We here at Left4beer have never broken a major beer related story in Victoria. There are two reasons for this. The first is that there is no 'we', only a singular 'I'. The other is that this 'I' does not get out much. Something happened the other day - something spectacular. For the first time ever, and possibly the only time, I was 'in the know'.

It all started at the CAMRA open house at Swan's hotel. A large number of beer enthusiasts turned out to view the luxurious penthouse suite. This was all lovely and nice, but not the important part of this story.

The next stop was at Clive's Classic Lounge. I met up with my main man Shawn, the cocktail wizard behind the bar. I'm sure lots of people call Shawn their 'main man'; he is very personable, mixes a mean cocktail and knows his stuff. He let me try his latest draft offering: Warsteiner Dunkel. I've tried the dark lager before (1/10); the flavour was better on tap. The roast and raisins actually mixes well with the vegetal/sulfur. It was OK, but that is not the important part.

What caught my attention was that Shawn mentioned that he was having a cask night Thursday, July 8th. Vancouver Island Brewery is making a one-off cask clone of Duckstein Ale. I have tried this wonderful copper weizen ale and found it uber-delish (6/10). His first cask night went very well, so get to Clive's Lounge early. They are located in the Chateau Victoria. It is the same hotel that has Vista 18 upstairs. Again, this was not the important part of the story.

Shawn also mentioned that he was promised a cask of La Trappe. Apparently the distributor for this Trappist Ale will be relaunching the brand this summer/fall. It was previously available as Koningshoeven Trappist Ale, but will be marketed under the name La Trappe. I don't care what you call it, I call it good (8/10). If the cask night goes well, it might be available regularly on tap.

There will also be a rhubarb wheat cask later this summer, so stay tuned.