A Quart of Ale± #77. On the craft journey. A session with Wide Street, Larkin's and Curious Society

A Quart of Ale± #77

On the craft journey. A session with Wide Street, Larkin's and Curious Society

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Larkin’s Drench IPA 7%, 400 can Bradleys

This one’s got a lemon/orange colour and is very hazy indeed, more or less opaque with a white head sinking slowly. The aroma is not the most intense but it is pleasant with notes of exotic mango and passionfruit. And it is more of the same on the smooth and supple palate, hops and malt in good balance. An excellent beer with a formidable finish. Would love to do a head to head with a draught version of this and Crew’s Polly.

It appeared in May and Larkin’s were delighted:  “It's been a while! It's fair to say the lockdowns haven't been ideal for us here at Larkin's. But we've adapted in a few ways to overcome these challenges and we're coming out the other side stronger and better for it. We, along with all the other independent breweries, have had great support from everyone and this has made more difference than we've been able to express so THANK YOU! Thank you for buying craft and thank you for spreading the word to others who are now curious to try new styles and breweries.”

“..as a taster of things to come, here's Drench!  A 7% absolute banger of an IPA with an uncalled for 20g/litre dry hop of Strata, El Dorado and Idaho 7. This is new England through and through with big malt body to carry the hops and enough bitterness to balance it out.”

Bierhaus Cork soon had it on tap: “It’s literally been tapped up in at @bierhaus_cork for the weekend! Incredible beer- this is the best brew I’ve had on tap in a year.” Encouragement there for a “dank and juicy” beer.

Curious Society Immortal Game American Wheat Beer 5%, 440 can Carryout Ballyvolane

Another in the Curious Society series by Larkin’s of Wicklow, their impressive collection of budget beer offerings.

Colour of this American Wheat Beer is a lemon/orange, a hazy one with a soft white head that contracts reasonably quickly on pouring (from the can) but it does leave a reasonable crown. Aromas have a hint of orange peel which is indeed an adjunct here.

Straight off, I found this smooth customer very refreshing on the palate and on the finish. Bitterness is on the low side and there’s no sign of the clove or banana that you  find in European wheat beers. The producers suggest enjoying it on its own or with a slice of orange. It is very drinkable, for sure.

By the way, they suggest that if you enjoy the artwork to check out the "immortal game”, one of the most famous chess games of all time. I’m sure if you’re curious, you will!

Curious Society Night Tide Cold-Brew Coffee Oatmeal Stout 5%, 440 can Carryout Ballyvolane

“For this .. beer we teamed up with #cloudpickercoffee to bring you a full bodied velvety coffee oatmeal stout.” That’s how Curious Society introduce their Night Tide.

It pours black as night in a Wicklow wood with, yes, a coffee coloured soft head. It smells of coffee, from the dark roasted malts - coffee is an ingredient. It is close to full-bodied and rich. “Subtle flavours”, they say,  “but none of the bitterness that you can get from coffee.” Perhaps so, but there is a lively edge to it, not necessarily a bad thing, in fact it gives it a refreshing quality.

A doubt arose in my mind when I looked closely at this can. Of six cans bought (including this one) on the day, three were within days of the best before limit. Of the three, one was very poor, the other two lack-lustre. The expiry date on this is a few months off at Jan 22 but, once the doubt has set in, you’re left uncertain and wondering would it have been better a few months back. Purchase and Drinking date: 19th October. Note to myself: “Get into the habit of checking the dates!”

Wide Street Cashmere IPA, 5.6%, 440 can Bradleys

“When West Coast bitterness meets the citrus-y fruity flavour and aroma of an East Coast IPA. Whirlpooled and dry-hopped with Cashmere and Citra hops.” That’s the introduction to this IPA by producers Wide Street.

Colour is a mid-orange, hazy, with bubbles galore streaming towards to the soft white head. Aromas and flavours are both packed with citrus (lime, grapefruit, orange), mango and more. No shortage of bitterness either though, as promised. And the finish is good and dry.

They say: Unfiltered, unpasteurised, and can conditioned containing yeast sediment. Whirlpool and dry hop additions of 15g/l Cashmere and Citra hops provided the bitterness of a West Coast IPA and the citrus fruit aroma and flavour of an East Coast IPA. An all encompassing IPA. Refrigerate, store upright and pour carefully.

