A freaking amount of firkins
Never have I seen so many firkins in one place, dispensing so much delight. Thirty firkins, small kegs of naturally carbonated beer, were at the Wharf Rat on Pratt Street on Saturday afternoon pleasuring a gathering of The Chesapeake Bay Branch of the Society for the Preservation of Beers from the Wood. About 400 fans of cask-conditioned beer attended.
Traditionally, a firkin has been made of wood; nowadays some are made of metal. Regardless of the vessel, the yeast in the beer creates its own bubbles, or carbonation. A hand-operated pump moves the beer from the firkin to the glass. The result, according to its proponents, is a beer with delicate flavors, and less gas than colder, more carbonated brews.
Like some candidates for president, I have flip-flopped on firkins. I was against-em. Then I drank hand-pumped beers in Britain. Now I am for-em. I have become a believer in the big-tent outlook, welcoming many different kinds of beer, regardless of their country of origin, or their delivery system.
Saturday, two of my favorites were the Lancaster Rare Rooster, a Pennsylvania brew made with rye, and the Moorehouses Black Cat Bitter, and a beer from “across the pond.” Both these beers were refreshing, relatively low in alcohol, and yet carried plenty of flavor.
I also enjoyed ordering two locals, Oliver Hot Monkey Love and Clay Pipe Old Toad Scrotum. It is not every day you get to say, “Gimme some Toad!” After spending an afternoon in such good company, even the ride home on the Light Rail seemed pleasant.
Any other favorite firkin brews?
Comments
Rob, Glad you enjoyed out "little" clubs' yearly ritual of bringing close friends together to enjoy an insane amount of quality cask conditioned brew. It was a pleasure to have you at the event and I look forward to seeing you at our monthly SPBW meetings at various real ale locals around the state. Alan Moore - SPBW President elect
Posted by: Alan Moore | October 30, 2007 11:14 AM
I'm betting the Clay Pipe guys were counting on people asking for "some scrotum", so they may have been disappointed in your choice of nicknames.
Seriously, though, does anyone know any good places to try these? I'd love to have been there, but with 2 little kids, getting away for a Saturday afternoon to drink beer is not even worth considering, However, every now and then I can get out of the house on a weekend night after they're in bed. I used to go to the UK quite often for work, and really like the cask conditioned stuff, but I don't have a clue where to get some around Baltimore.
Posted by: WPL | October 30, 2007 11:37 PM
Rob, Once you go real, you can't turn back! My 'Saul' moment was at the Old Bay Restaurant in NJ in 1994, tasting a freshly-flown in cask of Fuller's. Point of clarification: Black Cat is a mild, not a bitter. A 'small' beer at less than 5% abv, it was the 2000 Supreme Champion Beer of Great Britain. Another 'small mild' - Hobson's Choice' won top accolades this year. Such wonderful, but not overly 'alcohol-ed' or over-hopped beers, could never win at our Great American beer Festival. Thanks to the SPBWers for having it at their fest.
Posted by: Thomas Cizauskas | October 31, 2007 10:36 AM
I poured the Toad Scrotum for a bit. The guys LOVED it! Wonder why??!!! One of my personal favs was the Brewers Art Le Canard. Nice smooth finish... The Dogfish Chicory Stout was a big favorite and the Clipper CIty Beers (Clipper City Gold and Heavy Seas Loose Cannon) never fail to disappoint either! Can't wait for next yr!
Posted by: Kim Moore | October 31, 2007 9:25 PM
I guess I should chime in here. This was the 4th year for this event at the Wharf Rat, which had previously been held for six years at Racers in Parkville. This was, by far, our largest number of attendees and biggest and most diverse selection of firkins. We always fret that we have the right mix of people and beer and weather and it all blended marvelously this year, although we look to utilize more of the space next year to alleviate some of the crowding near the popular selections. As for finding cask beer, we will be adding a list of venues on our site at www.spbw.org very soon, but you can always get it at Maxs, Mahaffeys, Red Brick, Friscos, the Wharf Rat (both locations), DuClaw (select dates) and Johannsons in Baltimore and Franklins, District Chophouse, Rock Bottom, RFD and others in DC. Thanks to all who attended this year!!!
Dominic
Pres., SPBW
Posted by: Dominic Cantalupo | November 1, 2007 4:46 PM
Don't forget Bertha's in Fells Point - they have been pouring real ale longer then anyone else in Maryland. Also Grand Cru at Belvedere Square have a beer engine.
Posted by: Joe Gold | November 1, 2007 6:44 PM