) to Borough Hall in Downtown Brooklyn and setting off on foot into the biting wind.
Did I mention that it was cold?
Cold enough for a woolen hat and two hoods.
Cold enough for six layers of clothing.
Cold enough even for gloves.
I hate gloves almost as much as I hate umbrellas.
So of course, I took them off as soon as I got to the coldest windiest spot at the end of one of the piers, just to take a few shots of the icy whitecaps racing across New York Harbor.
Not the smartest move.
Even dumber was my decision to walk the final several blocks along the very edge of the water itself.
I wasn’t the only idiot though, I passed three other individuals in running gear during that short but harrowing walk, and they weren’t even going to the brewery.
But I was, and I arrived just as the doors were opening, as is my custom.
They were still putting the final touches to the fourteen pins and two stichfaß, but ticket sales was open and I decided to get the VIP wristband.
It came with unlimited pours (I had a feeling that I was going to stay awhile).
It came with a souvenir half pint mug (my wife is going to kill me).
It came with a four-pack of their 10th Anniversary Golden Ale (woohoo!).
And it came with a cool tote bag to make it easier to get that four-pack back to the Whispering Ranch.
Unexpectedly it also came with unadvertised food, which would prove useful later, what with the unlimited pours and all.
I said hi to Jason, Christina and the crew setting up, and wandered over to the big glass archways to take a look at the world outside.
Oh look, whitecaps in the harbor, I could have come directly here instead of gambling with frostbite.
Did I mention that I was an idiot?
By the time that I had taken a few photos of the empty venue before the crowds arrived, checked out the beer list, and made a tentative plan, the casks were ready for me.
So, I headed straight for the Kills Boro Czech Pale Lager, as I expected that to be the first to finish and I also wanted to start with something gentle.
It may have kicked first but not in my presence, and I needn’t have worried about the gentleness of the brews, they were all style-appropriate with the strongest on offer being the Imperial Brown Ale from Strong Rope themselves, topping out at only 8.7%.
They were remarkably all devoid of adjuncts, with the exception of the Other Half Session IPA which had some tasty and compatible mango added, and several with judicious dry-hopping.
Unfortunately for Finback the judicious dry hopping for their West Coast IPA, escaped its enclosure inside the pin and ended up creating the first triple-hop pesto that I have ever sampled; yes, I did try a taste of it.
And that was a shame because Finback always manage to bring excellent cask offerings to these events despite not having a formal cask program of their own.
Another brewery that always makes an effort with their casks is KCBC and once again they did not disappoint, bringing along their Secret Weapon an American Dark Mild; had Instagram not given me a late notification, I would have visited their taproom last week when they had an oak-aged variant available.
And then there was Rockaway, I can’t remember when I last had a cask from them, but I was very happy to see them back in circulation, with an excellent West Coast IPA.
And going back even further, Brooklyn Brewery not only brought along a pin of Strong Brown Ale, but Garrett Oliver also collaborated with Strong Rope to produce an excellent new ESB, which was probably my favorite beer at the event.
Although it could have been any of them, the beers were that good.
The company was great as well; there were several brewers present (Ian Hatton even drove in from Old Glenham and brought some mates with him) and I think that I chatted with all of them at some point in the afternoon.
Good company.
A small handful of the NYC Cask Crew team (members? associates? henchmen?) braved the weather to attend, and somebody also talked Jason into making an appearance after the Six Nations game was over at JWF.
I stayed way longer than I usually do, even with the weather deteriorating by the hour.
And yes, I did trek all the way back to Borough Hall on the way home.
And no, I didn’t need a bathroom break.
Strong Rope’s 10th Caskiversary was a joyful experience for me, and I am really glad that I dragged myself out for the (long, long) day.
Let’s take it to Eleven!
(Ed: Eleven is a Bohemian Pilsner from Strong Rope, dry hopped with Triumph and Vista on this occasion)
Hey, it was a good job that I didn’t drive there.
Look what happened to all of these guys.
Scorecard w/e 02/10/26
In the past week the Cask Whisperer has enjoyed the following casks:
- Old Glenham Bobbin Red Ale @ Jones Wood Foundry
- Old Glenham Loom Cornish Ale @ Jones Wood Foundry
- Strong Rope Lord Keeling’s ESB @ The Shakespeare
The Cask Whisperer also sampled all of the following at the Strong Rope 10th Annual Caskiversary:
Brew | Brewed by | Style |
Panela Brown | Strong Brown Ale | |
Dr. Lyons Mildly Existential Ride | Barrel Aged Dark Mild | |
Billy Neverwilly: Vic Secret | English Pale Ale | |
Czech Dark Lager | Czech Dark Lager | |
Wait Up | West Coast IPA | |
Embers of Gun Hill | Dark Mild | |
Secret Weapon | Dark Mild | |
Snyt Happens | Czech Pale Lager | |
Forever Ever: Mango | Session IPA | |
Ryce to Riches | Rockaway Brewing / Cantina Cantina | West Coast IPA |
Birds Aren’t Real | Mixed Fermentation Sour | |
Lord Keeling’s | Strong Rope Brewery / Garrett Oliver | Extra Special Bitter |
Black Country Bitter | Old Glenham Brewery | Best Bitter |
10th Anniversary Golden Ale | Strong Rope Brewery | American Golden Ale |
Eleven: Triumph/Vista | Strong Rope Brewery | Bohemian Pilsner |
Big J’s | Strong Rope Brewery | Imperial Brown Ale |
Upcoming Cask Events (Festivals and Otherwise)
- 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. Tickets now available, get them while you can.
- 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
- 2/21/26: The NYC Brewers Guild Opening Bash is being held at The Brooklyn Monarch this year. No promises, but there has been cask at the last couple of occurrences.
- 2/24/26: For NYC Beer Week, Eckhard will have a stichfaß of their Helles at Sweet Avenue in Queens, tapping at 5pm; dangerously close to Butcher Block.
- 2/25/26: Eckhart will also be bringing a stichfaß of their Helles to Doppelgänger in Brooklyn, tapping at 5pm; dangerously close to Russ & Daughters (and Transmitter).
- 5/16/26: Das Bock returns to Plattduetsche Biergarten. Again, no promises of a cask but there were several stichfaß and a surprise cask at last year’s festivities.
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).
