A cool cask for a cold night

I have a friend who claims culinary greatness for a grilled cheese sandwich and a bowl of tomato soup served on a chilly day.

She might be right. Except that I would add to that a pint of cask bitter.

And those were on my menu last evening at Arlington, Va. restaurant Tap & Vine. Except that I had substituted truffle-oil fries for the sandwich.

Outside, it was a cold December night. But inside, the rustic house-made tomato soup was warming, the aromatic fries belied carbohydrate guilt, and the firkin cask of Winter Storm Imperial ESB (Clipper City Brewing) was spot-on delicious.

What's the difference between beer on draft and beer from a cask, I was asked.

The first is beer on TV, I replied. The latter is HDTV.

Multi-tasking Joy Reinhardt, co-owner of Tap & Vine,
holds the first pint from the firkin ...
... and conducts phone business.

• Tap & Vine tapped the firkin to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the repeal of prohibition.
• More photos here.