A Quart of Ale± #76. On the craft journey with a session of Mescan, Land & Labour, Eight Degrees and Dead Centre

A Quart of Ale± #76

On the craft journey with a session of Mescan, Land & Labour, Eight Degrees and Dead Centre

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Mescan Seven Virtues “Old Brown” 7.1%, 330 bottle Bradleys

Old Brown, or Oud Bruin in Flemish, is a dark beer from Mayo’s Mescan with a mild sourness that has been brewed in West Flanders since the 17th century. Mescan fans, and more, will know that Bart, one of the two principals in Mescan, is a Belgian.

The colour is indeed a dark brown with an off white head that doesn’t hang around too long. Aromas are a little on the funky side, a slight sourness in the mix. Close to black in colour, yet the beer has a light enough body, a kind of ethereal mix where sweet and sour notes happily coexist. In other words, this Old Brown is quite something else, pretty unique so get out there and gather up as many of the limited bottling of just 1400 litres, a very limited release indeed.

They say: We are really excited about this beer - Old Brown, or Oud Bruin in Flemish, is a dark beer with a mild sourness that has been brewed in West Flanders since the 17th century. Our Old Brown has spent over 2 years in oak where it underwent a secondary fermentation with Brettanomyces yeast in the wood. 

The water for Mescan beers comes from deep underneath Croagh Patrick via a spring beside the brewery. Malts, hops and yeast for the beer come from Belgium. All Mescan beers are vegan-friendly.

Land & Labour Crimson Kriek Framboise, 5.5%, 375ml bottle Bradleys

Crimson is the Kriek Framboise (cherry, raspberry) blend produced by the Land & Labour mixed fermentation operation (under the guidance of Tom Delaney) within the Galway Bay brewery in Oranmore. Here they make Spon (spontaneously fermented beer) - think wild yeasts and cool ship. 

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Let Land & Labour tell you about this one: We aged 1 year old spontaneously fermented beer on 830 grams per litre of sour cherries for 6 months. Before bottling we blended another Spon beer aged on 300 grams per litre of raspberries with the cherry beer. The final assemblage of 75% Cherry beer & 25% raspberry beer transcends both their individual selves.

With all that fruit involved, you’d expect it to be fruity; and it is. It is also sour, not perhaps as sour as a real sour, but it can take your breath away if you are not expecting it. In other words, it takes a bit of getting used to. But it is well worth the effort. 

Cap & Cork.

Certainly a different animal to the Chouffe Cherry whose bitterness is on the lower end of the scale. Still it is not too difficult to get over that initial puckering from our Land & Labour and to go on and enjoy it.

Land & Labour were struck by the “fruit saturation” early on “..we decided not to mess with the fruit saturation by further blending more aged beer before bottling (standard practice ). By not blending back we’ve maintained its incredibly high fruiting level & have managed to preserve all the fun & intensity of these beautiful fruits in each bottle. Even after 6 months bottle conditioning it’s as vibrant now as the day it went in!”

Colour is a cloudy ruby red and you’ll spot little bubbles clinging to the glass. There’s a lovely head of pink froth but it is short-lived. The fruity flavours are prominent on the palate and the finish is dry, sour and superbly refreshing. 

Interesting label note: this is an unfiltered unpasteurised beer. It’s alive. So is the yeast. Keep it, grow it, brew your own!

Limited number of 375ml & 750ml bottles.

• ABV: 5.50%
• RRP:  €15.00 approx
• Source: Bradleys, Cork
• Stockists: Specialist off licences.

Eight Degrees Original Gravity “Hoppy Lager” 5.7%, 440 can Bradleys.

Certainly looks like lager with its light gold colour and soft white head. “It’s a beer packed with hoppy possibilities,” say Eight Degrees and the aroma is an early illustration of that point.

The blend of new and old world hops makes this a generous lager, it is after all harvest time! Quite a concentration of flavour, almost akin to what you’d expect from a dubbel. Very generous indeed but the refreshment factor, an essential factor in lager, is not neglected and it finishes clean and deep.

