As I predicted in my last post, there was to be no cask ale last week, this being our annual family jaunt to South Florida to celebrate an important birthday.
No not that one.
Although we did celebrate that one as well, with steaks and fireworks viewed from a balcony high in the sky overlooking the ocean, beach, and pier at Deerfield Beach; one of the best firework displays that you can find anywhere.
No, the birthday that was celebrated by four generations of family, officially occurred two days later, but was the focus of everything that we did over the week that I was there.
I did not manage to get my token cask outing to Lake Worth this time, because Mathews Brewing had permanently closed before I even set off.
Very sad.
South Florida no longer has a single cask ale outlet.
I had to make do with a bottle of Sierra Nevada Pale Ale at one of our meals, and the rest of the time I was downing Russian and Ukrainian Kvass from bottle and can whenever I got chance to sit down; usually from my perch on the aforementioned balcony, so not too shabby.
But it was still a great trip.
For one thing, I had all three of my grandchildren with me most of the time, including a few hours spent on the jungle boardwalk at Gumbo Limbo Nature Center in Boca Raton.
I got to see the incredible performance of England in the hostile environment of the Azteca.
I got to avoid the debilitating heat dome that was smothering folks back home in NYC.
And despite the heat (only high 90s and breezy), despite the magas (little m), despite the lack of football venues (other than “home”), despite the need to drive everywhere, it could still be considered (by some, not me) to be paradise.
My one solo outing was on the evening of the Mexico/England match, when I walked across the island bridge to the Cove Brewery hoping to settle in to the bar for some very good lagers and sours and watch some footie, only to find the game delayed beyond closing time, of the brewery and pretty much all other local establishments.
I did sit at the bar though for a while and enjoyed two very good lagers, and an awesome Blueberry Lemon Catherina Sour.
I caught the game on the couch back at our residence for the evening; the very edge of the couch.
I had also managed to “watch” the England / DR Congo game earlier in the week, standing around in Moynihan train hall at Penn Station with dozens of other football fans, before sitting at the bar of Irish Exit for a pint while waiting for my delayed train.
And that was it for actually watching any of the round of 32/16 matches, other than the first half and last ten minutes of the Brazil/Norway game from the couch.
I had to rely on the BBC web site to get the live commentary of the games on July 1st/2nd and July 7th on the way back home.
I did not bother to watch the USA/Belgium game.
Something did not sit right with me for that one.
Can’t quite put my finger on it.
But now I am back home in NYC.
The temperature has returned to “normal”.
I am late with this posting, but what are you going to do?
I have a dog to walk shortly.
And a quarter final game to watch later.
I suspect that I may have a cask or two to go with the match.
Scorecard w/e 07/07/26
In the past week the Cask Whisperer took an extended hydration break.
Upcoming Cask Events (Festivals and Otherwise)
- 9/12/26: Real Ale Harvest Festival @ Noah Webster House, West Hartford CT
Upcoming Random NYC Casks
- Nothing reported so far this week.
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).
