After my success in finding cask ale at the Das Bock! lager festival last year, I figured that I would roll the dice again this year, especially as it was just a quick hop on the LIRR followed by a nice easy stroll to get from the city to Plattduetsche Biergarten, the longtime venue.
Fortunately, I told several of my family and friends, and early last week one of those friends pointed out that LIRR may be going on strike on the day of the fest.
Due to my aversion to travelling to beer events by my own personal transportation, an alternate route was identified and researched, a seamless, less expensive, and just as efficient route.
And so, late Saturday morning, I found myself walking a block along Hillside Avenue in Jamaica between the end of the F subway line and the bus stop for the n6 Nassau County (NICE) bus.
The bus, which is 24-hour and very frequent, had just conveniently pulled in, and my mate Alistair was conveniently standing at the end of the line, waiting to board.
Well, that was easy.
Inexpensive too.
A free transfer from the subway on the OMNY card.
I wonder how many other folks at the festival had taken the same steps to get there.
Now of course we had built a little too much slack into the trip plan (because you can’t really trust the subway schedule), and managed to get dropped off in front of the venue with a good hour to spare.
Which gave us plenty of time to do a little spelunking in the Franklin Square area, to try to locate the venerable Croxley’s Ale House, a thriving throwback to 1992 and the beginning of the craft bar craze.
It had been on my long list of places to check out from the mid-nineties, but I had never had the need nor opportunity to venture out to its particular corner of the world, until this past weekend.
If somebody had asked you to describe what you think a first-generation craft beer bar would look and smell like, you would end up describing Croxley’s.
Whereas last week I had noted that d.b.a. (from the same era) had modernized itself a little, I couldn’t say the same for Croxley’s and I wouldn’t want to, it’s perfect just the way that it is.
And take a look at that draft list, over sixty drafts from pretty much all craft beer eras; when was the last time that you had a Smuttynose?
I of course turned the menu over to see what was available in can and bottle, and my eyes went straight to Heady Topper, as did my lips.
It was always only going to be a couple, I am not really into the pre-gaming stuff, so I finished off with a Chimay Rouge, something else that I haven’t had in a dog’s age.
The place got fairly busy while we were there for the opening hour, pretty much all local singles and couples, very friendly.
I will not be waiting for a railroad strike to pay a return visit.
Onwards to the main event, just under ten minutes’ walk away.
The first impression was that it was quieter than last year, probably due to the LIRR issues, but there were plenty of things (he means beer) to keep us busy for the designated four hours.
The New York City breweries were well represented, with Gun Hill/Endless Life, Eckhart, Strong Rope, Fifth Hammer, Kills Boro, and KCBC all present.
And there was also a solid scattering of breweries from both Nassau and Suffolk counties, but I did not notice any from the Hudson Valley or Jersey Shore this year.
Surprisingly, there were no gravity kegs at the event, but Eckhart assured me that they were krausening some back in the brewery for future events, so keep your eyes out folks if that is also your sort of thing.
But there was a cask.
Saint James Brewery brought along a pin of their Chugganaut American Pale Lager alongside a couple of canned offerings, and it was just what the weather ordered; gently carbonated and very refreshing, a real easy drinker.
My favorite tipple from the event though was not a lager, it was not even a beer, it was a mead from W A Meadwerks of Lindenhurst, made from blackcurrants and herbs, and tasting very much like Jägermeister.
At 14.5% it was a wee sipper, and if that wasn’t enough they also brought along a blueberry ginger mead served from a small wooden cask that checked in at 12.5%.
Yeah it was almost enough to make me volunteer for the Beer Puppet or the Stein Holding.
Almost.
It was definitely enough to make me forget all of the lagers that I did sample, so we will just say that I tasted beers from every brewery present.
It won’t be far off.
We stayed until they chased us out, found the bus stop to get us back into the city, and made all connections just as seamlessly as on the way out.
It looks like I will be studying the NICE bus route maps real soon, to see where else I can explore for the price of a free transfer.
But not this upcoming weekend.
This weekend, I will be heading up to the Finger Lakes for my annual four days of beer, cider, mead and cheese.
That is going to require personal transportation.
Report next week.
Scorecard w/e 05/19/26
In the past week the Cask Whisperer has enjoyed the following cask ales:
- Saint James Brewery Chugganaut American Pale Lager @ Plattduetsche Biergarten.
- I also tracked down a bottle of Chimay Rouge at Croxley’s Ale House in Franklin Square.
Upcoming Cask Events (Festivals and Otherwise)
- 5/23/26: NYS Brit Festival @ Seneca Lake Brewing Company, Rock Stream NY
Upcoming Random NYC Casks
- Nothing has popped up 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).
