What's a "firkin"? Come find out!

The Taphouse Grill on 21st St. in Ghent, Norfolk will be tapping their first firkin (that I know of) and it will be Heavy Seas Loose Cannon Hop3 I.P.A. this Thursday, September 24th around 6pm.

What is a frikin' firkin anyway? Sounds intriguing and maybe a little questionable but if you drink beer and don't know, you should.

A firkin is basically a wooden or steel container (see right) that's equal to about 9 gallons and usually houses delicious beer (ale, if you're proper) as well as wine.

As far as I can tell it will be a super dry-hopped version of the boldy hoppy IPA, which means hops sit happy in the fermented beer to get an extra charge of hop flavor and aroma.

See, firkins are fantastic. Not only is it just fun to to see it tapped (again, the photo) but the beer is not typically forced through a tap with CO2, which is good for everyone. The beer is simply poured from a typical faucet and reaches your beer via gravity; this = awesome. CO2 is not natural carbonation, and since the beer in the firkin is not forced-carbonated but cask conditioned, the beer has a smooth, natural carbonation that is, in the eyes of serious beer drinkers, the only way to drink a beer. This is certainly the case (traditionally, and still) in the U.K. where cask ale, or "real" ale is king. Check out CAMRA for the full monty on real ale.

So come out and grab a pint from a firkin, this is beer like it's meant to be served.

Here's a little informative firkin video to leave you with:

Cheers!

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