April is one of those months that does not have a specific holiday where beer can take center stage. It’s after St. Patrick’s Day, before Cinco de Mayo, and just kind of sits there, full of pollen and up-and-down temperatures.

So why not make it the month of the cask beer? That’s our proposal to the industry, and to show that casks deserve their own beer holiday, we point towards this Saturday’s second annual Cask Festival at Sidetrack Brewing.

The event runs from noon to 4 p.m. on the back patio, and unfortunately for some, tickets have already sold out. If you did not get a ticket, be forewarned that continued reading might amount to a small sort of beer torture.

“It’s pretty much the same (setup),” Sidetrack co-owner Anne O’Neill said. “The only real difference is we’re doing pins this year, so we’re doing smaller vessels, that’s one thing that’s a little different. Otherwise the patio will be set up the same.”

A couple changes were with the food truck, with Los Pookies succeeding Mighty Mike’s Meats, and in two additions to the beer lineup, with Santa Fe and La Reforma on board, and Ponderosa not participating this year.

“It’s not that hugely different,” O’Neill said. “A very intimate patio setting.”

“It’s going to be good weather again, that’s exciting,” head brewer Cordell Rincon added.

CNM brewing students will again serve as the volunteers pouring the beers, while many of the participating brewery staff members will mingle amongst the crowd.

“We’re planning to set everything up Friday after First Friday (Artwalk) if we can stand,” co-owner Dan Herr said. “We’ll let everything settle for the evening, and then we’ll have the casks ready by 11.”

Here is the cask list for Saturday. If you have tickets, it’s an excellent lineup. If you did not get tickets, again, you might want to refrain from reading further.

• Bathtub Row: Camp Coffee Stout, a variation of the Sobremesa collaboration, Tub to Table, with Camp Chicory Coffee
• Canteen: Enthrall IPA, conditioned with orange zest
• Ex Novo: Extra Time (Amber Ale), with Cascade and Williamette hops
• Gravity Bound: Dry-hopped Kolsch
• La Cumbre: Malpais Stout
• La Reforma: La Belga, a saison with pink peppercorns
• Marble: Porter
• Palmer: Strong Scotch Ale
• Santa Fe: 7K IPA, with added tangerine, orange peel, and Citra hops
• Second Street: Double X ESB
• Sidetrack: Dry-hopped Pub Ale
• Steel Bender: Calypso’s Orchard, dry-hopped cider
• Turtle Mountain: Coconut Coffee Stout

A big thanks to Anne, Dan, and Cordell for meeting up this week. We will have a bonus story Friday (or Monday) on the new Sidetrack canning line and what is to come in package form.

Keep supporting local!

— Stoutmeister