Brazen Head Keeps Cask Ale Local

Beer from a cask. Many from Brooklyn.

If the thought of “cask ales” conjure up images of drunken monks swigging beer out of wooden barrels in a dingy monastery, that’s good — run with it, it’ll make all of this seem a lot cooler. In actuality, however, most beer casks now are made out of metal and look like little kegs. Nonethless, casks are the traditional storage vessels for beer, and the term still implies that the beer is unpasteurized, unfiltered, and without any additional carbon dioxide added. The result is more actual beer flavor coming through, without being obscured by bubbles, although, to a palate used to kegs, the beer might seem flat. For a more comprehensive description, read this. Anyway, the Brazen Head pulls together a collection of cask ales three times a year, and this past weekend was the first such festival of 2007.

The festival ran for three days, with different casks on tap each night. Fortunately, for the sake of this blog at least, Saturday night spotlighted several local beers, with three Brooklyn-based breweries making a showing. The confusingly-named Greenpoint Beer Works — which is actually based in Fort Greene and brews beer exclusively for Heartland Brewery, which only has locations in Manhattan — had two cask ales on hand. Considering Heartland Brewery’s touristy inclination, their beers tend to be on the simple, drinkable side. The Sheep’s Secret Scotch Ale maybe plays things a bit too safe, as even out of a cask there’s not a lot going on flavorwise. The Full Moon Barleywine comes in at a whopping 10% ABV, but still manages to taste pretty mellow. The cask-conditioning makes it a bit more syrupy than it would taste out of a keg, and brings out its fruity tones, but the beer is still less than amazing.

Brooklyn Brewery (and before you jump all over yourselves pointing out that Brooklyn Brewery beers are actually made in Utica, they brew most of their kegs, and all of their seasonals, in Williamsburg) also had a Scotch brown ale (or “wee heavy”) at The Brazen Head, their Winter Ale. Their version is a bit more complex than the Heartland version, though still simple, although the cask lets more of the flavor shine through than the bottled version that’s probably on sale on your local bodega. A bit spicier than the Sheep’s Secret (though there are no added spices), and with a better head out of the handpumped cask, the Brooklyn offering makes for a comfortable, drinkable beer, in line with most of their offerings. And at 6% ABV, you can certainly toss back four or five and still stand up under your own power (though you definitely shouldn’t drive).

Sixpoint Brewery had the best Brooklyn offering on tap at the festival, their Black Market Porter. Darker beers seem to be best served by cask-conditioning, and it doesn’t get much darker than a porter. Sixpoint also seems to be particularly good at darker beers (try the Brownstone Ale), so this was a case of things coming together just right. Chocolately and rich, and barely carbonated, I can’t think of a much better beer for a cold night. And with all the beer made in Red Hook and no connections to any controversial real estate developers, Brooklynites of every political pursuasion can enjoy Sixpoint’s porter. It’s the only one I had two glasses of.

There were a few non-local beers on tap, like the Pittfield Saison from Massachusetts (a nice brew that will taste a lot better three months from now when it’s warmer), but we applaud the Brazen Head for incorporating so much Brooklyn beer into their festival. We applaud less the mix CD playing really loudly all night; I hope to never again listen to a 9 minute live Dispatch medley including a Bob Marley cover at a bar. It makes the beer taste a lot worse.