What the frig is a fricken firkin?
Well, the first thing to know is fricken firkins are fun. (See, fun to say and fun to type too.) But we’ll get to the fun part in a second, but first, let’s get to that definition.
According to the good folks a Public House Brewing:
A firkin is a unit of measure and also the size of a particular kind of keg used for cask conditioning; one-quarter of a barrel, 72 pints, 9 imperial gallons.
Once primarily made from wood, these casks are now most commonly made of metal – they look just like mini kegs. For many, the word Firkin has simply replaced the term cask.
But, the beer that comes from that cask is also known as a Firkin, so what’s with that?
On the beer side, a firkin is unfiltered and unpasteurized. The firkin itself doesn’t use a CO2 or additional nitrogen to dispense the beer so you get a more natural beer, or as I’ve heard some say, ‘real beer.’
Firkins are typically all small-batch so brewers can take the opportunity to add funky ingredients and take chances on the beer that they typically wouldn’t. And from every brewer I’ve ever asked about them, they take an exceptional amount of skill to execute.
Firkins are fun to try and if you’re ever at a beer festival and there’s a firkin that’s been tapped I highly recommend experiencing that beer. They’re only limited by the brewer’s imagination and creativity when it comes to what could be coming out of that spout.
And from what I’ve heard, the brewing family at Public House know a thing or two about firkins. In fact, it may be worth a road trip to experience a Merry Firkin Christmas. Public House is tapping five Firkin’s in one night, each one, a special beer brewed in their small batch system as a special Christmas present to you.
They will release a new beer every hour, on the hour on Friday, Dec. 14 from 6:00 to 10:00 p.m at the Rolla R&D Brewpub.
The Lineup:
• 6:00 p.m. – Krampus’ Reserve – Oaked Scotch Ale. 8.7% ABV Brewer: Craig
• 7:00 p.m. – Juleøl – Norwegian Farmhouse Ale brewed with juniper berries and Kveik. 7.8% ABV Brewers: Matt and Amber
• 8:00 p.m. – Rudolf’s Red Nose – Dry-hopped Red IPA brewed with blood orange. 6.0% ABV Brewer: Jason
• 9:00 p.m. – The Naughty List – Cherry Chocolate Milk Stout. 5.8% ABV Brewer: Ray
• 10:00 p.m. – Santa’s Last Supper – Christmas ale. 7.6% ABV Brewer: Josh
This is a beloved event and that means the beers sell out quickly! Make sure you get here early so you don’t miss getting a pint of each of these special releases!
