Learn & Discover
Learn & Discover
Pinvitational: Welcome to the first cask beer festival in Texas
It’s early March in Austin, Texas, just days into the city’s flagship visitor-driven event, the South By South West (SXSW) cultural festival. The sun is shining as it should be, and in a busy downtown beer garden, tables of Stetson-clad, Western-booted drinkers are passing on the festival to line up in front of racks of cask beer, filling their branded miniature English pint glasses with an array of pin, firkin and gravity cask pulls from across Texas and the US.
Photos by Justin Brummer
Ruvani de Silva
A travel-loving beer writer,with a host of bylines, Ruvani blogs about beer in Central Texas and beyond, as Craft Beer Amethyst. A vocal advocate for diversity, equity and inclusion in beer. As a British South Asian woman living in Texas, Ruvani brings a unique voice to the world of craft beer.
Mexican Lager: A History of Colonialism, Adaption, Appropriation and Ascendence
What springs to mind when you think of a Mexican lager? Sinking your toes into gorgeous smooth white sand as you recline on a beach in Cancun or Puerto Vallarta with a Dos Equis or Pacifico? Stuffing a lime down the neck of a Corona or Sol in a student bar? Or sipping a Modelo or Victoria over plates of sizzling fajitas? In the UK, Mexican lagers might lack the enormous popularity and ubiquity they enjoy Stateside but it’s likely that most beer drinkers will have encountered them sufficiently to have their own idea of what to expect when ordering one.
Ruvani De Silva
A travel-loving beer writer,with a host of bylines, Ruvani blogs about beer in Central Texas and beyond, as Craft Beer Amethyst. A vocal advocate for diversity, equity and inclusion in beer. As a British South Asian woman living in Texas, Ruvani brings a unique voice to the world of craft beer.
Pinvitational is the first cask festival in Texas – hosted by local breweries Acopon Brewing and Hold Out Brewing, on whose site the event is taking place, and New Yorkers Dutchess Ales, whose founder Michael Messenie has recently relocated to Austin. The event features over thirty Texan and national breweries of all sizes, from the mighty Sierra Nevada to local celebrities Jester King, cask specialists Hogshead out of Denver and North Carolina superstars Fonta Flora Brewing. The turnout is enormous and excitement is high. Austin drinkers are nothing if not adventurous and for many this is their first cask experience, yet not a word is uttered about the beer being warm or flat, despite the balmy weather. This is also an educated urban audience, keen to participate in the next big beer trend. And in the US right now, cask is big news.
Pinvitational is the first cask festival in Texas – hosted by local breweries Acopon Brewing and Hold Out Brewing, on whose site the event is taking place, and New Yorkers Dutchess Ales, whose founder Michael Messenie has recently relocated to Austin. The event features over thirty Texan and national breweries of all sizes, from the mighty Sierra Nevada to local celebrities Jester King, cask specialists Hogshead out of Denver and North Carolina superstars Fonta Flora Brewing. The turnout is enormous and excitement is high. Austin drinkers are nothing if not adventurous and for many this is their first cask experience, yet not a word is uttered about the beer being warm or flat, despite the balmy weather. This is also an educated urban audience, keen to participate in the next big beer trend. And in the US right now, cask is big news.
“This is also an educated urban audience, keen to participate in the next big beer trend. And in the US right now, cask is big news.“
— Ruvani de Silva
“After just a year of formation the CIU had helped 13 clubs to begin, growing to 55 by its second.”
— Rachel Hendry
East Coast Cask
Many British readers might not think of Texas as being at the forefront of forging US beer trends, and in this instance, that perception is correct. The current cask boom started, unsurprisingly, on the East Coast, where, for the best part of the last decade, breweries like New York’s Strong Rope, Fifth Hammer and Wild East and DC’s Blue Jacket have been steadily growing their local cask-drinking demographics and cask festivals and events are growing in number and popularity. Strong Rope founder Jason Sahler points out that there had previously been a burst of cask popularity in the mid 2000s – and the NERAX New England Real Ale eXhibition (which operates in conjunction with CAMRA) has been going for 25 years – but as craft beer hit its peak, US cask fizzled away until a newer generation of brewery and bar owners with experience of drinking cask in the UK and an interest in cask from a flavour and quality perspective began to quietly take the reins.
