Stop number two on my TBW cask crawl found me at Bryden’s for the Cask! social. (This event was also in a double whammy with respect to knocking items off of my goals list.) I was warned in advance by west-enders that Bryden’s isn’t too big and if an event was going on I had better get there early to ensure entry. Arriving around 4pm (one hour after start time) those words were almost confirmed – the packed house had room for a few more people but not much more. The patio area also offered space for the caskees but it was a bit chilly to enjoy a good sit outside.
We received name tags (to encourage the social aspect of the ‘social’) and headed to the bar. We found out that the first casualty of the afternoon was Beau’s Matt’s Gose. This must have been quite the beer based on the speed at which it disappeared! I was looking forward to trying it mostly because I don’t believe I have ever had a gose (not to be confused with gueuze). The trek to the bar was slowed by brief chats with friendly and familiar faces. By the time we reached the bar the Great Lakes Miami Dunkelweiss cask was being tipped for its last drops. I did hear that it was “quite hoppy”. Two down, two to go. My hit list now had one primary target: the Muskoka Dark Chocolate Ale. This cocoa-y dark ale lent itself perfectly to being a cask beer. The light carbonation and fresh factor worked wonderfully with the malty body. I don’t think I would drink too many of these in one sitting but was delicious nonetheless. The final cask was the ever fantastic Granite Best Bitter Special. What can I say about this beer that has not been said before? Simply marvelous.
As promised there were nibbles provided. There were 4 offered and were nothing too fancy but each one was paired with one of the beers. Fortunately they kept bringing the food samples out after the casks ran out. Granite BBS was paired with cajun shrimp, Muskoka Chocolate Ale with ‘spicy’ chocolate dipped strawberries, the Dunkelweiss with sharp cheddar and finally the Gose paired was paired with a Thai fresh roll.
The beer menu on the wall had a fair number of craft choices as well as a ‘beers of the moment’ board which were entirely craft beers including the likes of Black Oak 10 Bitter Years and Flying Monkey’s Smashbomb. The atmosphere was fun and folks jovial. I am definitely inclined to go back to Bryden’s AND attend future Cask! social’s. Thanks to all involved – it was a great time!
Beer With Me 