Moving hot off the heels of last week’s list of places where you can find beers brewed exclusively for certain establishments, cask nights can be even more exciting for all of you beer lovers out there. Breweries like Big Rock, Wild Rose Brewery and Alley Kat (Edmonton), to name a few, will produce one-off creations, which are then available at a local pub for one night only.
Cask nights are a great way for microbreweries to step outside their regular day-to-day brewing processes and get creative with the regular beer profiles people know and love. There are approximately 55 pints in a standard cask and these brews can go quickly. So, just remember that the early bird gets the worm, or in this case, the beer.
Beer Revolution
Cheers to the end of the work week here every Friday starting at 5 p.m. when a new cask is popped. This beer-focused establishment shares a space with Brewsters, which brews a variety of its own beers, so featured casks are typically conceived by Brewsters and occasionally other microbreweries in the city.
(1080 8 St. S.W., 403-264-2739, beerrevolution.ca, @revolutionyyc)
Bottlescrew Bill’s
It’s only natural that this beer-driven institution of Calgary embraces custom cask culture. Skip the regular beer menu on Thursday nights to try something a bit more out of the ordinary. Last month saw a Peppered Cherrweizen up for sipping. A spin on a a standard hefeweizen, this one is infused with cherry and red pepper. It sounds a bit odd but that’s half the fun.
140 10 Ave. S.W., 403-263-7900, bottlescrewbill.com, @bottlescrewbill)
Craft Beer Market
Every Tuesday at this microbrewery-focused pub, you can opt for a unique beer freshly poured out of a cask from breweries like Canmore’s Grizzly Paw, Village Brewery and more. For example, last week’s cask featured a Maiden Ale, with strawberry and kiwi notes, by Village. Summer in a glass!
(345 10 Ave. S.W., 403-514-2337, craftbeermarket.ca, @craftbeermarket)
The Libertine
At 4 p.m. on the dot, every second Tuesday of the month (July 8 is next up), the bartenders here tap a cask for your drinking pleasure. Whether it’s brewed by Wild Rose, Big Rock or otherwise, you never know what awaits until you pop by. Also, try the custom brew, Problem Solver which is available during the summer months.
(223 8 Ave. S.W., 403-365-3665, thelibertine.ca, @libertinepublic)
Pig and Duke
On the last Thursday of every month, head to this popular pub in the Beltline to try a special brew. The pub not only serves up the beer for the evening, but special food pairings as well, and has a representative from the participating microbrewery on hand to help pour the beer and talk about its brewing process.
(1312 12 Ave. S.W., 403-245-8487, pigandduke.com, @pigandduke)