Barley Mowat 

I’ve been a bit critical of YBC’s cask nights in the past, pointing out that they’re essentially taking the lazy route out and just dry hopping whatever ale they have lying around and calling it a day. For months and months their cask lineup switched between Pale Ale and IPA dry-hopped with a constant march of hops, with the odd stout thrown in for fun.

Thus, it’d be highly remiss of me to not mention today’s YBC cask, which breaks from that trend and is an honest-to-goodness interesting cask. The cask before us is a Pilsner dry-hopped with Spalt.

I know, I know, it’s not on the surface different from what I was just complaining about. But let me ask you this. Have you ever had a dry-hopped lager? Or a cask-conditioned lager?

Now take it to the extra bit of interesting, where that same beer will be re-dry-hopped with different strains for the next two weeks. Sad YBC couldn’t do all three at once for comparison, but the approach is still nice.

This could be very interesting. Plus, there’s a dynamite hockey game up on the big screen tonight, so YBC might be The Place To Be this afternoon.

Footnote: I should also note the other cask tonight: A chai tea infused winter ale from Central City at Cafe Barney on Main Street. That sounds deliciously insane, but YBC gets my cask vote. No, this has nothing to do with my living four blocks away and behind oh so lazy. Shut up. No. I think YOU’RE lying.