Always look forward to the Eight Degrees food pairings and here they are: This Oktoberfest-style bier will go superbly with traditional Oktoberfest-style food: bring on great big würstl with plenty of mustard and sauerkraut, warm pretzels and that spiced cheese-butter spread called obatzda, a spit-roasted half chicken and roasted ham knuckles. A plate of spaetzle or semmelknödel and that’s you filled up until Christmas. At least you have this hoppy lager to cut through all that dense, rich food. If you have a chance – or can take any more food – try this beer with Dampfnudel, those sweet steamed dumplings, and see how the fresh citrus notes brighten up what could otherwise be a heavy dish.

Quite a lot to be going on with. Personally, I’m inclined to try it with Skeaghanore Confit Duck leg and any kind of cabbage from boiled (Sweetheart, Greyhound or Savoy) to sauerkraut to roast.

This is the third in the brewery’s ORIGINAL GRAVITY and the can art work this time is by Niamh McCarthy of Yellow Lion Studio. This illustration represents the freedom that lies ahead of us, with opportunities and possibilities on the horizon. It’s all about the adventures we can have again, embracing Ireland, the beautiful scenery and nature we have on our doorsteps.

Discover the artist: niamhmccarthyillustrates.com
Etsy: Yellow Lion Studio
Instagram: Yellow Lion Studio

Geek Bits
Malt: Irish lager malt, Carapils.
Hops: Lublin, Hallertau Tradition, dry hopped with Loral and Mandarina Bavaria.
Get social: #ORIGINALGRAVITYHoppyLager
Availability: 440ml cans, limited draught.
IBUs: 27Launch Date: October 2021.

* You may well be asking what is Original Gravity? A gravity reading taken just prior to yeast being added, or pitched, is referred to as the original gravity (OG). The OG will provide the brewer with a good idea of the potential alcohol percentage for that particular beer more here. 

Dead Centre Common Element Extra Pale Ale 4.1%, 400 can Bradleys

Brewed by Athlone’s Dead Centre on Pale Malt and Chateau Wheat Blanc, this Extra Pale Ale is hopped with Talus and Citra for lots of bright hop character. 

An inviting gold colour with a bright white head is what you see. And it is hazy. Citrus and floral are what you smell in the aromas. It is bright and immediately refreshing on the palate with the malts showing up well to balance; excellent mouthfeel and good depth of flavour. One for your session list!

They say: Dead Centre is not a faceless corporation…milking the beer industry for all it’s worth. Instead, we’re a tight knit crew that relies on friends, family, colleagues and other breweries to create a product that we can truly be proud of.

Fresh, flavoursome and (wherever possibly) local ingredients are what give our beer it’s character. Cutting corners here is not an option at Dead Centre Brewing. We believe you get out what you put in…so only the best goes in.

And there’s pretty good stuff coming out. This Athlone outfit are worth keeping an eye on.

Autumn Dining in the Crawford Gallery Café's Tents

 Autumn Dining in the Crawford Gallery Café's Tents

Pancake supreme!

There are leaves under my feet as I approach the gallery. We are heading for lunch, dining outside in the two cone-topped tents. Leaves on the path. Leaves gather in little clumps on the roof of the tents. Leaves on the carpet which a staff-member brushes away. But, as one long side of the structure is open, replacements rapidly rustle in.

The other long side - the two tents are joined together - has colourful panels of summer plants, some fauna too, and a row of heaters. They offer to turn one of those in our direction but, warm enough, we decline and enjoy our meal in comfort.

Ventilation!

We are here, in the Crawford Gallery Cafe in Cork city centre, for a slightly late lunch (table reserved) and the autumn sun and light wind, plus the walk downtown, has put a little edge on the appetite. We have the menu immediately and there is a quick decision. Not that the menu is short, far from it, there is quite a choice here.

Toastie

It is an interesting menu, always is, closely reflects the seasons, from breakfast through lunch there’s never a dud dish here. There’s an excellent little wine list too and many appealing pastries but we would have to leave those, leave the Devilled Kidneys, the Roast Marrow Bone, the Leek (autumn!) and Cheddar Cheese Tart. Leave too the Tagliatelle with all’s it tempting flavours, the Hake and Chips, the Shepherd’s Pie.

Colourful panels

We settled on these two below, after a little spat, a full scale war averted with a decision to share and the fact that our mouths were stuffed with some of excellent brown bread they gave us to fill the gap between order and delivery. Indeed it was hardly a gap at all, certainly not a noticeable one.

