CorkBillyBeers #51. Craft with Wicklow Wolf, Hofbräu, and Lacada

CorkBillyBeers #51

Craft with Wicklow Wolf, Hofbräu, and Lacada

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Wicklow Wolf (with Devil’s Peak & Fierce Beer) Tryfecta Hazy Pale Ale, 4.5% ABV, 440 ml can Bradleys

“Tryfecta is a hazy pale ale double dry hopped with New Zealand hop Motueka. This refreshing pale ale pours a hazy golden hue with tropical and citrus fruit flavours and aromas.”

That’s how Wicklow Wolf sums up their recent collaboration with Fierce Beer (Scotland) and Devil’s Peak (South Africa), a beer put together with an eye on Group B (the so-called group of death) of the World Cup in rugby where all three countries are fighting for just two quarter-final places.

The message from the den: We were delighted to welcome our friends, Fierce Beer from Scotland back to Wicklow and this time we also invited our friends in Devil’s Peak from South Africa for our latest Crossbreed Series Collab.This beer is a celebration of friendship and competition, as Ireland, Scotland and South Africa all played each other at this year’s Rugby World Cup in France.

So what better way to celebrate the games than brewing a beer that we can all enjoy together win or lose. Tryfecta is a 4.5% Hazy Pale Ale double dry hopped with New Zealand hops, providing a wonderful burst of tropical fruits.

It is a murky orange colour with a white head that doesn't hang about too long. The aromas are hoppy for sure - the All Blacks haven't been left out of the picture and could well skip off with the trophy when the dust settles in Paris this weekend. Quite a beer though, with that burst of tropical fruit as promised, and one of the better collaborations of recent years.

Very Highly Recommended.

BB: 21.08.2024. Bought: 25.09.23

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Hofbräu Original Helles, 5.1% ABV, 500 ml bottle Dunnes Stores

“A beer with character for connoisseurs with character.”

Colour is lovely gold/yellow with bands of sparkly bubbles rising non-stop towards the soft white head. The aromas are slightly sweet malty, a hint too of hops.  It is full-bodied, really mature, a superb grown-up lager with the excellent balance required.

Pairings recommended by the Munich brewery are sausage and cheese, salads, roast pork, pasta and steamed fish. But the best pairings are to be found in a beer hall in Munich, sitting together on long wooden benches, enjoying pretzels and hearty snacks and treats, feeling that Bavarian hospitality and camaraderie, the perfect service donned in smart-looking traditional costume…”

 

Geek Bits

Available all year round. 

Bottom fermented. 

Serve at 6-7 degrees. 

Hops: Herkules, Perle, Magnum, Select.

Malts: light barley malt, Munich malt

Brweing: infusion method

Bitterness: 24 IBU

Other:

BB: 05.03.2024. Bought: 20.09.2023

We had another German lager on here (in #47), the HB Bayerisches Pils, recently. The bottles are fairly similar, both use the letters HB in blue and both beers are bottle-fermented but the other HB is in Traunstein about an hour and a half from Munich. Both brewers are long-standing, HB (Munich) was founded in 1589 and Hofbräuhaus in Traunstein in 1612.

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Lacada Screw Steamer California Common, 5.0% ABV, 440 ml can Bradleys

California Common is a beer made by fermenting lager yeast at warmer ale yeast temperatures. Also known as a “steam beer”

The latter name comes from the 'Screw Steamer / SS' ships. One such famous ship was the SS Hazel which was a steam packet ferry that ran between Ardrossan, Scotland and Portrush in the early 1900s. And that is where the name of this Portrush-brewed beer comes from.

It is malty in the aromas. Colour is a reddish-orange. Quite pleasant on the palate with a light caramel maltiness, and rustic, woody notes from the Northern Brewer hops (often used in California Common for its woody, piney and minty essence). You’ll also find this hop in Lambic, Porter, European Ales, and Stout, on the darker side in other words.

The Rising Sun’s “Common Eileen”, another California Common, was malty with a decent bitterness, with traditional old-style American hops, came out about four years ago. Good name but short-lived, I think. This Portrush effort has more going for it but not sure that it will have a lasting impact.

Worth a try though. Recommended.

BB: 31.01.2024. Bought: 25.09.23

CorkBillyBeers #50. Quite a quartet of craft with Kinnegar, Third Barrell, O'Hara's and Rodenbach.

CorkBillyBeers #50

Craft with Kinnegar, Thired Barrell, O'Hara's and Rodenbach.