East Coast Cask
Many British readers might not think of Texas as being at the forefront of forging US beer trends, and in this instance, that perception is correct. The current cask boom started, unsurprisingly, on the East Coast, where, for the best part of the last decade, breweries like New York’s Strong Rope, Fifth Hammer and Wild East and DC’s Blue Jacket have been steadily growing their local cask-drinking demographics and cask festivals and events are growing in number and popularity. Strong Rope founder Jason Sahler points out that there had previously been a burst of cask popularity in the mid 2000s – and the NERAX New England Real Ale eXhibition (which operates in conjunction with CAMRA) has been going for 25 years – but as craft beer hit its peak, US cask fizzled away until a newer generation of brewery and bar owners with experience of drinking cask in the UK and an interest in cask from a flavour and quality perspective began to quietly take the reins.
A mix of interest in trying something with strong historic roots and producing something more challenging and of a higher quality proved appealing to curious brewers. “It’s something that has a little bit more nuance to the actual way you serve it,” says Sahler. “Those that do it really care about it so you find the best beers coming out of those places, because they’re taking those extra steps.”
Sahler, who first experienced cask on his school exchange to Scotland, originally wanted to open Strong Rope as a cask-only brewery. When this didn’t prove viable, he launched Strong Rope’s Caskiversary Festival. “Because I didn’t feel like we could have a cask-only brewery, my second best option was to have a cask party — so I could showcase cask beer, showcase other friends and what they’re doing,” he says. The festival has now been running for eight years and the 2024 event featured 14 breweries from the New York area.
A mix of interest in trying something with strong historic roots and producing something more challenging and of a higher quality proved appealing to curious brewers. “It’s something that has a little bit more nuance to the actual way you serve it,” says Sahler. “Those that do it really care about it so you find the best beers coming out of those places, because they’re taking those extra steps.”
Sahler, who first experienced cask on his school exchange to Scotland, originally wanted to open Strong Rope as a cask-only brewery. When this didn’t prove viable, he launched Strong Rope’s Caskiversary Festival. “Because I didn’t feel like we could have a cask-only brewery, my second best option was to have a cask party — so I could showcase cask beer, showcase other friends and what they’re doing,” he says. The festival has now been running for eight years and the 2024 event featured 14 breweries from the New York area.
Indeed, the East Coast cask scene is now so strong that it has its own Cask Whisperer. Nigel Walsh spends his spare time trying local cask offerings and travels to cask events around the area, all of which he documents on his Cask Whisperer blog, hosted by the Jones Wood Foundry, a British-themed food-driven-pub (don’t call it a gastropub) in New York’s Upper East Side. JWF has two cask engines and serves cask beer in traditional 20oz dimple mugs. “Quite often our 20ft-plus-long bar is lined with them,” says owner Jason Hicks. Hicks is one of many British expats leading the cask charge, but as Walsh is keen to emphasise, the vast majority of cask-consuming festival attendees at the 14 cask beer events he attended in 2023 were American. “The drinkers, and not just the expats, seem to have developed a taste for the beers and their characteristics of gentle carbonation and cool temperature,” says Walsh, himself an expat. Hicks agrees with this assessment. “Yes, I have certainly seen a huge uptick in the general interest of cask,” he says. “Once people appreciate the serving temperature allows for more delicate flavours to be explored they are fascinated and for the most part eager to try a different style as the casks get rotated.”
Indeed, the East Coast cask scene is now so strong that it has its own Cask Whisperer. Nigel Walsh spends his spare time trying local cask offerings and travels to cask events around the area, all of which he documents on his Cask Whisperer blog, hosted by the Jones Wood Foundry, a British-themed food-driven-pub (don’t call it a gastropub) in New York’s Upper East Side. JWF has two cask engines and serves cask beer in traditional 20oz dimple mugs. “Quite often our 20ft-plus-long bar is lined with them,” says owner Jason Hicks. Hicks is one of many British expats leading the cask charge, but as Walsh is keen to emphasise, the vast majority of cask-consuming festival attendees at the 14 cask beer events he attended in 2023 were American. “The drinkers, and not just the expats, seem to have developed a taste for the beers and their characteristics of gentle carbonation and cool temperature,” says Walsh, himself an expat. Hicks agrees with this assessment. “Yes, I have certainly seen a huge uptick in the general interest of cask,” he says. “Once people appreciate the serving temperature allows for more delicate flavours to be explored they are fascinated and for the most part eager to try a different style as the casks get rotated.”
