Showing posts with label BeerCloud. Show all posts
Showing posts with label BeerCloud. Show all posts

Sunday, March 21, 2021

A Quart of Ale± #41. Continuing the craft journey with Red Ale.

A Quart of Ale± #41

On the craft journey with Red Ale.



O’Hara’s Irish Red Traditional Ale, 4.3%, 500ml bottle via Radical Drink


This O’Hara’s has a very dark red robe but that “dense lasting white head” fails to materialise, though I have to admit subsequent top-ups did shape up with a coffee coloured crown. Roasted caramel stands out in the aromatics. And you get that caramel and toffee flavour on the palate as well, thanks to the addition of a “pinch of roast barley during the brewing process”. The sweetness of the malt is perfectly balanced through a touch of traditional hop flavour. A terrific example of the style gets a major thumbs up from this quarter.

 

They say: This Red stands out in this beer style category. The malt body is as impressive as a bock, albeit in a uniquely Irish way. With an incredibly smooth malt body complimented by caramel tones and perfectly balanced in bitterness, this Irish Red is much more complex than its mainstream rivals. Visually the Red colour is intensified by the finest roast barley, while subtle hop additions in the kettle give just the right bitterness and aroma to craft this distinctive Irish Red Ale.The traditional red ale style is sweet malt based, dominated by caramel malts which give a sweet malt base complimented by nutty flavours in complete contrast to the Belgian Red ale style which has a distinctly sour character attributed to lactic acid.


For the Geek

Style: Traditional Red Ale

ABV: 4.3%

Plato °: 10.75°

IBU: 34 

Fermentation: Top fermentation 

Availability: Keg (carbonated), Bottle 50cl and 33cl (occasional 41L cask)

Serving Temperature: 6-8°C

Food Pairing: Pairs well with baked and roasted main courses from the oven such as beef hotpot. Also excellent with winter soups. Delicious accompaniment to mature cheddar or soft goats cheeses.

Glass: O’Hara’s tulip glass or O’Hara’s conical glass. 



Hope Red IPA Winter Seasonal 2020, 5.2%, 440ml via beercloud.ie


Hope’s winter seasonal is a red IPA, a dark red with an off white head that quickly reduces. A red with a twist they say and I must say I rather like the direction it takes from the first sip, lots of bright and light fruit melding well with caramel overtones, with a touch of toastiness, from the malts. Thumbs up there straightaway and I can see it would be just the job with the suggested wintery stew, weekend cheeseboard or chocolate.


INGREDIENTS:

Malts: Pale malt, crystal malt and wheat malt

Hops: Columbus, Simcoe and Enigma

Dry Hops: Cashmere, Enigma and Centennial

Yeast: English Ale Yeast

Roasted barley.

ABV 5.2%

EBU 55


Hope, in their own words:

Hope Beer started out in 2015 when the brewery was founded by four friends with a passion for beer and business. What began as a series of late-night kitchen table discussions is now a state-of-the-art brewery, producing an extensive range of award-winning premium craft beers.

Hope produces a core range of five distinct beer styles which are available all year round as well as two seasonals and a wide range of limited-edition beers.

All Hope beers are brewed, bottled, canned and kegged at Howth Junction on Dublin’s Northside and are crafted to be the perfect accompaniment to food. Each beer has its own distinct name, story and taste experience....



Crafty Bear “Bimbos” Imperial Red, 8.0%, 330ml via beercloud.ie


A warm amber is the colour of this “Bimbos” Imperial Red from Crafty Bear. An off-white head doesn’t hang about (if you want a better head, give it a “robust” pour). Quite a charge of fruit from the hops in the aromas, the malt too getting a look-in.  There’s an initial (and lasting) element of sweetness on the palate. Quite a complex experience, big and malty, with notes of mango and strawberry as the hops too play a role right through to the finish. It has been dry-hopped (lightly) with Citra (a good bittering hop) and Cashmere (known for its smooth bitterness). 


They say: We started Crafty Bear January 2018.

With over 18 years in the hospitality industry the move towards opening our very own brewery was a long time dream come through.

Our love for good beer and the fun in making it is what makes our beers stand out.

Hand bottled, hand labeled and hand delivered. You got to love craft.


Not quite the traditional take but pretty good overall. I have no idea why it’s called Bimbos. Anyone? 



Wicklow Wolf “Wildfire” Hoppy Red Ale, 4.6%, 440ml via beercloud.ie


This Wildfire from Wicklow has a dark colour and a short-lived head that looks as if it has been dusted with coffee. You smell coffee and caramel. And the two also feature on the palate, the coffee more prominent now, and it, rather than the weakish caramel, stay to the finish, one with the malts holding the upper hand. Almost a creamy feel to this very mild and pleasing enough example of the style. One for the home fire methinks rather than one in the wild.


