Showing posts with label Mescan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mescan. Show all posts

Friday, August 4, 2023

CorkBillyBeers #37 Stronger Craft Beers with Mescan and Hope

CorkBillyBeers #37 

Stronger Craft Beers with Mescan and Hope

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Mescan Westport Extra, 8.5% ABV, 330 ml bottle



Mescan Westport Extra has an attractive golden colour with a white head and no shortage of bubbles rising. Spicy yeast notes and fruity esters are prominent. 


The first impression from the palate is sweet malt but soon the promised hop bitterness is confirmed and becomes even more pronounced as the first sip flows fully and gently across the mouth on the way to a long lingering finish. A superbly balanced beer, the high alcohol is smoothly controlled.


Very Highly Recommended. Exceptional.


A Belgian-style beer from Westport and well up there with the best of the Trappists. One of the best of the style and consistently one of the best brews in this country.


A lot of work and time goes into the production of this beauty. It takes almost a year from when it is brewed before this strong, well-carbonated golden ale will be ready for punters to sip and savour. 


Indeed, Mescan take their time with all their beers. Co-founder and brewer Cillian Ó Móráin: ”Our outstanding USP, which is genuinely unique to Mescan, is the long maturation process with a minimum of 3 months (up to 9 months with the stronger beers), between brewing and packaging. This unhurried process allows time for the flavours to develop, much like maturing a wine. These long conditioning times make the beers more expensive to produce but add greatly to the quality. The resulting depth and range of flavour make them particularly well suited to pairing with food."


“Enjoy with white meats or seafood,  and fruity, nutty desserts.” This robust beer is a real treat, and its warming alcohol is the perfect antidote to a bad weather day! Just musing on it there and am beginning to think this strong, dry, well-carbonated golden ale would be perfect with rabbit. Serving temperature: 3-6 °C 


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Mescan Special Reserve Dark Beer, 8.4% ABV, 330 ml bottle


Colour of this Mescan Special Reserve is dark, not deep black, but a deep ruby with some flashes of red in its depths. The aromatics feature caramel, mostly. And the palate is a five-star show of fruitiness (dates, figs), the malt still in evidence as this Mayo star maintains its amazing experience right to the finalé.


The Mescan website says this is a robust beer and I’d be loath to disagree. For me, despite the high ABV, this is smooth and quite accessible and well worth seeking out. I took my own advice here, sip not gulp, and my "patience" was amply rewarded.


A complex beer yet the ingredients list is simple enough: Spring water, barley, wheat, hops, yeast. Very Highly Recommended.


This full-bodied beer pairs beautifully with stews and game. Surprisingly, it complements chillies and spicy dishes. Also delicious with chocolate desserts or cheese. Full Mescan food wheel here 

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Mescan Westport Red Tripel, 8.0% ABV, 330 ml bottle



During a recent visit to Mescan, outside of Westport, they told us their well-known “secret”: ”Our outstanding USP*, which is genuinely unique to Mescan, is the long maturation process with a minimum of 3 months (up to 9 months with the stronger beers), between brewing and packaging. This unhurried process allows time for the flavours to develop, much like maturing a wine. These long conditioning times make the beers more expensive to produce but add significantly to the quality. The resulting depth and range of flavour make them particularly well suited to pairing with food."

  


"During our long conditioning process, the yeast settles out naturally, with no need to use finings for clarifying, and making the beers suitable for vegans. Simple, natural ingredients are used to create Mescan beers: spring water, barley, wheat, hops, yeast, spices and nothing else. Our beers are almost exclusively brewed in Belgian styles."


Red is the colour, of course. There’s not that much of a head but it does hang about a bit. Aromas are malty, fruity, nutty. It is smooth and complex on the palate and you know, if you didn’t already, that this is one to sip and savour. To gulp would be greedy, barbaric, showing a lack of respect for the maestros of Mescan.


So, tóg go bog é (take it easy) and enjoy the remarkable nutty and caramel flavours, the warming beer, its malty and fruity qualities, its complex and full-bodied experience on the palate and let it slowly take you to a rewarding finalé.


Very Highly Recommended.


