Pizzeria Uno Cask Ale Fest
3/27/10
Twice a year brewer Mike Sella at Pizzeria Uno in Metuchen, NJ rolls out the barrels much to the delight of NJ's cask ale fans. He gathers firkins from whoever will supply them and taps them starting at noon. Mike puts a lot of effort into these events by supplying the firkins to fill, contacting brewers to fill them and gathering them up by the date. Thanks for all your energy, Mike!
Although you can purchase a full pour, much like many cask fests, you are able to increase your tasting by taking advantage of the 1/2 pint option which allows the day to be extended. It was a beautiful sunny day though brisk and a great day for me and my friends to make the almost 2 hour trek. We arrived a little early and prepared to do battle. I decided to go with one of the Garden State offerings, River Horse's Hop-a-lot-amus, with a wonderful citrus nose and palate. Of course we ordered up food to assist our longevity.
Lots of beer cognescenti made their appearance at this fine event also. Beer-Stained Letter's Jeff Linkous who rode up with us introduced me to writer and beer traveler John Holl with whom I have corresponded via e-mail and Facebook, but never met peresonally. We spoke at great length about his present literary endeavor, Indiana Breweries, and compared notes on our experiences. The ever congenial Pubscout, Kurt Epps, graced the gathering and began the interviews with his new toy, the Flip. Always great to see Kurt! Tom Paffrath of Basil T's and homebrewing fame, stopped by to say hello also. It had been several years since our last meeting and I was happy to see he was doing well.
John Holl, Jeff Linkous and Pubscout Kurt Epps I followed my debut beer with a Sixpoint Righteous Rye, a superb rye dryness to it and a good dose of hops. After that, I decided to stay close to home and ordered an Unos Scotch Ale with a slight sweetness to it. To finish up I imbibed an Unos Porter with nice chocolaty and coffee notes. A great finish to a great day! For good measure I took home a growler of Uno's Coffee Stout to enjoy later.
Other offerings that I did not get to enjoy were: River Horse Hop Hazard, Sixpoint's Bengali IPA, Weyerbacher Hops Infusion and Blithering Idiot and a special treat on handpump, Climax Nut Brown.
Look for the next one in the Fall! Don't miss it!