Geeky Bits

Hops: Sorachi Ace, Sabro

Malt: Pale, Cara Ruby, Melano, Oats, Roasted Barley

IBU: 28

Serve at 8 degrees.



Wednesday, March 17, 2021

A Quart of Ale± #40. On the craft journey with variations on a lager theme.

A Quart of Ale± #40

On the craft journey with variations on a lager theme.  


O’Hara’s Lager 4.5%, 500ml bottle via Radical Drinks

This Helles, a traditional lager style on the continent, has a lovely clear mid-amber colour with a myriad of little bubbles rising towards the shrinking white head. Aromas are pleasant if not intense. And on the palate you have a very pleasing smooth lager that heads confidently, full of flavour but with a balancing low hop bitterness (thanks to having been hopped several times), towards a clean and satisfactory finale.


They say: The hop profile is tailored to suit the craft beer drinker and the bitterness is clean and intense. The malty body pays tribute to traditional European lagers and an extra-long conditioning time allows the maximum array of lager flavours to develop. The combination of noble hops, speciality malts and a classic lager yeast strain allow the esters and hop aromas to combine and balance perfectly.


Brewed to the Helles style (combining the brewing methods of a pale ale to the lager style) developed by German and Czech brewers, this is a lager with true character. It is conditioned for over 4 weeks to allow the floral esters from the lager yeast to fully infuse into the brew and develop a well attenuated body. These offset the malt and hop aromas to produce a truly unique craft lager brewed with flavour. Can’t argue with that assessment. Class in a glass as far as I’m concerned. Helles by the way is not mentioned on the label.


Advice is to serve at 6-8°C with roast lemon chicken, Spanish paella and grilled seabass or snapper and more using the O’Hara’s Irish Craft Beer conical glass.


Weihenstephaner Original Helles, 5.1%, 500ml bottle via Bradleys



This German beer, from the oldest still existing brewery in the world, comes in a bright amber colour, with no shortage of bubbles streaming towards the slowly reducing white head. Spicy hops and malty sweetness can be found among the delicate aromas. The character shines through in the palate, strong and clean and refreshing. Terrific balance with a friendly light bitterness coming through also. Weihenstephan Original Helles is unique and exceptional and a regular award-winner.

 

The IBU figure, not given on all beers, is a modest 21. Serve at 6-8 degrees. Again, like many of the continental beers, the brewery comes up with a food pairing. Here they recommended Rump steak with marinade and give you the recipe as well. Check it out here.


Almost a thousand years ago Weihenstephan was the monastery brewery of the Benedictine monks. Then, the Royal Bavarian State Brewery stepped in and it is now operating as a state directed enterprise under the control of the Bavarian Government.


This bottom-fermented beer of Southern Germany is called Helles, which means both light and bright. Weihanstephaner also have a non-alcoholic version; check it out here.


Germany, by the way, is the “world’s fifth largest producer of beer” and “is also its second largest grower of hops”.




Rascals “Jailbreak” Helles Lager, 4.2%, 330 can via Bradleys


Colour of this Dublin produced lager is a light amber, no shortage of carbonation. No head worth talking about, at least from this can. Aromas are mostly floral. A pretty good Helles follows, decent body (soft and full), good balance between hops and malts as the lager smooths its way to an excellent finish. Now where would you get a pizza to go with it?


They say: In Inchicore, Dublin, we’ve a world class pizza restaurant with the freshest beer pouring straight from tank to tap. You can check out our event spaces and find out about brewery tours and the Rascals taproom experience at www.rascalsbrewing.com  

 

Geek Bits:

Malt: Bohemian Pilsner, Vienna, Melanoidin

Hops: Hallartau Mittlefruh

Yeast: Munich Helles

ABV: 4.2%





Wide Street “Mill Pils” Farmhouse Pilsner 5.5%, 440ml via beercloud.ie


Colour of this Wicklow Pilsner is a pale yellow, quite close to lemon, and cloudy, with lots of bubbles shooting up to the steady, if not substantial, head. No shortage of hops here so you notice them straightaway on the nose and soon on the palate, where you come across plenty of earthy character and a hint of spice and a good dry finish. Something that bit different and well looking out for, a lager with attitude.


The label reveals it’s unfiltered, unpasteurised and can-conditioned, containing yeast sediment. Fermented with the famous German strain 34/70 at 12 degrees then dry hopped 12g/l with Hallertau Mittelfrüh and Saaz blend to add an Italian twist and create a hoppy Pilsner.


