The Cask Days festival (October 24 to 26, at Evergreen Brick Works, 2014.caskdays.com) is almost upon us and we’ve already started training for Toronto’s 10th annual festival of barreled beer by – surprise! – drinking the stuff. Cask ales – unpasteurized, unfiltered and served slightly chilled from the vessel in which they “condition,” or undergo secondary fermentation – are an acquired taste for some and an obsession for others.
Low in carbonation and packed with flavour, these traditional-style ales are pumped or poured straight from the living cask right into your glass.
Plenty of local brewers – like Wellington, Black Oak, Mill Street and Great Lakes – make them, and there’s no shortage of beer-centric bars where you can drink them. Bar Hop (391 King West, 647-352-7476, barhopbar.com), Bar Volo (587 Yonge, 416-928-0008, barvolo.com), the Granite (245 Eglinton East, 416-322-0723, granitebrewery.ca), C’est What (67 Front East, 416-867-9499, cestwhat.com) and Amsterdam BrewHouse (245 Queens Quay West, 416-504-1020, amsterdambrewhouse.com) all tap that cask.