Socal’s Only Cask Beer Fest is Back!
There’s a lot of beer festivals fighting for your precious dollars, some are good, some are samesies with bros and hoes twenty deep fighting over a sample of supermarkety keg turds. Breaking that ho-hum one-trick circus act is Firkfest; an all cask beer festival run by local people with that supports a local charity, the OC Brewer’s Guild.
Back for the third year, the twice-sellout fest offers ~50 casks from thirty breweries and has the balls to put a small guest limit. There’s plenty of space to sprawl out in the park, peak your head up like a prairie-hog every so often and try some of these one-time treats. With only a few more days to buy tickets, you don’t want to miss out. (protip: use code “boozeblog” to knock off $5)
| Brewery | Cask 1 | Cask 2 |
| 32 North | Red Rum, imperial red ale 8.4% with rum chips | Pennant Pale Ale dry hopped with cascade |
| 32 North | (cask 3) Merry F’n Christmas- Scotch ale with Carmel and winter spices | |
| Anaheim Brewery | Tavern Ale, 6.5 % abv, Real Ale, Vegan | |
| Artifex Brewing Company | Triple AA Meeting Collab with Acoustic Ales (SD) | |
| Backstreet Brewery | Rita Red Ale w/ Sweet Orange Peel & Whiskey Soaked Oak Chips | |
| Barley Forge Brewing | Chocolate Banana Milk Stout | Future Tripping DIPA w/ extra Amarillo Dry Hop |
| Beachwood | Beer of the Dragon Imp. Red | |
| Bootleggers Brewery | Key Lime-ino Palomino Pale ale 5.5% real ale with key lime zest; vegan | Thai Tea Far Out Far Out West coast IPA 7% real ale with thai tea; vegan |
| Bottle Logic Brewing | Square Root / Brown Porter / 6.2% / Real Ale with Root Beer Spices / Vegan | Actuator Down Under / DIPA / 9% / Real Ale Dry Hopped with New Zealand Hops. |
| Bravery Brewing | Morning Cup – Black IPA w/ coffee 6.8% real ale – vegan | Pink Lemonade – witbier w/ lemon zest, hibiscus and raspberries 4.9% bright beer – vegan |
| Coachella Valley Brewing Co. | Total IPA a session IPA brewed with Oro Blanco Grapefruit and Seville Oranges, dry hopped with Hallertaur Blanc and Nelson Sauvin 4.5 % abv and 55 IBU | Dreamsicle a cream ale brewed with Madagascar vanilla, tapioca and fairchild tangerines 6 % abv |
| El Segundo | Basil Broken Skull (IPA w/ sweet basil. | Citra Squirt! (Pale Ale with citrus and dry hops |
| El Segundo | Dad’s Army (historical English IPA), | |
| Figueroa Mountain Brewing | 101 Kölsch Ale with Valencia Orange Peel and Vanilla Bean 4.8% real ale vegan | Lizard’s Mouth IIPA with mango and Green Bullet hops 9.2% real ale vegan |
| Artifex Brewing Company | Triple AA Meeting Collab with Acoustic Ales (SD) | |
| Sanctum Brewing Co. | Belgian golden with lemon zest, tea and rose water | Belgian Single with cherries and cacao nibs |
| Firestone Walker Brewing | TBD – (UDBA probable) | |
| Hangar 24 Craft Brewery | Mango Betty IPA | |
| King Harbor Brewing | Coconut IPA w/ Lime Zest | Swirly w/ Toasted Coconut |
| Left Coast Brewing | Red Tide w/ Galaxy hops/Belgian-style Red/7.1%/ Real ale | |
| Legends Craft Brewery | Aurora Red Lager 6.2% with PLUMS | Wild Child Wit | 6.4% | Bananas and whole vanilla beans |
| MacLeod Ale Brewing | Better Days | Pale Ale | 5.5% abv | Real Ale | Vegan | Jahr of Porter | Keeping Porter | 8% abv | Real Ale | Vegan |
| MacLeod Ale Brewing | (cask 3) Leaving for El Paso [American Cream Ale] | (cask 4)The Session Gap [Ordinary Bitter] |
| Mike Hess Brewing | Dark Brunus Rises – Porter – 7.5% – Real Ale | |
| Noble Ale Works | Wrong Side Of The Road | Pale Ale | 3.9% | Real Ale w/ whole leaf hops | Vegan | Man’s Milk | Milk Stout | 6.1% abv | Bright Beer | Not Vegan |
| Pizza Port Brewing | Seaside Irish Stout with oak chips aged in Jameson | |
| Sanctum Brewing | Belgian golden with lemon zest, tea and rose water | Belgian Single with cherries and cacao nibs |
| Smog City Brewing | Amarilla Gorilla IPA (dry hop TBD), 7.8%, Real Ale | Little Bo Pils, 4.4%, Real Lager |
| Stone Brewing | TBD | |
| Strand Brewing | TBD | |
| The Bruery | Fruited Sour Pin (4.5%ABV) with pomegranate, blackberry and raspberry. | Mischief w/ Citrus Zest |
| The Good Beer Company | TBD (collab w/ Bottle Logic) | |
| Tustin Brewing | Kum Towne – Kumquat Old Towne IPA | Sting Ring IPA W/ Habanero + Citra |
| Valiant Brewing | TBD |
(list as of 3/14. Bold selections are Danny Fullpint’s suggested casks)
Firkfest is Saturday, 3/19 from noon-4 at Anaheim’s Packing District. Tickets and info head to firkfest.com.
Disclosure: Blog post written by dude that organizes it, Greg Nagel @firkfest. Don’t believe this hype? Check out the other press.
