Cameron's Brewing Co: Cask Night

Finally! I finally got out of the office a little early, to head down the QEW to Oakville to partake in Cameron's monthly cask night. I have been trying to get there for many, many months, but the logistics didn't work out for me. Luckily, I was able to catch a ride with another TAPS media member as they were shooting another video podcast on the event.

We got to Cameron's around 5:15pm and were greeted at the door by marketing/sales/promotions guru Mike Laba, who was quick to provide us with a fresh Cameron's Dark 266, the best beer in their line-up in my humble opinion. We did a quick tour of their retail area, where I was very tempted to get a shirt with their famous tag line "Brewed by a connoisseur, not an accountant," and then proceeded to tour the brewing area. Jason Ellesmere (sales, marketing), Jon Graham (Toronto sales, beer dude), Jason Britton (brew master), Adam (brewer) and others from the brewery were all there to welcome everyone to the event.

For those that might not be familiar with the cask nights, Cameron's brews up a special cask of beer, usually infused with different ingredients (lots of hops or a combination of hops, fruits, high alcohol content etc) and opens the doors to the brewery for fans and newbies alike. Food is donated by Whole Food Markets Oakville and from what I tasted, it is delicious.

Well I got lucky (not in that sense), but Adam used the Dark 266 as the base for this latest creation and threw in some vanilla laced oak sticks, sour organic cherries and finished it with Czech Saaz and Hallertau dry hopping. It was delicious. Something that I would love to see on tap at pub and something I think others would welcome as well. Everyone in attendance that I spoke with had glowing reviews of it, including two University students who have never had cask beer before. The smell was fruity from the cherries, and flowery from the hops, almost ice tea like aromas. The vanilla wasn't very prevalent in the nose, but it was picked up in the aftertaste after tipping the glass. A very complex beer. Oh, and Canada's Pub Guy and TAPS media member Bill Perrie, was honoured when asked to tap the cask and to officially start the night.

Great Lakes Brewing News New York Governor Steve Hodos and Pepperwood Brewer Paul Dickey made an appearance and agreed to a video interview. The pair both praised the beer and Mr. Hodos had some great things to say about Ontario brewers. I also got into a good discussion with Graham about the culture surrounding beer geeks, or as Alan over at A Good Beer Blog likes to be called, beer nerds.

The event was well attended, the beer and food were great and the hosts were outstanding. The night was a complete success and I look forward to attending more in the future (if I can escape the confines of the office).

Check out their facebook site for pictures, comments and videos. Also, check out the Cameron's Blog link I've added to my blogroll.