They detail the route to perfection on their website. “This is our take on the strong beers pioneered by the Belgian Trappist monastery breweries. Tripels are strong, complex beers and are traditionally golden in colour. We decided to make ours red and the malts used to achieve this add even more complexity to the flavours on the palate.”

 

And a few more tips.

Serve 7-10 degrees.

See food pairing here https://www.mescanbrewery.com/food-pairing-for-our-beers 

Bottle conditioned in the Belgian style beer.

To enjoy the beer clear, store upright and pour into a glass, leaving the yeast sediment in bottle.


* USP - unique selling point.


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Hope West Coast IPA 7.4% ABV, 440 ml can Carry Out Killarney



“A classic West Coast IPA, this beer is a nod to the iconic beer style that helped launch the craft beer revolution. It’s brewed with four of the classic “C” hops: Cascade (grapefruit. Floral, Pine), Columbus (Dank, Pepper, PungenT), Centennial  (Blossom, Orange, Resionous) and Chinook (Grapefruit, Pine, Spice). The use of these US hops provides the style-defining flavours of citrus, pine, and resin.”

Hope are obviously happy that they’ve cracked it here!

Hops are used liberally in the kettle and in dry hop additions, giving the beer a robust bitterness and an intense hop aroma and finish. The malt bill is relatively simple. It is designed to balance the bitterness, while also allowing the hop flavours to shine through. This limited edition beer is no. 30 in the series.

The colour is golden/amber with hoppy aromas, citrus, pine and floral amongst them. And the all-American hop line-up, owns the palate, pungent with citrus and pine and a hint of dankness, on the way to a very fine lip-smacking finish. Quite intense, start to finish, yet the relatively simple malt bill has done the business here and the expected bitterness is well balanced, making this quite a beer with barely a hint of the high ABV.

Very Highly Recommended. 

Geek Bits

Hops: Cascade, Columbus, Centennial, Chinook

IBU 75;

Food Pairing: Burger, Tacos, Pizza


Visit

Saturday, July 29, 2023

CorkBillyBeers #35, Highly Recommended Craft Collaborations with O Brother, Galway Bay, Whiplash, Mescan, Third Barrel

CorkBillyBeers #35


Highly Recommended Craft Collaborations with O Brother, Galway Bay, Whiplash, Mescan
 and Third Barrel

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Galway Bay Sour IPA 6.2% ABV, 440ml can Bradleys 


Came across this first at the Franciscan Well Easter Fest where @SimonSaysBeer introduced us. Very impressed. With the beer. And with Simon also of course!!


Galway Bay: Another new beer snuck out of the brewery last week. When we had a visit from our great friends @begylebrewing Chicago we knew we needed to pull out something interesting, a bit of a challenge. Brewed on a pillowy light base of pilsner malt, wheat, oats and rice. Hopped with fresh Nelson Sauvin, Talus and Citra then co-fermented with an acid-producing yeast and a wine yeast. We landed on a new yeast strain that produces a soft sourness but isn't the kettle sour technique you might have seen before.


Sister Cities (6.2%), a Sour IPA with citrus, apple, a touch of elderflower and a balancing acidity. Very drinkable indeed and looking forward to a few in the garden in the better days ahead! 


The colour is more lemon than orange, somewhat on the hazy side. Citrus and yeast notes in the aromas and that sour citrus impresses on the palate, apple also, with a grape skin influence and a bit of mango and weak lychee also, tropical mainly, though you may get a hint of elderflower. Well balanced and not overly sour on the way to a pleasant finale.


Highly Recommended. This small batch may well be sold out by now, even though I got this can quite recently.


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O Brother (x Bierhaus) Lionn Buidhe Bhrighde Sour 4.3% ABV, 440 ml can No 21 Coburg St



O Brother had quite a time brewing this up in collaboration with Bierhaus, a Galway pub. “it’s been a week, we need a drink, so looking forward to cracking open our latest special brew Lionn Buidhe Bhrighde. Buidhe or “bui “ meaning yellow, for its delightful colour, is a beautiful dry hopped sour, in a Berliner Weiss style”.


They further tell us that the title of the beer, “humbly provided by scholar Louis de Paor”, translates as “Bridget’s yellow ale”. It is in honour of the patron saint of brewing, and totem of the Celtic spring festival Imbolc, Saint Bridget.


