The clinking of golden tokens into voting boxes sounded like music to my ears as I strolled through the tents at the 12th Annual Michigan Cask Ale Festival held by Ashley’s in Ann Arbor on Saturday, August 28, 2021.
Admittedly, the thought of drinking Cask Ales, which is typically served close to room temperature and with lower than average carbonation, on a 95° day in August was not appealing. Further, I didn’t know what exactly to expect from the offerings that all these amazing Michigan breweries had contributed to the festival. Would I be sampling lots of barrel aged beers? Would I be sipping warm beer since the sun was melting everything in sight?
Fortunately, Jeff and Roy More, owners of Ashley’s since 1983, are devoted lovers of Cask Ales that all my worries were unfounded. The breweries attending diligently covered each cask in multiple bags of ice that were replaced frequently. The day was sweltering, but the beer was refreshing.
RELATED – Ashley’s Michigan Cask Ale Festival Review (2017)
Since I had tokens to burn and a favorite beer to choose (each attendee had a golden token reserved for their #1 beer choice), I decided to start with an easy pick: Cask-Conditioned Dragon’s Milk by New Holland Brewing. It seemed appropriate for casking, and I was not disappointed. I was reminded quickly, though, that drinking such a rich beer on such a hot day was tough, and wondered why this festival wasn’t held in, perhaps, a fall or winter month.
According to Jeff, the City of Ann Arbor had been closing State Street, where Ashley’s has lived for 38 years regularly over the past year due to COVID-19 restrictions. The end of August, he told me, were the final few days of such closures. Surface of the sun be damned, the Cask Ale Festival was not going to miss one more year!
RELATED – Ashley’s Cask Ale Festival Review (2016)
The festival itself was born out of their desire to see Cask Beers in America after enjoying them during trips to England. Strictly from a consumer point of view, I have noticed more breweries and taprooms having at least one cask handle these days. It is nice to see the popularity growing.
Once my Dragon’s Milk was but a faint memory in my tasting glass, I decided to give a Cask IPA a try. I handed over a few tokens to Rockford Brewing Company for a taste of their Hoplust in a cask. The whole idea of an IPA in a cask baffled me, so I had to have one. I was pleasantly surprised by how refreshing and delicious it was. I had thought an IPA without that signature bitter effervescence would be distracting, but I actually found it pleasing and easy to drink.
With newfound boldness (well, boldness for me), I marched over to the Dark Horse Brewing Co casks and requested a glass of Scotty Karate, a Scotch/Wee Heavy Ale made special for this festival with vanilla. I hesistated to sup this one at first because historically I do not drink Scotch Ales or Scotch. Some reserve of bravery told me to just for it, and thank goodness I did. The Scotchiness of this ale was warmed, rounded, and flooded by the sweetness of vanilla causing certain expletives to burst from my mouth, followed by, “That’s delicious.”
I quickly and loudly implored other festival goers to drink this beer. I received a few confused glances, but was happy when most people lined up to have their own taste. I almost gave Dark Horse my golden token, but wanted to see if there was anything better at the festival. I vowed that if I didn’t find something better, I’d be back, bling in hand.
Number four on my cask ale tour was another Rockford Brewing Company option, Erdbier, a Strawberry Weisse with vanilla. I found myself testing my own beer style interests at this festival, and I’m glad I did. Weisse beers are never in my refrigerator. While I’ve had several beers made with strawberry, it always seems like a difficult flavor to deliver on. This one was no exception, but the addition of vanilla made for a sweet, lingering aftertaste that caused me to rethink my stand on Weisse beers.
As the afternoon started to wane and the heat seemed determined to increase, I knew that my time at Ashley’s Cask Ale Festival was almost up. With my last two tasting tokens I opted for something fruity and fun: Helloha Punch by Austin Brothers Beer Co.
To quote my actual notes taken at the time of my first sip: “Whoa.” The brewery describes Helloha Punch as a Kettle Sour, Untappd lists it as a Wild Ale, but I knew right away that it was my personal winner for the festival. Creamy marshmallow and graham cracker swirled around pink guava, orange, pineapple, and passion fruit to make something that, I think, came directly from heaven. I’m pretty sure my eyes rolled back when I tasted this beer. I unflinchingly dropped my golden token into the Austin Brothers box, and heard a clink. There were nearly a dozen other such tokens already inside. In fact, I found out later that day that Helloah Punch went home with a gold medal.
Jeff and Roy More put together the Michigan Cask Ale Festival because they love Cask Ales. Their dedication to the style is incredible, and even though this festival is only once a year, it’s great to know that Ashley’s in Ann Arbor will be a place I can visit to satisfy my new love of the style. Or maybe just to swap stories of English Ales and travels for beer with my new friends.
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