10th Annual Washington Cask Beer Festival Line-Up

The Washington Beer Commission is proud to present the 2009 Washington Cask Beer Festival on Saturday, March 28th. This year the Festival celebrates its 10-year anniversary with 65 unique cask-conditioned beers on tap, the biggest beer lineup in its history. To stay true to the tradition of cask-conditioned beer the Festival requires brewers to naturally condition the beer in a firkin or other vessels without artificially introducing CO2. Poured by gravity the result is smooth ale with a thick dense head that brings out full flavor. The guests will face a tough challenge of choosing which beers to sample during the four hour sessions. It is especially a daunting task since the majority of beers are brewed in small batches exclusively for the Festival to showcase the brewers’ true creativity.

Some of the beers that will be poured at this year’s Cask Beer Festival include:

* Ten Squared Anniversary Reel Ale (Fish Brewing Co./Leavenworth Beers)- Ten different hops were used to give the unique character. Even at 100 IBU’s this hop monster stands on a sturdy malt foundation that imparts outstanding balance. This is an ’08-dated limited edition brewed last winter for a Valentine’s release. 10% ABV.

* Bosun's Black Bourbon Porter (Maritime Pacific Brewing Co.)- Dry-hopped and aged on bourbon infused oak. Rich chocolate and roasted malt flavors with subtle smoke overtones balance cherry and currant fruits and hints of vanilla.

* Apple/Cinnamon ESB (Diamond Knot Brewing Co.)- Diamond Knot’s standard ESB conditioned in the keg with apple cider, cinnamon sticks and slices of fresh apple.

* Super Chopp (Georgetown Brewing Co.)- Initially a hop-crisis induced experiment that was later refined, this is a kicked-up version of Chopper’s Red. High alpha Columbus hops add edge tot his malty red brew.

* Imperial Porter (Boundary Bay Brewery)- Commemorating Boundary Bay’s 3,000th batch this dark and delicious American style Imperial Porter is a true Northwest treat.

* Grey Sky Winter Rye (Port Townsend Brewing Co.)- A strong, dark winter ale brewed with 7 different kinds of malted barley plus whole and flaked rye. Generously balanced with several hop additions.

* Local Hero #2 Frauenbier's Special Bitter (Bitter)- Local Homebrewer Ken Frauenthal won a gold medal at a local homebrew competition last fall with this classic version of an ESB. Big Al Brewing was so impressed with the beer they invited Ken down to the brewery and brewed a batch on the big system. English Pale and Caramel malt combined with floral, aromatic English Hops create a smooth, balanced medium bodied beer.

In addition to the already massive beer list the special 10th anniversary event will also feature the Ten Herbert’s, showcasing ten different versions of the Herbert’s Legendary Cask Festival Ale brewed by different Washington breweries. The Herbert’s is a special beer that’s normally brewed collaboratively by a group of Washington brewers for the Cask Festival in honor of Bert Grant, a Northwest beer icon. Each year a different brewery hosts the brewing session and brew the beer based on the recipe that has been passed on from one host brewery to the next. This year only ten different breweries/collaborative teams brewed their own renditions of this classic Northwest style brew and guests will be able to try them side by side to compare them all.