Colour is light gold, a little on the hazy side. The aromatics are quite complex but mainly citrus, floral and pine, true to the characteristics of the Mosaic. Brid’s Yellow Ale is indeed sour, quite tart but also deeply refreshing, all achieved through the yeast I suppose as no adjuncts are listed in the ingredients.

 

In any event, it is exquisitely balanced between sweetness and acidity.

and is the kind of sour that could give the style a good name and is Highly Recommended.


We let the brothers have the last word. “We’re so proud of it, and our connection to @bierhausgalway, long may it continue. Also, shout out to @galwayswestend @thisisgalway and @jeanconsidine for the image and as always to @kate______tings for the design.”


So what is a Berliner Weisse? Functionally, it’s a wheat beer with a touch of sparkling acidity from the Lactobacillus, according to hopculture.com. And, in Berlin, when you order a Berliner Weisse, the waiter will often say “rot oder grün?” Which simply means “red or green?” He or she is referring to which syrup you'd like with the beer. Red is usually a sweet raspberry syrup. Green is a more traditional grassy herb known as woodruff. 


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Whiplash & Mescan The Climb Dry Hopped Saison 7.1% ABV, 440ml can Bradleys



Craftbrewing.com notes, that today, interest in ancient grains is rising, and craft brewers in Europe and the United States are starting to rediscover spelt. “Used at proportions approaching 50% of the grist, spelt malt gives mild, nutty flavors backed by tangy acidic notes.” And The Beer Bible confirms that Spelt was extremely common in saison back in the day.


Irish brewers Whiplash and Mescan have noted this also and their recent collaboration features spelt malt which is a pale, well-modified malt-aromatic product made from spelt, a hard-grained heirloom wheat.


Whiplash is happy: The first Saison to ever come out of Whiplash, and who better to collaborate with than Mescan? We used Spelt in this brew, really putting the mash filter to work. With these farmhouse-style beers, it's always nice to experiment with the grains and in this case, we've been left with a beautifully silky beer.


Mescan also: Had our first one today and we couldn't be more pleased with how this collaboration with @whiplashbeer turned out! A Saison - traditionally brewed to quench the thirst of farm workers - it's the perfect beer for this weather.


And they can count me in.


Colour is a hazy light orange. Flavours are mildly nutty backed by tangy acidic notes. there are also moderate malt notes, nutty and bready, and then lemon, orange rind and black pepper come through making for a perfect sunny-day-beer. Packed with interesting flavours, this is perhaps more for the grafters out there rather than the iPad tappers in here. 


Neither East Coast nor West Coast. Not a million miles from a wheat beer with its mild banana and clove notes although a little spicier perhaps. 


Suits me fine though. 

Highly Recommended




The Climb is available now on the webshop whiplashbeer.com


Geek Bits

ABV 7.1%

440ml Cans & Draught

Artwork by @izzyrosegrange


Mescan invite - Take a spin along the side of Clew Bay, between Westport and Louisburgh, and come visit us at the brewery in the foothills of Croagh Patrick, on one of our tours - most Friday afternoons through the summer. We look forward to having you. *Prebooking required through our website*


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Third Barrel Ár gCairde Cold IPA 5.1% ABV, 440ml can Bradleys


Cold on the double.


A Cold IPA?

1- “..a Cold IPA is an IPA fermented at lower temperatures than what is normally used to ferment an ale,” writes Skip Schwartz, head brewer at WeldWerks Brewing Co., in conversation with Hop Culture. Fermenting an IPA at colder temperatures means brewers often use a lager yeast or a combination of a lager and an ale yeast.


2- Sierra Nevada: A Cold IPA delivers India Pale Ale hop intensity while keeping the malt character restrained and ultra crisp — yet still hitting a respectable ABV target, like the 7% of Cold Torpedo.


The cold is not referring to the drinking temperature but to the temperature while it is fermenting.


The beer under consideration here is the result of a collaboration between Third Barrell and Mo Chara. Check them out here https://mo-chara.ie/ 


Our Cold IPA has an amber colour and a white head that doesn't hang about for too long. Aromas are quite intense, mostly from the hops, tropical and resinous. Refreshment is immediate, a lively effervescence invigorating the palate. A terrific balance of flavours plus a pleasant bitterness that lingers. This is the first Cold IPA that has come my way and I am certainly impressed.


