Back East Casks & Experimentals

Back East Casks & Experimentals
Usually at the Brewery

I hesitated in creating this page because these things are so fleeting and sort of silly. But what the hell, right? I realize that breweries often cask their beer as a goof or a lark and would never seriously consider bottling or kegging this stuff.

But at the same time, a good brewery shouldn’t just slop together an idea and foist it upon the masses. So yeah, I do now have a page on who knows how many Back East casks.

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Sorachi’s Last Stand
March 2013

beSaw this on facebook in the afternoon: “Sorachi’s Last Stand, our Golden Ale on cask dryhopped with Sorachi Ace.” It was Friday and – actually, that doesn’t matter since Back East is on my way home from work – and I stopped by the brewery.

It was crowded (a good thing for my friends at Back East) but I only wanted one thing: a sample of this “Sorachi’s Last Stand.”

I got it and smelled it and sort of marveled at it for a moment. I said to myself, “This is just their golden ale with some Sorachi hops tossed in? Won’t it just taste like a regular ale with some hop bitterness? What’s the point?”

I drank some, reflected, and then said to myself, “This is really just their Golden Ale with some Sorachi Ace hops tossed in. It tastes just like a regular ale with some hop bitterness. What’s the point?”

Just didn’t excite me in the least.

Coincidentally, I had read this excellent post where a brewer tested/trained his hop palate by dry-hopping Bud Lights with a bunch of different hop varieties. So in light of that, I guess this was a cool idea.

Rating: D

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Dry Cascade-hopped Porter
March 2013

IMG_3974Once again, I was alerted to “Cask Night” at the brewery so I altered my route home slightly and stopped in for a taste. I feel kind of douchey when I do this because I’m not buying anything at all, just going in for 10 minutes for one or two little free samples. (Normally, I’d buy something but this time since my teetotaling parents were coming up and a giant growler in the fridge wouldn’t have been worth the conversation of what they would consider a clear sign of alcoholism.

Anyway, Tony (one of the owners) was there and we exchanged pleasantries before I got a sample of the casked porter. The guy serving shaved off his 1920’s handlebar mustache and lost what appeared to be 15 years of age upon doing so. Amazing.

This experimental cask was 10 times better than the last. Still not a homerun, but a solid double where the runner could have gone to third but the third-base coach held him up. Perhaps it was the base of Back East’s very solid porter than helped it along.

Dry, roasty, slightly malty/slightly hoppy. It was fairly unique and will keep me coming back to see what they do next.

Rating: B

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Dry Chinook-hopped Porter
May 2013

bbbI may have missed a cask night, but last time I went to one (2 inches above on this very page) I wrote, “It was fairly unique and will keep me coming back to see what they do next.”

Here’s my answer: Pretty much the same thing. This time, Back East dropped some Chinook hops into their excellent porter. I’ve said it a million times: I’m not an expert on beer (or anything, really, except maybe Twin Peaks, Stephen Colbert and shellfish) so I certainly can’t tell the difference between porter dry-hopped with Chinook versus porter dry-hopped with Cascade.

Chinook is from Washington state. Cascade is from Oregon. (I cheated and learned that Cascade is full-on citrus and Chinook imparts a lot more pine. But in a porter, really, who can tell? A pale ale, sure, but a porter?)

Regardless, this was good beer, just like it was a few weeks ago. The Back East Porter is excellent, whichever hop you throw in there.

Rating: B

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“BachToberfest” (2013 Octoberfest)
September 2013

bachThere was some initial confusion on my part as to what exactly this beer was. Cutting to the chase, this is Back East’s 2013 Octoberfest – which is the same as their 2012 Octoberfest. And that was a very good October, so there was nothing surprising here.

So why bother with this? Other than the fact I took a picture? Because of the name and the meaning behind it! This was a joint “production” (of sorts) with the Hartford Symphony Orchestra. And that’s great. Props to Back East for this one:

Back East will be donating a portion of the proceeds from each growler sold to the Hartford Symphony Orchestra in support of their artistic, educational, and community programs.

Back East Brewery Co-Founder Tony Karlowicz says, “It is an integral part of our mission as a local brewery to support this vibrant community. The Hartford Symphony’s 70 year dedication to the arts speaks for itself and we are thrilled to partner with them for this special edition beer.”

Rating: B

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