Four beauties for you in #50

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Kinnegar has a festival beer for you. 

Kinnegar Leaf Kicker 2023 Marzen, 5.9% ABV, 440 ml can Bradleys

Gorgeous golden/amber colour on this one, a repeat of last year's Leaf Kicker Märzen, one that I enjoyed immensely. And it's the same again in 2023. “You enjoyed it so much in 2022 (and we did too) that we’re giving it another whirl before departing this particular chapter of German lager tradition”, say Kinnegar, meaning that they’ll more than likely move on to another German lager style (festival related no doubt) for 2024.

There’s a lovely bubbly white head atop the gold/amber. It has an almost creamy mouthfeel.  This supple beer leads with its rich malts, along with a sweetish bagel flavour and a touch of caramel. It finishes clean and a little hoppy.

It is deeply refreshing and also well suited to food including BBQ, pizzas and tacos plus a chicken from the rotisserie. A deeply satisfying lager and  Very Highly Recommended.

Geek Bits

LEAF KICKER 5.9% ABV

STYLE Märzen

COLOUR Dark amber

HOPS German noble

TASTE A deeply satisfying lager.

KNOWN AS Märzen was the original Oktoberfest beer

AVAILABILITY Autumn seasonal

440ML can and keg

BB: 04.05.24 (bouight 25.09.23)

Most of us who have hosted and or attended weddings will no doubt have enjoyed a beer or two. Very few weddings have started a beer trend. But that’s what happened when a royal wedding between Ludwig (the future king) and Therese took place in Bavaria in October 1810. That party was so good and the couple so popular that another party was held the following year and so Octoberfest was established.

By 1819, the festival had become a 2-week event (beer was just one strand), now organised by the city of Munich, and kicked off, as it does now, in mid-September. Marzen was the main style of beer for the festival and its name came from the fact that it was brewed in March to be at its best in Autumn.

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Third Barrel Vulture Culture Cold IPA, 6.0% ABV, 440 ml can Bradleys

Third Barrel: “Clean, crisp and bursting with flavours of ripe tangerine, peach and papaya from a healthy dose of Idaho 7 Cryo and Luminosa hops.”

Rice is also included in the ingredients. The beer is fermented with lager yeast, add in those hops and you get, as promised, a clean refreshing and fruit-forward cold IPA.

From Idaho 7, comes pungent tropical fruit and citrus (think apricot, orange, red grapefruit, papaya) with big notes of resiny pine and hints of black tea.  Here though, we are talking Idaho7 Cryo and that, designed to be aromatic and flavour enhancing,  means you get an even more potent aroma and flavour and also good bitterness.

Add in the contribution from Luminosa and the whole beer is brighter, the tropical side enhanced and you know you’ve got a good thing going.

At least, you've got a good thing going if you know your stuff as well as Third Barrel does! Very Highly Recommended.

Most of us are familiar with the hop cone, used by brewers for centuries. Then along came hop pellets and now we have Cryo, which is so concentrated that they’ve become an essential in a brewer’s toolbox. 

The word Cryo (or similar) pops up a lot these days and you may be familiar with it through medicine (especially sports) where certain injuries can benefit from Cryotherapy Treatments, a kind of ultra-cold immersion. Cryo comes from the old Greek word for cold. 

On to the hops then which, using liquid nitrogen (which your doctor might use to make a wart vanish), the raw hops are quickly chilled to sub-zero temperatures — after that, the producers shatter it. More on the process here .

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O’Hara’s Irish Red Ale, 4.3% ABV, 500 ml bottle Dunnes Stores 

The Carlow Brewing crew is quite proud of their red ale: “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.”

O’Hara’s has a very dark red robe but that “dense lasting white head” fails to materialise, though I have to add 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 and traditional hop flavour combine well. A terrific example of the style gets a major thumbs up from this quarter.

Excellent balance and Very Highly Recommended

 

They say: 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. A delicious accompaniment to mature cheddar or soft goat cheeses.

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

BB: 28.08.24 (bought 20.09.24)

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Rodenbach Grand Cru Flanders Red Ale, 6% ABV, 330 ml bottle Bradleys

Brownish red is the colour of our Rodenback Grand Cru Red ale. With a short-lived coffee-coloured head. Aromas are certainly on the sour side. There’s also quite a tang on the palate but also the sweet contribution of delicious fruit flavour. Complex and amazing and a totally different animal to the O’Hara’s Red Ale. 