But there is another “cold” twist. Rice is not the only unusual ingredient. The hops are Galaxy and Amarillo and one called Cryo Pop. Cryo Hops® pellets can be utilised anywhere whole-leaf hops and hop pellets are traditionally applied. Along with cost savings, it offers an enhanced contribution of hop flavour and aroma and reduced grassy and vegetal characteristics


The collaborators on Ar gCairde are very pleased: “The body of this Cold IPA is light and crisp, reminiscent of a lager, offering a clean and refreshing mouthfeel.


The finish is dry and inviting, with a pleasant bitterness that lingers, enticing you to take another sip. The overall balance of flavours is impeccable, showcasing the skilful craftsmanship of the brewers.”


“Its tropical and citrus hop profile, combined with its refreshing nature, makes it a perfect companion for sunny days or any occasion where you crave a burst of hoppy goodness.”



Highly Recommended

Friday, June 30, 2023

CorkBillyBeers #32 Craft. Craft. A mixed bag with Wide Street, Mescan, Wicklow Wolf and Torc.

CorkBillyBeers #32

Craft. A mixed bag with Wide Street, Mescan, Wicklow Wolf and Torc.

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Saison


Wide Street House Saison 5.5% ABV, 440ml can Bradleys


Saison is a traditional Belgian beer brewed for the summer-time workers and Longford brewery Wide Street (it is situated on a very wide street) claims theirs is a classic representation of the Belgian Saison style. 


It pours a murky orange colour with a good white head. Aromatics throw up moderate banana notes, also a very mild spice. Glug this and you miss a lot. Sip and savour and you get citrus notes, that spice again and a smooth background wrap of banana.


Their yeast had been playing quite a role in this two-month fermentation and it is Saccharomyces cerevisiae var diastaticus saison strain (don't know of any abbreviation!).


They have also employed their favourite hop Saaz in the process and that provides a medium bitterness backed up with those hints of banana and pepper.  It had been “elected’ to their core range, the punters obviously liking the mild banana aromas and flavours, and a touch of peppery spice;  the bitterness factor is mid-range.


The beer has new packaging. “Our House Saison, part of our core range, has just got a rebrand! It's the same recipe with a fresh look for a zesty and peppery dry saison. Perfect pairing with barbecue meats, salads and fish.”


Highly Recommended.


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Mescan Westport Saison, 5.8% ABV, 330 ml bottle



Saison is a traditional farmhouse style from the South of Belgium brewed to sustain the workers during long days of toil in the sun. Mayo’s Mescan are noted for their Belgian style beers and this Saison is an amazing example of how well they have learned the arts of the Belgian aces.


Colour of this Mescan is a slightly hazy orange, with a soft white head that sinks slowly. Aromas include clove and citrus notes. It is dry and light on the palate, effervescent and refreshing. Indeed, that refreshing fizziness is quite a feature. It is also very well balanced, with the New World hops matched by the earthy spicy yeast flavours, and you don't really notice the high alcohol. But do sip rather than gulp!


There is something different, something more wide-ranging about this Mescan saison. Flavours are deeper, longer lasting, and the experience more satisfactory. More than likely it comes from longer ageing (a brewery policy). 


On my recent visit to the rural brewery in Mayo, brewer and co-founder Cillian Ó'Móráin explained that Mescan beers take a minimum of 4 months with the heavier ones getting 6-8 months whereas your normal craft beer takes just a few weeks from start to shop (can vary from brewer to brewer). While the extra time makes the Mescan more expensive, Cillian reckons it is crucial for the quality of the beer. And it is indeed a premium product, illustrated well by this superb saison. 


Very Highly Recommended.


It is refreshing and quite a thirst quencher (which is the whole idea), and Mescan, as you may know, was St Patrick’s brewer and no doubt the odd conversion was facilitated by a jug of his cloudy brew. 


The modern bottle-conditioned beer is still somewhat cloudy! All Mescan beers are bottle conditioned. To enjoy them clear, store them upright and pour into a glass, leaving the yeast sediment in the bottle.


