Well, first, the good news is that the annual Cask Festival is back at Sidetrack Brewing this Saturday from noon to 4 p.m. The bad news is that it has sold out, so if you were not lucky enough to snag a ticket, continuing to read this could just make you sad and a bit jealous of those of us that did remember to purchase one in time.

After missing the festival last year while off visiting family, I was glad to see that Steam Q will be the food truck on site. If you have never had their strawberry-glazed ribs, you have been missing out on something special. Mmm, ribs …

Ahem, anyway, the main point of even doing a story for a sold-out event is to highlight the beers that will be served from the casks out on the back patio. Sidetrack co-owner Dan Herr was kind enough to provide us with the list, and some of the brewers helped fill in some additional details.

• Bathtub Row Brewing: Belgian Table Beer (4.3% ABV), made with local Rio Arriba yeast
• Canteen Brewhouse: Gose All Night (6%), a gose with strawberry and basil, with the CO2 version having gone on tap today (Friday)
• Ex Novo Brewing: Mass Ascension IPA (6.9%), conditioned on white sage
• Gravity Bound Brewing: Put a Pin in It (6.8%), a West Coast IPA dry hopped with Simcoe, Cashmere, and Mandarina Bavaria
• La Cumbre Brewing: Can You Drive a Stickie, a classic German-style altbier
• La Reforma: Unnamed West Coast IPA (7.2%), with an extra dose of Mosaic hops
• Marble Brewery: Smoked Helles (4.8%), a light rauchbier
• Palmer Brewery: Maibock (7.8%)
• Second Street Brewery: Double X ESB (6.1%), dry hopped with Chinook and EKG
• Sidetrack: Mild Davis (5.5%), a malty English mild
• Steel Bender Brewyard: Double Berry Blast Dynamite (10.4%), with cardamom, and take note that it was brewed with lactose
• Thirsty Eye Brewing: Odin’s Monocle (6.2%), a Sahti-style rye-and-juniper ale with strawberry mojito tea
• Turtle Mountain Brewing: Lemonhope Pils (5.3%), with added raspberry and blueberry

Should be a fun afternoon, and since Clemson all of our teams from the tournament, it’s not like we’re gonna miss anything in terms of basketball. Stupid Clemson.

Keep supporting local!

— Stoutmeister