The exterior where the points of the tents echo that of the gallery itself.

CL had first go at the Crawford Spinach and Mushroom Pancake (with cucumber pickle, Horizon Farm leaves and hollandaise sauce). This was seasonal and rather special and terrific value at 14 euro, the price of a cocktail in many places. She said it was one of the best pancakes around and I agreed that it was half of one of the best. Joking aside, this is Highly Recommended!

And we’d say much the same about the Crawford Toastie, sixteen euro worth of Gubbeen salami, buffalo mozzarella, cheddar, pesto and sun-dried tomatoes, with leaves. Actually the leaves, from Horizon Farm, were especially good as was the dressing. And the toastie itself was the star on the plate of course with that robustly delicious salami from West Cork and well judged quantities of cheese and pesto, really well assembled and presented.

Mrs and Mr Rembrandt (from 1636, when he was 30)

Our servers were very pleasant and efficient and we paid indoors where the café itself was very busy as well, even if lunch hour (last Tuesday) was well over for many by now. Under pressure, as our parking disc was close to expiry, we left our visit to the Rembrandt prints in the gallery to tomorrow and made a beeline for Bradleys in North Main Street where I made a dent in the recently received supply of beers from the Brehon Brewery in County Monaghan. Their Ulster Stout was my personal beer of the year last year.

So on the morrow, there’s a trip back to the gallery - where I’ll  give my contact details to the young person at the door again - to see the prints of the 17th century Dutch artist. Later, a short stroll will take me to the 19th century English Market, particularly to the second stall that my friend Margo Ann has opened up under the Roughty Fruity banner. By the way, here’s a Cork (or Kerry) lesson for you: the correction pronunciation is Ruthy not Ruff-ty; the name comes from a river and valley near Kilgarvan, Co.Kerry!

Tools of the trade. One section of the exhibition shows how 
the various types of prints (engraving, etching, etc) are made.

And we did all that on the following day (day before yesterday) plus a stroll around the ramparts at Elizabeth Fort and a little shopping at Roughty Fruity’s additional stall in the English Market and also at the new Cameron Bakery shop in Parnell Place (an addition to their Washington Street store).

Oh, by the way. I like leaves, both when they are on the trees and on the ground as they are these autumn days. Love to hear the rustle as the wind shifts them about. But, while they can block drains and make places slippy and must be moved from such locations, I find it hard to understand when even tiny congregations are immediately met with brush and blower and rapidly shifted out of sight!

A Quart of Ale± #75. On the craft journey with a session of Western Herd, Treaty City, Heaney and Lough Gill

A Quart of Ale± #75

On the craft journey with a session of Western Herd, Treaty City, Heaney and Lough Gill

Western Herd Flora and Fauna 10 Hop Double IPA, 9.45%, 440 can Bradleys

This much hopped and hyped beer comes from the Western Herd Brewery in County Clare and is in the style of a West Coast DIPA.

It is gold in colour and you can see zillions of micro bubbles rising towards the white head. Aromas, with pine needles and pineapple prominent, are intense (some would say dank* - see below).

And that dankness is a force on the palate, leading an army of tropical flavours. Such flavours often get lost when the ABV is high but that is not the case here so major credit to the brewery. And the umami just goes on, the beer power-packed with flavour right to the very satisfactory finalé. 

They say: ..we’ve packed in the largest number of hops ever into this Double iPA. Designed to let the hops shine through, we’ve built a complex and layered flavour profile. the result is an intense fruit scent with pine, citrus and, in brewing parlance, a wonderfully dank aroma.”

Eight of the hops listed below have been used in the kettle and then they double dry-hopped it “heavily” with Nelson Sauvin and Strata.

Hops
Columbus, El Dorado, Cascade, Citra, Centennial, Nelson Sauvin,
Strata, Amarillo, Chinook

Malts
Pale, Stout Mix

Adjuncts
Dextrose

Yeast
LAX

Original Gravity
1.075

% ABV
9.45%

• When not describing something as “moist” and “humid” like a basement, dank is a slang term describing something as “excellent,” especially marijuana. Dank can also refer to memes that are played out or extremely weird.

Treaty City Pigtown Pilsner 4.8%, 440 can (gift)

This Pigtown Pilsner was brewed by Treaty City Brewery as an exclusive beer for the September 2021 Pigtown Culture and Food Series. It is called the ‘Pigtown Pilsner’ and is a Bohemian Pilsner.