With its slightly bitter finish, Saison goes well with spicy dishes such as curries or chicken wings. "Our Saison is a real thirst quencher!" For more pairing ideas check their Food Pairing Wheel here


If you'd like to visit Mescan, they are open to visitors most Friday afternoons through the summer - online booking is required here.


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 Honey Hefeweizen



Wicklow Wolf Honey Hefeweizen Locavore Spring 2023, 6.0% ABV, 440ml can Bradleys




The Wicklow Wolf Locavore series always scores highly in this quarter and I knew I had another winner in my hand when I tasted the Spring 2023 edition, a Honey Hefeweizen, at the Easter Beer Fest in Franciscan Well.


Local, as you know, is always at the heart of the series, and this is brewed with locally sourced Wicklow heather honey from the hives of “our friends in OpenHive” and using wheat grown in the field behind the brewery. Balance as always is important and therefore the character of honey should be evident but not allowed to take over.


It has a pale gold colour and is hazy, with a white head. It is based on a “strong wheat grain bill” and classic wheat beer aromas of banana and clove rise from the glass, also a touch of spice. And the beer seems a little bit sweeter on the palate as it and the honey get together but that important balance is achieved. 


Quite a taste of Wicklow then and Very Highly Recommended. So a contender for honours already from Wicklow. And could it repeat the Wicklow Wolf Locavore Spring 2022 (Barrel Aged Farmhouse Ale) that was joint first in the blog’s Beer of the Year last year?


Geek Bits

20 IBUs

Hops are Idaho 7

Heather Honey an ingredient.

Malts are: Pilsner, Wheat, Munich


Craftbeer.com: Both lagers and ales can be brewed with honey. Some brewers will choose to experiment with ingredients, while others will add honey to traditional styles. Overall the character of honey should be evident but not totally overwhelming.


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Smoked German Ale


Torc Smoked German Ale, 6.0% ABV, 500ml bottle, Carry Out Killarney



Torc doesn’t tell us much - their website is under construction - but they say this was brewed using beech wood smoked malt to create a rich dark beer with savory (they use the American spelling) and smoked aromas. They also call it an ale.  Most German-smoked beers (Rauchbiers) that I know of are in the lager class. Torc has used “select smoked German malts”, smoked with beech wood.


However, any style of beer may be smoked. But, no matter the style, balance is always sought and that “guest” ingredient should not dominate. The style did originate in Germany as Rauchbier and other brewers can come up with their own recipe, subject to balance of course. However, a beer that may seem overly smokey early on may become less so as it ages because smoke flavours get weaker over time.


Remember those bacon crisps we used to get in bars a long time ago, you still do. Well, in fairness this beer has that aroma, “Liquid bacon fries” as Limerick brewery Crew calls them. Colour of the Torc effort is a hazy reddish/brown and the head soon shrinks. The flavours follow the aromas but, in both, I’d say that Torc have achieved an excellent balance - the bacon fries effect is moderate - and the beer drinks and finishes well.


Highly Recommended


Although a classic Rauchbier is brewed as a lager of the malty German persuasion, smoke beers can take other forms. Smoked porters are common in the US. Nowadays, just a handful of breweries in Bamberg, Germany carry the Rauchbier torch. They continue the tradition of making beer with malt smoked over beechwood, which imparts a smooth and pleasant smoky flavour, similar to that of hickory – so similar that Rauchbiers are sometimes colloquially referred to as “Bacon Beers.”


So now, that you have the picture, it is over to you! it’s a challenge getting the balance just right, and arguably just as challenging to find the right audience for it. Torc certainly got the first part pretty much spot on and it looks as of their customers are up for it. 


Pair it with delicious Gubbeen Hot Smoked Ham, also Baltimore Dry Cured Black Bacon or Ummera Smoked Bacon Rashers. Or just a little pack of those Bacon Fries! 


Recent Irish examples of the style are:

Kinnegar 20÷2 Anniversary Rauchbier

Whiplash Immolator Triple Decoction Smoked Doppelbock 

Whiplash Smoke Stack Lightnin’ Oaked & Smoked Brown.


Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier Märzen from Bamburg is a German classic.