We'd like to invite you to Lunn's Mill's first Showcase Night. The idea is to try two (or more) variations on a beer side-by-side to evaluate the different characteristics that a small change can impart.

On March 2nd, try an English Dark Mild brewed the same way, but finished and served differently: Cask Ale vs. Kegged.

The folks at Lunn's Mill collaborated with special guest brewer
Ian Dares to develop Myld Stallyns, an English Dark Mild. The result is a flavourful beer with distinctive notes of toffee, biscuit and roast, with just enough noble hop bitterness to balance the malt.

Draught beer served from a keg is the most common way you'll get a glass of craft beer in Nova Scotia - once fermentation is complete, beer is carbonated to a specific concentration and packaged into kegs. Beer is then forced out of the kegs and through taps using either carbon dioxide or "beer gas", which is CO2 mixed with nitrogen. Draught beer is typically served quite cold at around 4° Celsius.

Cask ale, in contrast, follows a slightly different procedure. Everything remains the same as with kegged beer until fermentation is nearly complete. Once the yeast has just about finished converting sugars into alcohol and carbon dioxide, the beer is transferred to a Cask and then sealed for the final stage of fermentation. This results in the CO2 released by the yeast creating some natural carbonation, though typically to a lower level than with beer served from kegs. After secondary fermentation completes, there are further differences in how Cask ale is served. Rather than the simple open-or-closed tap you see behind many bars, a specialized system called a beer engine is used to "pull" a pint from the cask. This is needed due to the relatively lower pressure in the cask as compared to a keg. Cask ale is also chilled quite a bit less than draught, typically served around 13° Celsius.

You may have heard about a movement called the Campaign for Real Ale - this organization promotes Cask ale, specifically the idea that Real Ale can only be served without additional carbonation. To quote from their website: "Real ale is a beer brewed from traditional ingredients (malted barley, hops water and yeast), matured by secondary fermentation in the container from which it is dispensed, and served without the use of extraneous carbon dioxide."

On March 2nd, you'll have a chance to taste the difference yourself. Cask ale for a silky smooth finish and bold flavours or served from a keg for light flavour and a crisp dry finish.

Time travel with us (no phone booth needed) back to the 18th century when Lawrencetown was still Lunn's Mill and Cask Ale was at it's peak! It'll be excellent.