Wide Street Brewing Company specialises in mixed fermentation methods and 100% Brettanomyces beers. The vision is to brew innovative beers with alternative fermentation methods. Their house yeast is a custom blend of Brettanomyces, saccharomyces and lactobacillus strains from Bootleg Biology, a yeast laboratory based in Nashville, USA. This gives the beer a distinctive dry mouthfeel and enhanced fruity flavours.


They say: It’s a Pilsner with a twist! This Farmhouse Pilsner is double dry-hopped with hopped with Hallertauer-Mittelfrueh brewed revealing traditional spicy and earthy notes. The inspiration behind this beer is an Italian Pilsner style. This is brewed with Chateau pilsner malt and a small addition of Cara pils. 


Not quite the “traditional” lager as we’d know it around here and might be just to dry and too hoppy for some traditionalists. On the other hand though, it would be very interesting to compare it in a head to head tasting with Fort of the Fianna by Eight Degrees, another Italian style lager. Actually, very recently and at the last minute, I did manage to do just that and must say, that the Wide Street may be a shade more hoppier and a touch drier, there is very little qualitative difference, both getting the thumbs up, not just from me, but from around the table!

Wednesday, March 3, 2021

A Quart of Ale± #38. Continuing on the craft trail with a variety of IPAs.

A Quart of Ale± #38

Moving on over to craft with a variety of IPAs. 




Cotton Ball “Another Bloody IPA” IPA 6.00% Cotton Ball off licence.


The Cotton Ball’s “Another Bloody IPA” boasts an attractive dark amber colour and a myriad of bubbles, furiously making their way towards a white head that soon loses much of its early “bulk”. The aromas are strongly citrus, no surprise considering that they use blood orange zest and peel as an adjunct.


Quite a rich and flavourful mouthful with that Blood orange a light and pleasant (rather than forceful) presence. Biscuit malt gives it, yes, a biscuity flavour, and is quite a factor here.


This is what the brewery has to say:  “This isn’t just another IPA, this is our bloody IPA . Our blood orange infused IPA with a mixture of biscuit and Munich malt to give this beer a pleasant malty undertone.A full bodied IPA with a medley of USA citrus based hops, which is infused with blood orange zest and peel to create a fantastic citrus aroma.”


The Cotton Ball brewery is less than 200 metres from my house but my pleas for a direct pipeline have fallen on deaf ears! At least, their off-licence is open and the beers are otherwise widely available.


Growing up in the bar trade, it was always Eoin Lynch’s dream to put his own stamp on the well renowned Cotton Ball Bar (which was founded by his great grandfather Humphrey in 1874) and in 2013 he established the brewery in the basement of the historic pub. The brewery has taken on a life of its own and their beers are stocked far and wide on the island of Ireland and even in some other European countries.


Wicklow Wolf with Dot Brew “Guardian of the Galaxy” Double Black IPA 8.00%, 440ml can Bradley’s



The collaborating brewers, Wolf and Dot, have an out of this world sense of pun. Astronomical. Intergalactic. Space age. Well yeah, this is (still) the age for all three. And then there’s Cosmic Hops. Really? Galaxy, Strata and Milky Way. Oh sorry, Comet, not Milky Way. Just got my chocolate bars in a melt.


I suppose you could say, you wouldn’t be the first, that the hops are the stars of the show. The chocolate and coffee come through and there’s a pretty decent balance and a genuine bitter finish. 


If you’d like to explore the style, why not start at normal strength. Perhaps check out the excellent 5% Kinsale Black IPA (by Blacks, of course). 




Dot Brew So Far So Good session IPA, 3.5%, 440ml via beercloud.ie 



Colour’s a lot like unclear lemon juice, a murky one, and the head is slim and won’t be around for long. Hops dominate the nose.  And on the palate as well, those exotic fruits are to the fore, with mango leading the posse. Smooth and fruity all the way to the satisfying dry and bitter finish. Much more muscle to this one than the 3.5% abv suggests. Chalk it down for those sessions.


No point in looking in on their own website. No beer info at all. Their site just wants three hundred of your euro to continue their work. The label’s more helpful: easy drinking, bright and light. A fruity hop forward New England session IPA. Tropical fruit aromas. A healthy bang of Amarillo and Galaxy hops. Super smooth.


A general web search finds agreement that it is brewed with New England yeast without the murky but retaining all of the big bright stone fruit characteristics offset by a healthy dose of malted and flaked oats for a medium body / velvet mouthfeel. A double charged dry hop of Amarillo / Galaxy for a super tropical fruit bowl aroma. Hints of peach & pineapple. Finishes with a light dry bitterness.


