CASK & YE SHALL RECEIVE BACK to MEDIA

by Alan Moen, NW Brewing News

On a cool and cloudy Saturday afternoon in late October, beer aficionados gathered at Hale's Ales Brewery in Seattle for a different kind of Oktoberfest. No oompah music, lederhosen, or dirndl-clad fräuleins accompanied this event - but there was beer, and beer aplenty. Nearly two dozen breweries from all over the state poured their real ales at Washington's first Cask Beer Festival.

It was fitting that the event was sponsored by Mike Hale, who probably produced the first cask beer made in the Northwest about 1988. Mike had approached the Washington Brewers Guild in July with the idea of holding a cask beer fest as a fund-raiser for the Guild.

The idea drew immediate support. Doug Hindman of Elliott Bay Brewing helped sign up brewers, and Laura Groth, Hale's communications director, coordinated the publicity.

With limited space available at Hale's, the organizers decided to split the event into afternoon and evening sessions. Tickets were sold at participating breweries, homebrew shops, and pubs. With no advertising, this may have been the first beer event in the Northwest to be promoted almost exclusively through the Internet and word of mouth.

The low-key promotion worked. According to Laura Groth, some 386 people attended the event, although about 150 tickets went unsold. Beer geeks from across the Northwest answered the call of real ale, including a contingent from the Oregon Brew Crew and members of the CAMRA chapter in Victoria, BC., whose Great Canadian Beer Festival still sports more casks per brewer capita than any other regional beer event.

The festival was held in the warehouse of Hale's brewery, with breweries and their casks lined up along one wall (and around the corner) in alphabetical order. Pub food from Hale's was available, and even souvenir t-shirts were printed for the event.

Most beers at the festival were poured by gravity, others by beer engine. A wide variety of brews were on hand, including bitters, pale ales, porters, stouts, strong ales and specialty beers. To the delight of beer geeks, considerable detail about the specifications and production of each brew were provided to fest goers in the festival brochure.

Brewers evidently pulled out all the stops for the festival, and there were many outstanding beers. To mention a few: Big Time's smooth and aromatic Neighsayer Oatmeal Ale, Elliott Bay's strong, hop-accented Riot Ale, The Elysian's sublime Bifrost, Lunar Brewing's complex IPA, Ram/Bighorn's rich and oaky whiskey barrel Stout, Fish's fine Winterfish, and Snoqualmie Falls' nicely balanced Copperhead Pale Ale.

Although a few Canadians were overheard to remark that many beers were overhopped (a common complaint from our northerly neighbors), most consumer response at the festival was very favorable, even enthusiastic. Participants seemed to enjoy the "insider" nature of the event, as well as the "brews who" composition of the crowd, with nearly every brewer on hand to pour his own creation.

Between sessions, many brewers gathered at the nearby Jolly Roger Taproom at Maritime Pacific Brewing Co. for some tasty appetizers and more cask beer, including the eminently hoppy Imperial Pale Ale.

All in all (or more appropriately, ale in ale), with minimal promotion and planning, the first Washington Cask Beer Festival was a real success. Guild members are talking about making this an annual event, and forming a planning committee for 2001. Undoubtedly, the thirst for real ale is alive and well in Washington State.

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