Glasgow brewery Drygate Brewing Co. is taking craft beer fans back to “where it all began” with C>SK : 16, a three-day festival celebrating contemporary cask-conditioned ale later this month.
The cask ale festival will run from 11-13 November at Drygate’s ‘7 Peaks’ production facility in East Glasgow. It will showcase over 100 beers from 30 breweries to be enjoyed alongside specially crafted food pairings and live music.
Often seen as ‘traditional’, cask-conditioned ale/beer, or ‘real ale’, is beer that undergoes secondary fermentation in the barrel, without any filtration or pasteurisation. It is actually the basis for many experimental beers and is a process that most brewers start out on while honing their craft.
Matt Corden, Operations Director of Drygate Brewing, said the main aim of the festival is to honour the format of beer that has helped “a lot of truly experimental and groundbreaking recipes find their first audience.”
Corden (pictured above) said, “At Drygate, we felt it was time to celebrate where it all began. All breweries start making cask conditioned ales and we wanted to bring our love of cask ales to a new audience.
“There will be over 100 beers to try at the festival – a great opportunity for those not familiar with the format to find a new favourite. Unlike your usual cask beer festival, we are injecting new life and a party atmosphere into the festival with great food and music across the weekend.”
“Some beers just taste better on cask”
One of the many breweries showcased will be the Glasgow-based Up Front Brewing, which brews its Ishmael IPA and Ahab stout at Drygate.
Founder Jake Griffin said it is “vitally important cask beer production is encouraged in the rapidly changing world of beer.”
He added, “For most small brewers, it provides a quick and simple way of getting their beers to a wider audience, whilst providing a method of showcasing their beers in the best possible condition, alive, full of flavour, and naturally carbonated for improved body.
“Put simply, some beers just taste better on cask, and for this reason alone, we should celebrate cask beer for putting beer at it’s best in the hands of the masses.”
Tickets for C>SK: 16 cost £5 and include a free pint on arrival. Drinks prices start from £2 per pint. Tickets are available from drygate.com