Colour is a golden blond with tints of amber while aromas (fruity and floral) are mild. There’s an immediate refreshing bite from this one, nothing over the top, and it is more malty than hoppy. It has a pretty full body and is clean and crisp, with a mild bitterness, and is very drinkable indeed.

As you might expect, the main ingredients are all geared towards a Pilsner (or Lager) finish. Floor malted Bohemian Pilsner Malt has been used and the three hops  - Aurora (spicy, herbal and moderately bittering), Hallertau (mild aroma, slightly fruity and spicy, flowery, and even hay-like), Mittelfruh ( has a mild bittering potential), are all well-suited to the style.

Heaney Look! No Hands IPA, 7.0%, 440 can Bradleys

A very murky orange is the colour of this “true farmhouse” beer from Bellaghy, Northern Ireland. 

Fruity aromas, including pineapple. Earthy flavours along with fruit (mostly tropical) on the palate all the way through to the dry and bittered finalé. It has been dry-hopped with Vic Secret (well known for its clean pineapple flavour) and Ella (spicy, floral character like star anise). They tell us to expect a well-balanced hit of hazy pine, pineapple, grapefruit, and floral flavours with a dry spicy finish. Not quite hitting the bullseye for me but pretty close.

They say: A true farmhouse brewery from Bellaghy, Northern Ireland! The brewery was founded by Mal McCay and his wife Suzanne, who is a niece of the late poet Seamus Heaney. Since opening their doors, they are writing a new chapter in the history of The Wood – one all about grain, hops, and pure Bellaghy spring water.

We feature Heaney’s regularly here and are big fans of their Irish Stout, the Big Little IPA, the New England IPA, the “Way Over Yonder” Saison (with a few dried apricots at hand) and their Irish White Ale.

Lough Gill Five Candles Extra Special Bitter, 5.0%, 440 can Bradleys

A slightly murky orange/red is the colour of this Five Candles from Lough Gill, a celebration of their fifth birthday: “A traditional beer brewed for the perfect marriage of Malt & Hop bitterness.This is an updated recipe of Thieving Bastards, our first beer brewed here”.

Hints of orange from the aromas. Some light fruit too on the palate and a light roastiness also that hints of darker ales. The warming beer, a slightly biscuity ale, should go well with the birthday cake. 

A Quart of Ale± #74. On the craft journey with a session of Lineman, Dead Centre and Eight Degrees

A Quart of Ale± #74

On the craft journey with a session of Lineman, Dead Centre and Eight Degrees

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Lineman Sundrops Table Beer, 3.3%, 440 can Bradleys

A low abv beer, this from Lineman, a Dublin based independent brewery. 

Sundrops is the name and the colour is sunny, with much haze about.  The head sinks without too much delay. Aromas are rather special, thanks to the hops and yeast from down under. The Ozzie hop Topaz is bright and breezy and an efficient bittering agent while Nelson Sauvin, pretty popular these days, is known for its exotic fruits.

Sauvin is, I’ve read, shorthand for the white wine grape Sauvignon blanc (popular in New Zealand), and this beer certainly makes both the olfactory organs and the palate buds sit up and take notice before a lip-licking finish. All this with an abv of just 3.3! 

They are touting it as “A fantastically balanced sessionable beer” and I wouldn’t disagree! It is available in 440ml cans, is unpasteurised and unfiltered. Suitable for vegans.

Dead Centre Teeny Tiny Micro New England Pale Ale, 3.3%, 440 can Bradleys

A good early whiff of hoppy citrus indicates that this Teeny Tiny will be no weakling on the flavour side. Teeny Tiny, with its cloudy orange-y colour is, as its Athlone producers insist, ”a small but perfectly formed New England IPA”. 

Fresh and indeed loaded with flavour and an excellent balance between hops and sweet honey malt, I’d be happy to imbibe a few of these on a session or slip one or two in between some heavyweights.

Hops used are Citra, El Dorado and Idaho7 and its quite a beer at 3.3abv.

They say: Fresh, flavoursome and (wherever possibly) local ingredients are what give our beer its character. Cutting corners here is not an option at Dead Centre Brewing. We believe you get out what you put in…so only the best goes in.