“…Texas drinkers have become accustomed to cask servings, so much so that there was significant demand for Pinvitational.”
— Ruvani de Silva
“Arguments for and against the consumption of alcohol in Working Men’s Clubs went on for some time until 1865 when Solley decided, for the sake of the growth and popularisation of WMCs, to allow individual clubs to make their own decision about the sale of alcohol. “
— Rachel Hendry
Texan cask
This fascination is spreading across the US and has hit Texas full-pelt. The famed influx of East-Coasters to the Lone Star State has certainly helped build demand for cask, but it’s not the only driver. The current peak in interest has had its own slow build. Pinvitational co-hosts Acopon Brewing are just shy of their seventh birthday and have been serving British-style beers on cask since opening. Founders John McIntosh and Dave Niemeyer have both travelled extensively in the UK, cultivating a palate for all things cask. The pair took their shared passion and experience as homebrewers to start a brewery that met their tastes, and their taproom in the small Hill Country town of Dripping Springs just half an hour from Austin has become a mecca for thirsty expats and American cask devotees.
Austin’s British-themed Draught House brewpub also offers rotating cask pours, as does Pinvitational co-host Hold Out Brewing. Hold Out Head Brewer Brent Sampsted previously ran production at Real Ale Brewing in nearby Blanco TX, whose robust cask program inspired him to continue serving cask at Hold Out. Other local breweries including Live Oak and 512 often serve from gravity and pin casks at special events, and over time, Texas drinkers have become accustomed to cask servings, so much so that there was significant demand for Pinvitational.
Texan cask
This fascination is spreading across the US and has hit Texas full-pelt. The famed influx of East-Coasters to the Lone Star State has certainly helped build demand for cask, but it’s not the only driver. The current peak in interest has had its own slow build. Pinvitational co-hosts Acopon Brewing are just shy of their seventh birthday and have been serving British-style beers on cask since opening. Founders John McIntosh and Dave Niemeyer have both travelled extensively in the UK, cultivating a palate for all things cask. The pair took their shared passion and experience as homebrewers to start a brewery that met their tastes, and their taproom in the small Hill Country town of Dripping Springs just half an hour from Austin has become a mecca for thirsty expats and American cask devotees.
Austin’s British-themed Draught House brewpub also offers rotating cask pours, as does Pinvitational co-host Hold Out Brewing. Hold Out Head Brewer Brent Sampsted previously ran production at Real Ale Brewing in nearby Blanco TX, whose robust cask program inspired him to continue serving cask at Hold Out. Other local breweries including Live Oak and 512 often serve from gravity and pin casks at special events, and over time, Texas drinkers have become accustomed to cask servings, so much so that there was significant demand for Pinvitational.
One major difference between American cask events, and the perceptions and expectations of American cask drinkers, compared with their British counterparts, is the types of beer served on cask. Pinvitational, IPAs and pale ales to Belgian wits and lagers, as well as some particularly unusual offerings like a Roggenstein beer and a Brett ESB. While some Stateside purveyors of cask, including Hicks at Jones Wood Foundry, keep their engines stocked with traditional styles, it is more common to find beers of all distinctions on cask in the US. Chicago beer bar Beermiscuous rotates everything from mixed-culture sours to imperial stouts on their cask engines, and at Strong Rope, Sahler says “I feel like every type of beer that we’ve done has made it to cask at some point. Because I’m interested to see what it does.”
Driftwood TX’s Vista Brewing brought a Belgian saison with peaches and Vista hops to Pinvitational. “We were looking at the interplay of fruit sugar (peach) with the Brettanomyces yeast used to ferment our Le Saison,” explains co-owner Kent Killough. “This is not traditional British cask ale, but is wonderful way to explore small batch outcomes for specialty ingredients. We received great feedback for the peach saison in cask, which I expect we will use in future larger batches!”
