19th Tri-Annual " Cask Head"Festival at Brazen Head in Brooklyn - All Weekend

November 6, 4:29 PMNY Beer Bars ExaminerJeremy Bernfeld

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Starting today, Brazen Head (228 Atlantic Avenue) will be hosting its 19th "Cask Head" Festival, celebrating cask ales from all over the country. They plan to have 12 of them tapped at any given time, lasting from now until Sunday night, 2AM, so you can rest assured that they will most definitely have something for you.

You may be asking: Cask Ale, what's the big deal?

According to some, including the UK-based organization CAMRA (Campaign for Real Ale), cask ale is the only medium that allows for “real ale,” which is essentially ale that is still alive and evolving with its continuing fermentation processes. High in vitamin B (from yeast), real ale is not filtered or pasteurized. It contains no artificial additives or preservatives, and it's as close to a whole food experience as you can find in beer. We're talking some old-school beer in the raw! (quoted from beeradvocate.com. Check out the full article here: http://beeradvocate.com/articles/280)

In other words, if that was too jargoned for you, cask ale is unadulterated, preservative-free ale. No chemicals, no filters, no twists, just ale.

In general, cask ale ends up being a bit flatter and warmer than kegged beer, which may put off some, but it also allows for the true flavors to be realized easier and stronger.

This is the tentative list that Brazen Head has posted of the beers to be available:

Arbor (Corner) ‘Tally Wacker’
Big Rock Chop House ’Norm’s Raggedy Ass Ale’
Chelsea ‘90 Shilling Scotch Ale’
Clipper City ‘Hang Ten’
Dark Horse ‘Amber Ale’
Dark Horse ‘Toasted Wheat Wine’(Dry hopped: Amarillo)
Dark Star ‘Old Chestnut’ -UK brewed
Dark Star ‘Golden Gate’ -UK brewed
Dark Star ‘Sunburst’ -UK brewed
Firestone Walker ‘Nectar IPA’
Flying Bison ‘Blackbird Oatmeal Stout’
Flying Bison ‘Rusty Chain’
Flying Bison ‘Inferno Pod Ale’
Harpoon ‘Oktoberfest’ (Dry hopped: Vanguard)
Harpoon ‘IPA’ (Dry hopped: Chinook)
Heartland ‘Not Tonight Honey Porter’ (aged nearly a year)
Left Hand ‘Oak Aged Imperial Stout’
The Livery ‘555 IPA’
The Livery ‘Fuggelicious Wet Hopped Harvest Ale’
The Livery ‘Liberty Ale’ (Dry hopped: Fuggles)
Michigan ‘Big Mac’
Otter Creek ‘Imperial India Pale Ale’
Shawnee ‘Entire’
Shmaltz ‘Coney Island Human Blockhead’
Shmaltz ‘Coney Island Sword Swallower’
Sly Fox ‘Chester County Bitter’
Smuttynose ‘Baltic Porter’
Smuttynose ‘Chai Porter’
Speakeasy ‘Oak Aged Big Daddy IPA’ (Dry hopped: Cascade)
Stoudt’s ‘Medium Pumpkin’
Three Floyds ‘Alpha King’
Tröegs ‘Dead Reckoning Porter’
Tröegs ‘JavaHead Stout’
Tröegs ‘Nugget Nectar’
Victory ‘Yakima Twilight Ale’
Warwick Valley ’Doc’s Pear Cider’

Now that's a list.

So come on down sometime, you've got all weekend. And it's right by quite a few subway stations, so it's easy to get to (A, C, G, F, 2, 3 are all in reasonable walking distance).

Brazen Head doesn't list much detail on their website, but you can check them out anyway: http://brazenheadbrooklyn.com/

And also check out fellow Photography Examiner Clay Williams' page, where he'll be posting photos from the event: http://www.examiner.com/x-24048-NY-Nightlife-Photography-Examiner