Dead Centre have installed a beautiful copper clad brewery in their Brew Pub right on the banks of the River Shannon. “Serving a full range of wines, gins, soft drinks teas and coffees…our focus is first and foremost on great quality craft beer from our own brewery as well as local, guest breweries."

The brewpub is casual, laid-back and chilled. "We have four Dead Centre taps constantly pouring as well as 4 guest taps to make sure we always have a wide and interesting range available at the bar.”

Dead Centre Marooned Oatmeal IPA, 5.5%, 440 can Bradleys

An amber orange body topped with a foamy white head that tends to stick around, even from the can. Citrus elements figure in the aromas and on the smooth palate too and here the brewers give much credit to the locally grown and certified organic Kilbeggan oats. Flavours tend towards orange zest in the mouth before a classic bitterness takes over towards the dry finale.

Dead Centre is Westmeath’s first and only craft brewery. “Marooned, our flagship beer, has a silky smooth body, a result of using locally grown and certified organic Kilbeggan oats. This simple malt base delivers outstanding mouthfeel and gives the hops a perfect platform to shine.”

Malts:  Pale Malt, Red X and Kilbeggan organic oats.

Hops: Perle, Simcoe and Mosaic.

Eight Degrees Kveik Pale Ale 5%, 400 can Bradleys

This Pale Ale is named after a unique Norwegian Kveik that produces a tropical flavour and complex aroma. And I’m not talking about hops here. Kveik is a yeast. American Ale Yeast and the British Brett may be tops of the pops in yeast but Kveik is coming up fast, another illustration that “brewers and beer drinkers owe everything to these single-celled fungi”, that quote from Craft Beer for the Geeks. Yeast is responsible for many of the flavour compounds in beer including floral, fruity and spicy notes.

Back to our glass. Colour is a hazy dark gold and a fluffy white head lingers. Aromas are mostly tropical. Tropical also on the palate, multi-layered with  tangerine and pineapple getting a turn as the sips roll softly in. Slightly spicy too and there’s a good dry finish. Very quaffable indeed and highly satisfactory.

They say: It is packed full of Mandarina Bavaria, Cascade and Simcoe hops: lots of fruit and citrus flavours, with a backbone of grapefruit and pine. We’re adding Hornindal Kveik to the mix, a Norwegian yeast that brings some lovely tropical esters to the party. Dry hopped with HBC 522 and HBC 630. (Terrible names, great hops).

This is the second of their 2021 Original Gravity series which celebrates ten years in business for the Mitchelstown brewery. They ran a competition looking for artworks and the winners are featured on this series of five limited beer releases, giving emerging artists a can-sized exhibition space.

The Kveik Pale Ale design comes from with Michael Donnelly of Woolly Mammoth. Michael’s joy at getting out into the great outdoors after the lockdowns is reflected in his design which “depicts the beauty that this country has to offer and the amount of activities we can do…”. Discover more of his work on Instagram:  @woollymammothdesign

As always, Eight Degrees have food suggestions: 

Smooth, snappy and just right for an aperitivo. Puglian taralli – those curled up, crunchy little breadstick bites, especially good when flavoured with fennel – are a great pre-dinner nibble to have alongside this beer. Make up a platter of your favourite crostini (topped with ’nduja and crushed peas) or bruschetta (tomato and aged balsamic for the win) to contrast with the tropical fruit flavours. If you’re heading into the great outdoors with this beer, try it with halloumi burgers, campfire fish tacos or a barbecued steak with piquant salsa verde.

Get social: #OriginalGravityKveikPaleAle

A Quart of Ale± #72. On the craft journey with a trio of ciders: Viking, Johnny Fall Down, and Con's Irish.

A Quart of Ale± #72

On the craft journey with a trio of ciders: Viking, Johnny Fall Down, and Con's.

Viking Orchard Cuvée Cider, 5.5%, 500 bottle Bradleys

This is a medium dry cider from Waterford’s Viking Cider. We’ve already tasted a couple of their bottles in previous Quarts here.

Colour is a mid-gold with bubbles galore rising. Aromas are gentle, just like a bunch of ripe apples in your hand. It is a blend of quite a few varieties and is smooth and mild, perhaps more dry than medium. Quite round and soft all the way to its bitter sweet lip-smacking finish. Well made and in my case well appreciated.

