Most folks have probably heard of the Wolf, Goat, and Cabbage problem.
It has been around for many a year; Wikipedia dates it back to the 9th (or possibly 8th) century CE and attributes it to one Alcuin of York.
It is basically a River Crossing Puzzle where the object is to ferry certain objects safely across a river.
Follow those links at your own peril, unless you enjoy and have the time to go down the Wikipedia rabbit hole.
The object of the puzzle is to get all three across the river in a boat that can only carry one at a time, leaving the other two on one bank or the other; the problem is that the Wolf loves eating Goat, and Goat’s favorite snack is Cabbage.
I will not be giving the solution(s) here, but they can be found if you follow the Wikipedia link (bwahaha!)
We had two more difficult versions of the puzzle to solve last week due to some reckless calendar stuffing; we had four overnight guest dogs (only three at a time, thankfully) to accommodate alongside our long-suffering but very patient cat, Mister Bagel.
In the first scenario, which was last Wednesday, we had a large but sweet Golden Doodle who we shall refer to as Possessive Wolf.
We had a small mature Coton de Tulear who we shall refer to as Calm Goat, an even tinier Maltese who shall be known as Little Feisty Goat, and instead of a cabbage we had Bagel who should be considered to be a Cabbage With Claws.
No river.
Just a living room and two bedrooms in which to introduce, socialize, entertain, and feed the four critters; they also all needed to be walked (except for Cabbage With Claws) but not together.
And then we had to come up with suitable sleeping arrangements that also allowed us to get some quality (ha!) shuteye.
In the second scenario, which was last weekend, we swapped out Little Feisty Goat with Cheeky Wolf, another sweet (and playful) Golden Doodle slightly smaller than Possessive Wolf.
We needed a lot of rules.
The rules were:
- No wolf was to be left alone in a room with a cabbage, goat, or another wolf.
- No toys allowed, especially when a wolf was in the room.
- All feeds were to be conducted in private in a separate closed room, except for cabbage who had his food bowl up high away from the wolves and goats.
- A wolf had to be walked alone by me if there was another wolf in the apartment, so that my wife could keep an eye on the other wolf.
- A wolf could be walked with a goat as long as no wolf was left home with a goat or cabbage.
- Only I could walk a wolf; they were both too strong for my wife to walk.
- Possessive Wolf got to sleep on the king-sized bed with my wife.
- Cheeky Wolf and the goats got to share the grandkids bed with me.
- Nobody tells Cabbage where he gets to sleep.
We managed it.
It helped that all wolves and goats had met each other before in neutral territory, which is why we chanced our luck with the calendar.
We also kept to the rules.
Which kept me close to home all week.
Close enough that I was not able to indulge in a pint until both wolves returned to their own dens, albeit temporarily.
That would be Monday, when I had a five-hour interval suitable for a stroll down to the Shakespeare in midtown, the only cask outlet that had compatible opening hours.
They had an unidentified bitter from Wayward Lane on the handpump, unidentified because at 4.2% it was unlikely to be the Penny Whip ESB.
It was beautiful.
Deep bronze, nice frothy and ultimately scuzzy head, with a big bitter bite and equally bitter but balanced finish; it reminded me a little of Courage Directors.
I hurried through two and a half pints.
I had to get back to ferry Cheeky Wolf across the river one more time.
I get a two-week break now.
Just the regular wolf dog walks until both wolves return for sleepovers at the end of the month.
No goats for a while.
But there will be beer.
Scorecard w/e 08/18/26
In the past week the Cask Whisperer enjoyed the following casks:
- Wayward Lane Unidentified Bitter @ The Shakespeare
Upcoming Cask Events (Festivals and Otherwise)
- 9/12/26: Real Ale Harvest Festival @ Noah Webster House, West Hartford CT. It looks like I will be missing it this year, seeing as it falls on Rosh Hoshana and I have picked up several dog walks during the holiday.
- 9/19/26: Ecktoberfest @ Eckhart Beer. No tickets required, just show up 12pm-close.
- 9/26/26: Blocktoberfest returns, this time it will be held at The Lot @ LIC Culture Lab, right across the street from Rockaway Brewery, between 1pm and 5pm. Will there be any casks? I am willing to chance it.
- 9/27/26: Faßfest ’26 @ Kills Boro Brewing, Snug Harbor, Staten Island.
Upcoming Random NYC Casks
- Nothing on the 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).