One major difference between American cask events, and the perceptions and expectations of American cask drinkers, compared with their British counterparts, is the types of beer served on cask. Pinvitational, IPAs and pale ales to Belgian wits and lagers, as well as some particularly unusual offerings like a Roggenstein beer and a Brett ESB. While some Stateside purveyors of cask, including Hicks at Jones Wood Foundry, keep their engines stocked with traditional styles, it is more common to find beers of all distinctions on cask in the US. Chicago beer bar Beermiscuous rotates everything from mixed-culture sours to imperial stouts on their cask engines, and at Strong Rope, Sahler says “I feel like every type of beer that we’ve done has made it to cask at some point. Because I’m interested to see what it does.”
Driftwood TX’s Vista Brewing brought a Belgian saison with peaches and Vista hops to Pinvitational. “We were looking at the interplay of fruit sugar (peach) with the Brettanomyces yeast used to ferment our Le Saison,” explains co-owner Kent Killough. “This is not traditional British cask ale, but is wonderful way to explore small batch outcomes for specialty ingredients. We received great feedback for the peach saison in cask, which I expect we will use in future larger batches!”
US experimentation
This willingness to experiment and brew outside the box is partly a reflection of the difference between the UK, where cask is an integral part of beer drinking heritage, and the US, where it is more simply a different serving style. While US brewers are known for boundary-pushing and innovation, there is also an element of wanting to appeal to different types of drinkers, and also the desire to showcase the possibilities of what cask serving can bring to a brewery’s well-known core beers that encourages American brewers to go beyond traditional British styles when approaching cask.
Jeremy Inzer, head brewer at Fonta Flora in North Carolina, sent a firkin of Roggenstein beer, a historic German rye beer, to Pinvitational. “For the fest – like all fests – we like to showcase what makes Fonta Flora different. For us, local heritage grains are a huge part of our brand and what we stand for,” he says. “We went with an amber lager that used local seashore black rye. This grain is super unique to our Appalachian region and aside from the typical spicy rye characteristics has a very special marshmallow-like flavor that sets it apart. We just thought this would taste great on cask!” Dallas’s Vector Brewing sent a firkin of dry Irish stout with toasted black cardamom, cassia bark, Madagascar vanilla beans and whole Mexican coffee beans – not something you’ll find on many British cask menus. Co-owner and creative director Craig Bradley wanted to send something with a personal touch “[The beer was] inspired by the small, seaside town on the west coast of Ireland where I traveled for my honeymoon,” he says.
US experimentation
This willingness to experiment and brew outside the box is partly a reflection of the difference between the UK, where cask is an integral part of beer drinking heritage, and the US, where it is more simply a different serving style. While US brewers are known for boundary-pushing and innovation, there is also an element of wanting to appeal to different types of drinkers, and also the desire to showcase the possibilities of what cask serving can bring to a brewery’s well-known core beers that encourages American brewers to go beyond traditional British styles when approaching cask.
Jeremy Inzer, head brewer at Fonta Flora in North Carolina, sent a firkin of Roggenstein beer, a historic German rye beer, to Pinvitational. “For the fest – like all fests – we like to showcase what makes Fonta Flora different. For us, local heritage grains are a huge part of our brand and what we stand for,” he says. “We went with an amber lager that used local seashore black rye. This grain is super unique to our Appalachian region and aside from the typical spicy rye characteristics has a very special marshmallow-like flavor that sets it apart. We just thought this would taste great on cask!” Dallas’s Vector Brewing sent a firkin of dry Irish stout with toasted black cardamom, cassia bark, Madagascar vanilla beans and whole Mexican coffee beans – not something you’ll find on many British cask menus. Co-owner and creative director Craig Bradley wanted to send something with a personal touch “[The beer was] inspired by the small, seaside town on the west coast of Ireland where I traveled for my honeymoon,” he says.
When conceptualizing the festival, the hosts were very keen to ensure that breweries were able to play to their strengths and include their core audiences, while also demonstrating the potential of what cask serving can bring to beer. “We wanted folks to showcase their strengths in a format that their fans may not have seen from them before, in the hopes of that helping to bring more folks into the world of cask. Styles like Hazy IPA’s, as an example, though perhaps not “traditional” make for fantastic cask beers and can be a great avenue for introducing new folks,” says Hold Out’s Sapstead. Michael Messenie at Dutchess agrees. “I really wanted people to taste my core Ale, GB on cask, as I think there are enough consumers out there that have had it in can and keg that they can really see the difference when well-conditioned in a cask,” he says.
