Courtesy Figueroa Mountain Brew Co.
A spirited toast to all things alcoholic! By Leslie Dinaberg
Cask beers take the spotlight next weekend when Figueroa Mountain Brewing Co. hosts the Real Ale Invitational lunch and festival on Saturday, October 25 from 1–4 p.m. at Figueroa Mountain Brewing Company’s flagship brewery and taproom, 45 Industrial Way, Buellton.
The company’s cask program is run by head brewer of Santa Barbara, Kevin C. Ashford. Each taproom boasts a cask engine for new releases every “Firkin Friday” featuring many of their standard ales. These casks contain high quality ingredients such as hops, spices, coffee, cacao, and even locally grown fruits. Real Ale, or cask beer, is “beer that is unfiltered which undergoes a secondary fermentation and conditioning process. This process naturally carbonates the beer to a softer texture. It is poured directly from the cask—essentially a 10.8 gallon stainless steel barrel—without additional Nitrogen or Carbon Dioxide assistance,” Ashford explains.
At the Real Ale Invitational 20 breweries will be showcase their own styles of real ale. Participants include:
Courtesy Figueroa Mountain Brew Co.
Courtesy Figueroa Mountain Brew Co.
Admission to the event is $40 and includes a souvenir glass, unlimited tastings and live music, plus a portion of the proceeds will benefit Los Padres Forest
Watch.
For those beer lovers that want a more intimate experience paired with food, a limited number of tickets will be sold for a Real Ale Lunch prior to the Invitational from 11:30 a.m.–1 p.m. There you will meet the cask masters who have perfected the skill of brewing real ale while enjoying a four-course meal prepared by Beto Huizar, executive chef of Beto’s Place, a new restaurant slated to open in Fig Mtn Brew’s Buellton taproom later this year. Tickets to the lunch are $75 and include admission to the Invitational.
For more information about Figueroa Mountain Brewing Company’s Real Ale Invitational, please visit www.FigMtnBrew.com/RealAle.
Cheers!
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Leslie Dinaberg
When she’s not busy working as the editor of Santa Barbara SEASONS, Cocktail Corner author Leslie Dinaberg writes magazine articles, newspaper columns and grocery lists. When it comes to cocktails, Leslie considers herself a “goal-oriented drinker.”
Originally published in Santa Barbara Seasons on October 17, 2014.