Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Alpine Bad Boy Cask

Hmmm, it looks like Alpine's Bad Boy! Double IPA (one of their Double IPA's), will be on cask at O'Brien's this Thursday, the same day I'll be down there for the Nelson release. I don't particularly like cask ale because I love hoppy beers very cold and I love the artificial carbonation. I thought the cask version of Port Brewing 2nd Anniversary DIPA was no contest for the kegged version, although I have enjoyed a cask Hop 15 pour once before. I've also read some opinions that the super-hoppy Moylan's Hopsickle loses much of its awesome hop character when drank from the cask. However, it might be interesting to try this at O'Brien's, since I doubt Alpine will be giving out tasters (if they even still had some) with as busy as they'll be filling Nelson growlers.

Anyone know what time O'Brien's usually taps their cask? Anyone think Bad Boy will lend itself nicely to the cask?

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Cask time is usually 5:00. This is unsolicited, but my cask philosophy: Beers that are uber hoppy or have sharp edges tend to become good cask beers. Bad Boy will be awesome because it is a beast in the hop department and light in the malt spectrum. Beers that fall in the sweet/malty spectrum (like Port Hop 15 and 2nd Anni) don't make good cask beers because the cask lends additional creaminess (mouthfeel) and vanilla characteristics (think American Oak and wine) to the beer. So far, my hall of fame cask beers: Nelson, Green Flash West Coast, Pure Hop. I know, a little heavy on the Alpine stuff.

Again, this is all amateur opinion, so take it with a grain of salt. Obrien's only charges $5.00 for cask pints. If you are there at 5:00, the cask pints will be very cold. From one beer geek to another, don't miss this opportunity.

JessetheHutt said...

I concur, doctor JRhode. I'm probably going to miss this due to relatives coming to town. Let me know how it goes.

Anonymous said...

Steve, looks like we'll miss you at Alpine. Going to wait until Saturday to grab growlers of Nelson. If you make it to Obrien's tonight we'll see you there.