C’est What Fest Results & Beer Update

The results of the beer ratings gathered at C’est What‘s 18th Annual Festival Of Small Breweries on Friday, September 29th were announced this week. The favourite beer of the festival was Durham Hop Addict, with a median score of 42.5 out of 50. Runners-up were McAuslan Raspberry Ale and C’est What Hazelnut Coffee Porter, both clocking in with average scores of 40 out of 50. Full results can be found here.
Their monthly newsletter also announces some changes to their cask cellaring system:

One of our renovation projects over the summer was a completely new cellaring system for the five cask ales that we offer. Our “real” ales are refrigerated at a cool cellar temperature of about eight degrees from cask to tap including the piston of each “beer engine”. We have also installed an aspirating valve (also known as a “cask breather”) so that the space at the top of each cask that is evacuated when beer is dispensed is filled with a mixture of 75% nitrogen and 25% carbon dioxide (the same mixture that pushes “nitro” tap beers like Coffee Porter and St. Ambroise Oatmeal Stout). This prevents the beer from coming into contact with air and oxidizing. The 75/25 gas mix has a low enough carbon dioxide level to prevent it from carbonating the beer. By comparison, the mixture that is used for our more conventionally dispensed brews is 40% nitrogen and 60% carbon dioxide. These products need more carbon dioxide to maintain their higher level of “fizz”.