Aaaaaaaaaaargh! Groooogggggg!
Halloween weekend on Ocracoke was, to say the very least, eventful. The Pirate Jamboree kicked off Friday night amidst Halloween festivities and Trick-or-Treating. The "Adventure" sloop was berthed in Silver Lake, with Blackbeard the Pirate at the helm. The (pretend) British Royal Navy, also berthed in Silver Lake, was manned by Boy Scouts and their leaders. I feel as if there was a weather event happening that weekend too...
As the Pirates arrived on Ocracoke from various locations, two very special guys arrived at Zillie's Island Pantry from Heavy Seas Brewery in Baltimore, MD. Joe Gold, the Sales Manager for Heavy Seas, and Fred Crudder, Director of Marketing and Hospitality for the brewery, made the eight-hour drive from Baltimore to Ocracoke Friday, and brought with them two Firkins: smalls casks, each filled with 10.8 gallons of live beer.
In order to tap a Firkin, it must be laid on its side so a spout can can be driven in horizontally. This prevents any air from rushing into the cask, mixing with the beer, and altering the taste. This type of tapping can be quite messy if done incorrectly, so stand back a bit. CO2 is not put into Firkin beer for carbonation or in the cask itself for pressure and serving purposes, so you've got to rely on the good ole G-force in order to have a pint. Many Firkins are made of metal, but some are made of wood which gives the beer a unique and enhanced taste. Joe and Fred brought one of each for the Firkin fun! The metal cask contained a Bouron barrel aged Imperial pumpkin ale, called "The Greater Pumpkin," and a tripple-hopped India Pale Ale (IPA) callled "Loose Cannon" was in the wood cask. Both were crowd pleasers!
At 3 o'clock Halloween afternoon Will Canterbury and William Winslow each tapped a Firkin on the deck at Zillie's, and officially got the "unofficial" start of the Pirate Jamboree going! The first 48 customers received a free Heavy Seas pint glass within which the special beer was poured, and once the two beers had been tapped, jollity ensued.
Zillie's hosted this same event last year, and owners David Bundy and Roy Revels look forward to another one next year!
For more information about Zillie's Island Pantry and for their schedule of events, check out their website at www.zillies.com. Zillie's also has a page on Facebook!