Viking Irish Drinks at Dennison’s Farm was set up as a company in 2017, with cider production commencing in 2019. At the heart of the company is three unique craft cider styles, based on old farm recipes, including Medium Dry Orchard Cuvée, the immensely popular Harvest Blush and Ireland’s first Hop flavoured cider, Hop-IT.

The story of this cider: Apple varieties used for Medium Dry Orchard Cuvée are Dabinett, Michelin, Yarlington Mill, Foxwhelps, Kingston Black, Harry Masters, and some Bramley for acidity. Harvest time for these apples is usually mid-October, except for Foxwhelps, which is harvested earlier but blended back in.  Medium Dry Orchard Cuvée is fermented slowly on its natural occurring yeasts for up to six months. Gluten Free and Coeliac Friendly.

Technical - 5.5% ABV | Acid – 4.2 Grams per Litre | Sulphur – 0.3 trace of So2 | Calories - 55 per 100 ml

Food Pairing: Serve with traditional roast chicken/ pork and light game meats. Plus, a cider gravy adds to the flavour of the trimmings. Also try Medium Dry Orchard Cuvée with grilled Salmon and parsley butter, steamed mussels in their shell. To finish, accompany with some more-ish cheeses, like Durrus Cheese or most Irish farm-house cheeses. Best served 10 degrees.                                                                       

Johnny Fall Down Rare Apple Cider 2019, 5.5%, 500 bottle Bradleys

Amber gold is the colour of this multi-apple blend from the benign south facing slopes of Killahora, situated close to Glounthaune village, and on a slight rise above the backwaters of Cork Harbour. Uncountable little bubbles rush towards the top of the glass, this from the 2019 vintage. This is100% apple juice using wild yeasts for fermentation and is matured over 12 months.

The aromas are mild but this superb cider is intense and complex on the palate. Look out for tropical, smoky and nutty notes and a long complex finish, they advise. And that is what you get, amazing from first taste until the lingering aftertaste.

They say: We grow over 100 apple varieties and this year are including some of the best of our ciders into one fine bottle. We have also included some oak and the barrel aged ciders from 2018 to add depth to the freshness of the 2019 harvest. This cider may ruin your ability to enjoy commercial ciders. Don’t say we didn’t warn you!

It is produced from the entire range of their apple harvest, a bit like a Gentil wine from Alsace. And just like that delicious and complex wine, this Glounthaune cider is more or less perfect, not too sweet and not too dry.

Pairings suggested by the producers are Pork, Chicken, spicy food, cheese and oily fish.

Con’s Irish Cider, 5.5%, 500 bottle at the Apple Farm

Real cider, it says on the label. And real cider it is. A small batch medium dry cider, “made from seasonal Irish Apples hand-picked on our family farm in Cahir… where visitors are always welcome”.

The natural imprint of the orchard is all over this one, from the golden colour, reminiscent of an Autumn sunset, to the fruity aromas and flavours, its lovely mouthful and satisfying finish. No shortage of oomph. Cider doesn’t get any more real than this tip top Tipperary bottle.

They say: For us at The Apple Farm, where we make Con’s, Real Irish Cider is made and bottled in its entirety in Ireland using the juice of Irish-grown apples, without the routine addition of either water or sugar…..

Buyer beware though, as the term Real Cider is not legally defined, and it is possible that someone adding much more sugar and water could hijack the term.

To see more of their thoughts on real versus not real cider see what owner Con Traas has to say here.  Just a short read but well worthwhile.

Con has helped quite a few Irish cider makers over the years and the 2013 Cider Celebration was held at the Apple Farm and a great day it was too with cider makers from all over the country displaying their produce! Would love to see that revived.

* Don't forget that coming up this Saturday (16th) Brian and BeoirFest have 3 brewers, 4 breweries, and 5 countries!

• Third Barrel are one of the pioneers of brewing in Ireland and have created 3 brands to differentiate their different offerings in the marketplace.
• Brew & Roll brew Metallica-inspired beers in Navarre.
• Both Solo from Crete and Axiom from the Czech Republic have Norwegian Kjetil Jikiun as their head brewer.

It's a great mix of brewers and breweries for a chat. Their experience should provide some great insight and stories into the state of brewing across Europe. More details here.