Two casks in August

Bad pull.

"What's this," I asked the bartender, looking at a murky glass of sour beer dregs he had set in front of me. "Why, that's the best part of the cask," replied the bartender. "I tilted it so I could pour the beer for you." "I thought you said this was a cask-conditioned pale ale," I said, accenting the word "pale.' "It is," he replied, missing any irony. I asked for something else. He continued to pour the cask for others.

Good call.

"What's that?" asked the brewer, as he walked past me, seeing a murky pint in front of me. "That's your cask-conditioned pale ale," I replied. "No," replied the brewer, "I apologize. You should never be served a pint that looks like that." After turning to talk (quietly) to the bartender, he removed the nearly empty cask from service. The bartender returned to offer me a different (bright) pint, on the house. He did the same for several other customers.

Cask ale is not to be cloudy, flat, sour, or warm. If yours is, send it back. Tell them I —and many others— say so.

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Between those two, I did not travel far in the DMV. And, even though brewer #2 acquitted himself well, both names have been redacted to protect the culpable. I think it better to assist than shame.