Contradictions abound. It is not bright. It looks 

muddy. It is not without “the murky”, it is as murky as a welly disturbed woodland pond. It is however smooth and satisfying, no shortage of hops and no doubt a contender for your, and my, session nights. More than happy to have one in my fist and at least one or two more in the fridge.


Larkin’s & Catalyst Coffee Rwandan Coffee Rye IPA 7%, 440ml can via Bradley’s



This limited edition from Larkin’s, with the coffee roasted by neighbours Catalyst, was a lovely surprise. It has a murky orange colour. There seems to be a fair bit of carbonation present. And, yes, the aromas are of coffee. This is a complex mouthful, a smooth one too, where the harmonious combination of the hops and the coffee characteristics is rather impressive, something special. Exotic citrus stuff from the hops give bitterness enough with fruity notes from the coffee, notes (plum, apricot) I’d be hard pushed to find in the cup. A good deal better than I expected.


They say:  We teamed up with the coffee masters in @catalystcoffee_ in our home town of Bray for this collaboration. We chose a coffee from Rwanda this time round which gives hints of chocolate on the nose and a really velvety smooth flavour on the palate. Cold brewed so don't expect this to be a dark bitter coffee experience. It’s subtle and gentle and balances with the hops and malt rather than trying to over power them. Limited edition.

Friday, January 22, 2021

Cheers 212201 Beer, Wine, Spirits with Porterhouse-Kinnegar-Lineman-Rascals-BeerCloud-O'Briens-Teeling

Cheers 212201

Beer, Wine, Spirits with Porterhouse-Kinnegar-Lineman-Rascals-BeerCloud-O'Briens-Teeling

Independent Breweries Ireland

 "Beer of the Year"


The results are in for #ICBIBeerOfTheYear
This is a new and unique competition where beers are judged by peers!
2021 Gold goes to
Porterhouse Brew Co.
for their Round the Clock Imperial Stout, followed by Silver to
Lineman
for Astral Grains Stout and Bronze to
Kinnegar Brewing
for their Thumper Double IPA.


The idea is that microbreweries each submitted one beer of their choice - these were then supplied unbranded to all the entrants who had a very enjoyable time judging each beer! You can read a little more here http://icbi.ie/beer-of-the-year/





Best greetings of the day to you all.

The Breakfast of Champions 6.1% oatmeal stout is yours to buy! It’s an oatmeal stout like no other. We’ve made it with specialty coffee roasted by our Dublin 8 neighbours Imbibe. The base recipe of our new stout has a generous helping of chocolate wheat and café malt; we’ve also used plenty of oats and some lactose too. We’ve even added a few cacao nibs just because we know how well they’ll complement the beer. Combine all the ingredients and you’ve got the breakfast stout of champions!
 
Buy The Beer
BeerCloud

Welcome to the January BeerCloud

BREWSLETTER

We're delighted to announce that, once again, we're teaming up with the Craic Beer Community to bring you the January Brews virtual meet-up.

This (virtual) mini-festival kicks off at 7.30pm next Friday, 29th January.

As well as plenty of beer-chat, we'll be joined by brewers from Hope, Larkin’s, Canvas, O Brother and Dead Centre to talk through some featured beers. 

To book your place just purchase a Craic Box before Wednesday 27th. Attendance numbers are limited, so don't leave it too late! 

WINES FOR NETFLIX NIGHTS

with Lynne Coyne MW, O'Briens Wine

If you are settling down to Netflix on these January lockdown nights, add to your relaxation and enjoyment by trying these wine and movie matches along with a simple, easy to put together plate of tasty nibbles.


Champagne Piper-Heidsieck Cuvée Brut NV

 

Enjoying the antics of Bridgerton and their society parties? then Champagne is the perfect match. Champagne would have been flowing freely during this period, establishing itself as a luxury celebration wine. Piper-Heidsieck's history dates back to 1785 and now own 70 hectares of sustainably managed vineyards. Their signature cuvée Brut is round and vibrant with a richness from the high proportion of black grape varieties. With notes of almond and hazelnut to accompany lively bubbles and fresh flavours of pear and crunchy red apple, the beautifully balanced finish is delicate and long with a hint of citrus fruits.

 

Food Match - Rustic Bread & Black Olive Tapenade

 

Netflix Match - Bridgerton

More of Lynne's wine suggestions here


Teeling Got That Lovin' Feelin'

Bring back that ‘Loving Teeling’ this Valentine’s Day! We’re hosting a virtual Valentine’s Cocktail class. Cocktails kits for 2 include - 4 cocktails, utensils including (2 mason jars & glassware) to accompany a live online demo. Book Now

Tumbler glass

Smiling face with heart-shaped eyes

teelingwhiskey.digitickets.ie/event-tickets/