Let the CASK Flow - A Weekend of Cask in Toronto

And so it begins. Today is the start of the Cask Ale Crawl, presented by the CASK! group. The crawl will run all weekend long, and will feature six pubs, 19 casks, all in good fun and aimed at promoting the outstanding qualities of real ale, which as we know, is best enjoyed fresh from your local pub with friends and acquaintances.

The crawl commences at 5pm tonight and will end on Sunday evening (with the exception of Volo, who will only be participating Friday and Saturday). There is no admission charge or strict running schedule, just straight up pay as you go. Each individual has the freedom to hit up all six pubs during the course of the weekend, and if that's your goal, remember to pick up a free passport along the way. Get the passport stamped at each location for your chance to win some great prizes.

And the great thing about doing an event like this in Toronto is that each location can be reached by TTC, so there is no excuse for drinking and driving.

Here is the finalized list of beers (as listed on the CASK! website) set to be served at the bars and pubs participating in the Cask Ale Crawl.

Granite Brewery (245 Eglinton Ave. E.)
Granite Best Bitter Special
Granite IPA
Granite Hopping Mad

Mill St. Brewpub (Distillery District, 55 Mill St.)
Mill St. IPA

C’est What (67 Front St. E.)
County Durham Hop Addict
County Durham Hop Head
Grand River Curmudgeon IPA
Grand River Plowman’s Ale
Neustadt Big Dog Porter

Rhino (1249 Queen St. W.)
County Durham ESB
Black Oak Pale Ale
Cheshire Valley Dry Stout (Pepperwood's Paul Dickey - associate brewer with Black Oak)

Victory (581 Markham St.)
Compass Starlight Ale
County Durham Signature Ale
Nickel Brook Sour Cherry Ale

Volo (587 Yonge St.)
C’est What Chocolate Hazelnut Ale
Grand River Russian Gun Imperial Stout
MacLean’s Country Organic Ale
Neustadt Texas Tea

Then on Sunday, Volo will be entertaining loads of cask ale and hop head fanatics when they open their doors for their first annual, and first round of their IPA Cask Challenge. 18 locally produced cask conditioned IPA, and some Pale Ales, will be going head-to-head in a single elimination tournament. There will be eight judges blindly scoring the beers and their results will be combined with the scores given by the general public. The winning beers will then move on to the next round, which will be held on an undetermined date in May, and all beers will be scored blindly by customers.

This is shaping up to be a great weekend in the city.