One thing that unarguably unites cask fans is the desire to share the pleasure that cask serving offers, and for American brewers, part of that is making it as accessible and appealing as possible, but not compromising on quality. “The folks who have installed beer engines need to keep up the commitment to maintain those engines and lines correctly, and they and their bar staff need to persistently, accurately, and enthusiastically promote the beer to their customers,” says Cask Whisperer Walsh. Sampstead also emphasizes this. “As a brewer, and a big fan of the styles, I love to visit places that are focused on cask or lager beer because to me it shows a level of intention and focus on the part of a brewer who will take the time and effort to make something that a lot of other folks either won’t mess with or cannot execute well,” he says.
When conceptualizing the festival, the hosts were very keen to ensure that breweries were able to play to their strengths and include their core audiences, while also demonstrating the potential of what cask serving can bring to beer. “We wanted folks to showcase their strengths in a format that their fans may not have seen from them before, in the hopes of that helping to bring more folks into the world of cask. Styles like Hazy IPA’s, as an example, though perhaps not “traditional” make for fantastic cask beers and can be a great avenue for introducing new folks,” says Hold Out’s Sapstead. Michael Messenie at Dutchess agrees. “I really wanted people to taste my core Ale, GB on cask, as I think there are enough consumers out there that have had it in can and keg that they can really see the difference when well-conditioned in a cask,” he says.
One thing that unarguably unites cask fans is the desire to share the pleasure that cask serving offers, and for American brewers, part of that is making it as accessible and appealing as possible, but not compromising on quality. “The folks who have installed beer engines need to keep up the commitment to maintain those engines and lines correctly, and they and their bar staff need to persistently, accurately, and enthusiastically promote the beer to their customers,” says Cask Whisperer Walsh. Sampstead also emphasizes this. “As a brewer, and a big fan of the styles, I love to visit places that are focused on cask or lager beer because to me it shows a level of intention and focus on the part of a brewer who will take the time and effort to make something that a lot of other folks either won’t mess with or cannot execute well,” he says.
The much-documented pendulum-swing away from ‘extreme’ beers and the reinvigoration of interest in historic styles in the US beer industry has certainly helped cask grow in popularity, particularly among brewers and more nerdy beer fans, but in order to sustain interest, there has to be appeal for the broader drinking population. Quality and accessibility are crucial for this, facts which Pinvitational’s organisers took seriously and which helped to make it such a success, and which will be essential in maintaining momentum to make cask in the US more than a passing trend.
“To get anywhere first and foremost breweries really need to put beer engines in their taprooms and bars need to back up breweries by having them in their bars. Only then will consumers see that it’s a ‘thing’ and the cycle can be supported,” says Dutchess’s Messenie. Physical presence is key, and events like Pinvitational are crucial in spreading the word. “I love seeing other cask festivals across the country and people supporting them and discovering the true nuanced beauty of cask conditioning,” says Acopon’s McIntosh. “That was part of the reason for hosting this festival; to help breweries feel confident making more cask beer and help consumers be excited about cask beer.” As knowledge and awareness of the joy of cask beer spreads in the US, events like Pinvitational will hopefully become more common, marrying British tradition with American innovation, and offering a new spin on a classic serving method.
The much-documented pendulum-swing away from ‘extreme’ beers and the reinvigoration of interest in historic styles in the US beer industry has certainly helped cask grow in popularity, particularly among brewers and more nerdy beer fans, but in order to sustain interest, there has to be appeal for the broader drinking population. Quality and accessibility are crucial for this, facts which Pinvitational’s organisers took seriously and which helped to make it such a success, and which will be essential in maintaining momentum to make cask in the US more than a passing trend.
“To get anywhere first and foremost breweries really need to put beer engines in their taprooms and bars need to back up breweries by having them in their bars. Only then will consumers see that it’s a ‘thing’ and the cycle can be supported,” says Dutchess’s Messenie. Physical presence is key, and events like Pinvitational are crucial in spreading the word. “I love seeing other cask festivals across the country and people supporting them and discovering the true nuanced beauty of cask conditioning,” says Acopon’s McIntosh. “That was part of the reason for hosting this festival; to help breweries feel confident making more cask beer and help consumers be excited about cask beer.” As knowledge and awareness of the joy of cask beer spreads in the US, events like Pinvitational will hopefully become more common, marrying British tradition with American innovation, and offering a new spin on a classic serving method.
