Beer

Firkin and Cask Program

Did you know that Dual Citizen Brewing Company features a different firkin on our beer engine all of the time? Our cask program allows us to infuse different flavors into your favorite beers from our menu. We add fruit, hops, spices, and other adjuncts to a production beer in a special keg and allow it to naturally carbonate and absorb the flavors over a two week period. Cask beers traditionally have a slightly lower carbonation than draught beers and are served at 55℉. The combination of warmer temperature and lower carbonation allows the nuances of the flavors to fully present themselves, providing a completely unique drinking experience. Each firkin is a one of a kind creation and once it’s gone, it’s gone. Check out our list of upcoming firkins to make sure that you don’t miss out on any of these limited edition beers!

A firkin is a cask used by British brewers for delivery of cask-conditioned beer to the pub. A firkin holds a quarter of a barrel (9 Imperial gal; 10.8 US gal, 41 l). A firkin was originally coopered from wooden staves bound with iron hoops, but is now more commonly made of stainless steel or aluminum. Like all proper casks, it has a hole in one of the curved sides, to which a wooden or plastic bung (“shive”) is fitted when the cask is filled. There is a smaller hole in one of the flat ends, or “heads,” of the cask, which is also bunged. The bung is knocked out by the tap when the cask is broached. Although other sizes of cask are also used, the firkin is by far the most common.

A beer engine, also known as a hand pump, is a uniquely British dispensing device that is specifically appropriate for traditional cask-conditioned ales. The beer engine is a piston pump that allows the casks to be kept in a cooler cellar below the bar and the beer to be pulled or drawn up to the bar. Cask-conditioned beers have lower carbonation than standard beers because they are usually served at about 11°C to 14°C (approximately 52°F to 57°F). If a cask-conditioned ale were served through a standard dispensing system, the gas pressure and colder temperature would increase the carbonation of the beer, which would then lose its ideal balance of flavors.

Dewey: Kettle Sour

We here at Dual Citizen Brewing Company love sour beers, but the restrictions of our production facility make it very difficult to safely produce large quantities and varieties of sour beer in house. Sour beer is made using a variety of different bacterias, some of which are very aggressive and pose the risk of contamination to the rest of our fermentations. The Dewey: Kettle Sour Program allows us to replicate some of the flavors found in sour beers safely in our brewhouse. A kettle sour is a beer that is soured in the brew kettle for a period of 24-72 hours before the souring bacteria is denatured during the boil; the resulting beer is then allowed to ferment using a more traditional yeast strain. We introduce Lactobacillus Brevis into the kettle and allow it to produce lactic acid for a couple of days before boiling and finishing it off with our house American Ale yeast strain. The result is an easy drinking table sour with just the right amount of tartness. We’re also big fans of variety, so rather than make the same beer every time we choose to feature a different flavor adjunct in each batch of Dewey. This keeps things interesting for us and provides a never ending supply of delicious sour beers for you! Ask your beertender about our latest offering in the Dewey: Kettle Sour Series!

Past Deweys

Dewey: Kettle Sour w/ Tart Cherry
Dewey: Kettle Sour w/ Salted Watermelon