Cask ale’s popularity is growing
It’s fresh, it’s local and when done right, can be sublime.
There really isn’t any reason not to like cask ale.
The traditional English way of dispensing beer in a pub is seeing a growing number of aficionados in North America, including right here in Toronto.
Need proof? This weekend, the 11th-annual Cask Days festival is on at the Evergreen Brick Works, with more than 350 different beers from 125 breweries.
When it started in 2005, there were just a few dozen brews, said Ralph Morana, festival founder and Bar Volo owner. It’s a voyage for Morana that began at the Great British Beer Festival in 2004, where he first sampled the unfiltered, unpasteurized form of brew.
“It blew me away,” Morana said. While he likes the local aspect, his biggest reason for liking cask ale is taste. “You can taste all the flavours more. It’s not as cold, there’s less carbonation.”
The reason it’s not served ice-cold is that cask ale contains some still-living yeast — cool it down too much and that yeast goes dormant.
That yeast also produces a natural carbonation in the beer. The natural carbonation is gentler than kegged or bottled beer, which requires the injection of extra CO2 to keep your pint bubbly.
Because it’s still alive, cask ale is much more perishable than draft beer.
That means it’s most often — and best — served locally.
It always needs to be served fresh, says Ron Keefe, owner of the Granite Brewery, who has been selling cask ale since shortly after his North Toronto brew pub opened in 1991.
“It’s a bit of a pain in the neck to do it right, because it only lasts for two or three days once it’s tapped. But it’s a great way to drink beer,” said Keefe, who has also noticed a change.
“In the early days, it was like a secret offering for people in the know, because it wasn’t on the menu. Now, people come in every day asking for cask.”