It's a year of "firsts" for me. The first anniversary of the Brewery, almost my first full year as Brewmaster at same brewery, first homebrew contest, the first time I tried brewing three lagers in a row, tying up one of my fermenters for over three months!
Luckily, I am also involved in serveral other "firsts". The first of these Firsts is the "First Annual Milwaukee Firkin Craft Beer Festival."
What's a firkin, you may ask? A firkin is a type of beer cask, normally about one fourth of a British barrel, or nine gallons. Firkins are usually cask-conditioned, meaning secondary fermentation takes place inside the firkin, resulting in a low-carbonated ale. They are often served at cellar temperature, and are dispensed either via gravity or with a "beer engine"--essentially, a pump. You may have seen these at some bars:
My goal is to get a couple of firkins over at St. Francis and install a beer engine behind the bar. It is interesting to have cask-conditioned versions of your house beers available to compare.
Anyway, I will be representing the brewery at Firkin Fest this Saturday at Cathedral Square in downtown Milwaukee. This festival celebrates Milwaukee's extensive brewing tradition.
For details or tickets, please click this link: http://milwaukeefirkin.com/
Sounds cool. You should post this on the Guinness facebook page to let people know. www.facebook.com/GuinnessUS
ReplyDeleteGuinness? Why? Guinness is not a cask conditioned beer, nor is it poured via a pump or gravity.
ReplyDeleteScott - A big thumbs up on getting some cask beers on tap at St. Francis, they always seem to taste better with that yeast goodness.
We have a busy weekend, but hopefully we'll see you at firkinfest
Sorry if my prior comment came off a bit bitchy or beer snobish, it wasn't my intent. Guinness is a great beer, it just doesn't come in a firkin as Scott defines above.
ReplyDeleteScott, it was great meeting you at Firkin! And nice to have a new favorite beer with the Number Nine. It was incredible!
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