It's been a long time since I've been to this festival. I went to the first one, and haven't been back in many years. Held in Westland, a far suburb of Detroit, it is hosted by Ashley's Restaurant. I love cask ale, but there has to be some strict rules applied before it can be enjoyed to its fullest. This type of festival is usually not able to fulfil my requirements. Cask ale is best served at around 50 F. In England, pub cellars often make perfect places to store the casks, and the beer is pumped up by hand pull engines. Another unique thing about British cask ale is its relatively low alcohol. Often American cask ales are way too strong!
With ale-loving friend Jennifer G. along, and Deb as our designated driver, we headed out in really miserable weather to this much-anticipated event. It rained all morning, but by festival time (2 pm) it had mostly stopped. However, with temps in the 40s the Festival was a damp and chilly outdoor affair. 25 casks were on offer, and we couldn't wait to try them! No tokens were required, and we were allowed to taste any of them we wanted! This was a fantastic way to run a festival, and I highly approve. We were underneath a canvas and plastic roof, in the garden of Ashley's. It was not a very large area for the number of people that turned out, and there were some very mushy areas within the grounds. But these were minor details considering how much ale was on offer. Here is the list, as provided by the Festival.
Ales on offer at the 11th annual Michigan Cask Ale Festival. Circled numbers are ones I sampled. I also tried #6, not circled.
In addition to a wristband and list of ales, we were given a sturdy taster glass (to keep) along with a single token. Each cask had a box in front of it, and the token was to be left in the box of one's favourite ale. Another good idea. I was quite surprised by how many IPAs were on the list. I attempted to try none of them. The latest fad seems to be trying to add the strangest ingredients one can find to an IPA. In my book, this is a very bad idea. There are very few IPAs I would drink regularly. One of them is Two-Hearted Ale, by Bells. Another is All Day IPA by Founders. And the third one is Marble IPA, from an Albuquerque brewery (Marble). Fortunately, there were several sours on offer, a couple of Browns, and one stout.
There were two on offer from one of my favourite breweries, Batch Brewery in Detroit. However, there were none from the big Michigan breweries. Nothing from Bells, or Founders. Boo. Hiss. It was nice to see many smaller breweries represented, including several I had never heard of before today.
Two of the hardy tasters out today at the 11th Annual Michigan Cask Ale Festival. On display are the decent tasting glasses given to each participant. Though Jenn and I tried some of the same ales, we did venture off in different directions on occasion.
While Jenn and I got cold and damp at the outdoor festival, Deb went browsing at Westland Mall, just across the parking lot from Ashley's. After an hour Jenn and I retreated into the warmth of Ashley's for some coffee. Afterwards, we resumed our tasting, soon joined by Deb, who hung out with us until we finally left around 4:45 pm (the festival closed at 5 pm).
So, who got my token for best ale? It really was a toss-up between #3 and #5. But I only had one token, so I remained loyal to Batch Brewing and gave them mine. New Funk #3 turned out to be the best farmhouse ale I had ever sampled. It comes from their new Detroit facility on Grand Boulevard, which is dedicated to brewing sours. I'm guessing that New Funk will be on offer in their Corktown taproom.
Will I go back to the Festival next year? Come back here and check if I do. In the meantime, Deb and I will be returning to Columbus, Ohio in June. She has had two more of her short films chosen for screening at Origins Game Fair in mid-June. So stay tuned for reports on that party!
Mapman Mike
