The Fiddlin’ Pig in Smithfield has all the trappings of a traditional English pub. It’s got the fish and chips and the full English breakfast, the Union Jack hanging from the ceiling and a counter on the wall tallying how many Guinnesses the bar has served since it opened last August.
But David Goodman said when visiting pubs in the United Kingdom he found the core of the English pub atmosphere and identity is the cask ale, the traditional English beer that’s been brewed and served the same way for generations.
“When you think about how a village pub operates, this is kind of the lifeblood of that pub,” said Goodman, who owns the Smithfield tavern. “It's ‘slow down, take a moment, relax for a minute’ … and cask ale really helps that.”
Few places in America even serve cask ale alongside modern beers, which, like the countries, are cousins but distinct in style.
Goodman’s dedication to the heritage has won the Fiddlin’ Pig recognition from a UK trade group that certifies pubs that serve cask ale the correct, traditional way. It’s a coveted certification seldom issued outside the UK, making the Smithfield pub one of around 20 on this side of the Atlantic.
A proper pub, a proper pint
Goodman can’t help occasionally dropping into a British lilt as he describes all the ways his bar fits the mold of a “proper English pub.”
“We put the tables close together for a reason, so that you can talk to your neighbor, so that you might actually meet somebody that you don't know. You know probably lived in town together for the last 50 years, but you never actually met the person,” Goodman said.
Soccer fans pack in on Saturday and Sunday mornings to watch English Premier League matches and the iconic red phone booth stands outside, which Isle of Wight County acquired in the ‘80s in a culture swap with England’s Isle of Wight.
Goodman, who spends his days at Newport News Shipbuilding, first fell in love with English pub culture when he and his wife took one of their daughters on a Spring Break trip in 2018.
They’ve gone back to the UK several times on what Goodman’s wife, Mischelle, described as “an overgrown pub crawl.” The couple said they’ve visited at least 150 across England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales over the last seven years, soaking up the atmosphere.
Cask ale is stored in unpressurized casks and is decidedly less bubbly with carbonation than modern draft beers. Goodman said that means a smoother sip. It’s also stored and served in the low 50-degree range, the way it would come from a storage cellar in England. The beer is cool but warmer than the standard ice-cold draft beer Americans are used to.
Behind the bar, Goodman pumps the ale out of the cask into 20-oz dimpled glasses that form the traditional serving—a classic English pint with a healthy head of foam.
The only carbonation comes from fermentation.
“The bubbles, all of that goodness is just naturally what's occurring from yeast in it, because it's a live product,” Goodman explained as he pumped slow and steady.
That live nature and the temperature mean it’s got a shelf life of just a few days and is served fresh, brewed by St. George Brewing in Hampton. Goodman said he’s never had an issue selling every drop before it would be unfit to serve.
“A niche of a niche of a niche”
The Cask Marque is an industry mark of quality, ensuring the right kinds of traditional beer are handled and served in the classical way.
The group was created by the UK beer industry in the 1990s. Steve Hamburg oversees Cask Marque’s operations in America.
“This is a wonderful product, and we should celebrate it, but celebrate it when it's done right, not just done at all, because, sadly, cask ale is easy to mess up,” said Hamburg, who’s based in Chicago.
He said craft beer is still a niche interest, despite the popularity it’s seen in the last couple of decades in the U.S., and that makes cask ale “a niche of a niche of a niche.”
“Even in the UK, where cask ale is the traditional drink, it's really become a niche product,” he said.
Still, if you open up Cask Marque’s Cask Finder app and hover over the British Isles, you’ll just see a carpet of thousands of overlapping black pins marking pubs - some of which are older than the United States itself.
On this side of the Atlantic, Hamburg says Cask Marque inspectors have only certified around 20 locations, from Buenos Aires to Toronto.
The Fiddlin’ Pig is the newest in the U.S. and the only one in Virginia. The next closest are a pair of pubs in Washington, D.C.
The Cask Marque certification plaque now hangs proudly at the end of the Fiddlin’ Pig’s bar.
Goodman says since they got it, they’ve had some serious beer aficionados stop in, including one who drove all the way from New Jersey. But he’s adamant cask ale isn’t just for the hardcore.
“One customer at a time, we're turning people on to cask ale, and when they come back, that's what they go to. It is building that loyalty, a following, because we're the only ones around really serving it,” Goodman said.
Erik Yando from nearby Carrollton was sitting out on the Fiddlin’ Pig’s patio with his family on a recent warm Tuesday evening, a glass of cask ale in front of him.
“It's a little smoother than a normal IPA, not quite as bubbly and carbonated,” he said. “It’s unique … a little different style of beer is just nice to change up.”
The ale Goodman serves is somewhere around 5% alcohol by volume, what the pub owner refers to as a “session beer.” The beer being low in carbonation and alcohol allows people have a few without feeling like they’ve gone overboard and fosters the pub environment he’s after.
He said the highest compliment he’s received is from British expats who say the Fiddlin’ Pig feels — and tastes— like a sip of home.
