2/9: CASK ALE FEST - 11am 'til the beer runs out
Cask-conditioned ales have always been one of the engines that drive the whole Magnolia train. They have long been a source of brewing inspiration and joy. We built a dedicated cask cellar when we opened and try our best to keep five casks flowing from the beer engines all the time.
So, we jumped at the chance to work with Firestone Walker Brewing Company and host an SF Beer Week Cask Ale Festival right here at Magnolia. Join us for a special treat: we'll have 12 cask-conditioned ales pouring starting at 11am on Tuesday, 2/9. You'll find a few each from Magnolia and Firestone Walker plus casks from Marin, Lagunitas, Moonlight, and Speakeasy.
Plus, our new Chef, Matt Kerley, has assembled a special menu of particularly gastropub-inspired snacks to go with the beer:
Scotch Quail Eggs, 6-
Devils on Horseback, 6-
Angels on Horseback, 6-
Fried Smelt, 7-
Lamb Breast Fingers, 7-
Steak, Kidney, and Ale Pie, 11-
Ploughman's Lunch: Cotswold and Stilton cheese, boiled pheasant egg, kippers, pickled pearl onions, d'anjou pear jam, cibbatta, 13-
Plus, our regular lunch menu will be available, of course.
Our cask fest follows the more traditional format found at CAMRA fests in the UK. It's pay as you go, with beers available in 20oz. imperial pints and 10oz. imperial half pints. This format allows you to really get to know the beer, to be able to have more than a sip or two, allowing the beer to unfold and reveal the subtlety and nuance that makes such beer special. Half pints are $3, pints are $6. Tuesday pricing only applies to the Magnolia beer, of course.
Incidentally, the Campaign for Real Ale was one of the first successful consumer movements around food or beverage, back in 1974, and has been cited by Carlo Petrini, founder of the Slow Food Movement as an early example of what can be achieved when a group rallies to save something special. CAMRA's work at preserving cask ale in the UK also exposed many of the early, American craft beer pioneers to the styles of beer they went on to brew and adapt over here. Cask-conditioned, UK-influenced ale is worth celebrating for both its connection to the past and its role in shaping the present.
For more on cask ale: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cask_ale