The sourness in the aromas is repeated on the palate and, if you’re not prepared for it, you might as well throw your hat at it at this stage. Someone here has joked that a citron pressé would be a better drink. But remember, it is “probably the most award-winning beer in the world”. So pay a little heed and a little respect!

Soon, at least for me, that complex fruitiness begins to assert itself, both on the palate and all the way through to the finish and you realise there is much more to this than the obvious sour character. Sour comes up quite often but I’m pretty sure the word doesn’t appear on the label (lots of tiny print though!)

The Rodenbach Grand Cru sour red/brown at 6%, is a blend of 1/3rd young beer and 2/3 of beer aged two years in large oak vats, giving fruity taste, complexity and intensity. It even has its own AOC. It takes over two years to make (even the angel’s share happens here and they know the good things) and the young beer is added to restart fermentation. 

I throw in the odd non-Irish beer, not to be rated, but just for variety and as an example of what can be done by our much more experienced Belgian and German brewers. Perhaps a few of these could be enticed over here for collaborations.

The Rodenbach Grand Cru is the archetypal Flanders red-brown beer. Each of these beers is a unique blend, but they all share a brewing process characteristic of the area surrounding Roeselare and Kortrijk.

The typical sweet and sour taste of a Rodenbach Grand Cru is produced by a two-stage fermentation process called mixed fermentation, involving top-fermentation and bacterial fermentation using lactic acid bacteria. The Rodenbach Grand Cru matures in oak foeders, or barrels, over a period of two years, giving the beer a unique, complex fruitiness that is reminiscent of wine.

Rodenbach, the mother beer, is usually one-quarter mature beer to three-quarters young beer. When it comes to Rodenbach Grand Cru, the blend is two-thirds mature beer with one-third of a young brew added.

By the way, there is a series of these Rodenbachs and do watch out for the Rodenbach Caractère Rouge. It is billed as a red/brown sour and it is sour but also packs amazing fruitiness. The beer is macerated with fresh cherries, raspberries and cranberries and, after that, is matured in oak barrels.

BB: 15.12.25 (bought 25.09.23)

This Celeste Tempranillo, from the highest vineyard in Ribera Del Duero, is that little bit closer to wine heaven

This Celeste Tempranillo, from the highest vineyard in Ribera Del Duero, is that little bit closer to vinous heaven

Pago Del Cielo Celeste Crianza Ribera Del Duero (DO) 2019, 14.5% ABV, €19.95 Bradleys.

Made with the Tinto Fino variety, Celeste has been aged in French and American oak barrels for 12 months in the winery at 895 meters of altitude.

Tinto Fino is the name by which Tempranillo is known in the Wine region of Ribera Del Duero, a region in which it gets some great results. This Celeste has the familiar yet fascinating dark cherry robe, with a lighter rim. Intense concentrated aromas are a mix of fruit (dark berries), plus a whiff of cocoa and spice. The fruit and spice you meet again in a light and velvety palate. The wine is surprisingly easy-drinking with an elegant and pleasing finish.

Very Highly Recommended.

The winery, owned by the Torres family, is well pleased: “Celeste Crianza is an opulent, fruit-filled, full-bodied wine with intense colour that possesses the freshness, passion, and intensity of a star-filled night. This wine is aged for 12 months in French and American oak barrels and 12 months in the bottle. The flagship wine from the Pago del Cielo winery is one of DO Ribera del Duero’s most internationally famous wines.”

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Check my growing list of top wines for 2023

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Check out my Good Value Wine List here

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I mentioned the altitude of the winery in the opening sentence and there’s a good reason. Torres again: “In Ribera del Duero, the winery is located in Fompedraza at 895 metres above sea level, the highest elevation in the DO. This privileged location, with its spectacular landscape, boasts the ideal climate for making intensely aromatic red wines….it is one of the highest vineyards in the northern hemisphere, a high-altitude, complex land whose harsh climate produces exceptionally high-quality grapes.”

Given its smooth, silky tannins and fruit concentration, the wine pairs beautifully with all kinds of red meat, chorizo, and aged cheeses. Serve at 14–16ºC.

Pago Del Cielo, a Torres company, is a wine project that spans two privileged Spanish wine regions steeped in tradition, committed to quality, and with a deep passion for winemaking – Ribera del Duero and Rueda. Ribera del Duero is located in the Meseta Central or central plateau of the Iberian Peninsula.

Taking the opportunity here to repeat a few lines I used when reviewing the same company’s excellent Verdejo a few weeks back.

The more we care about the earth, the better our wine. That is the Torres motto that I first heard in 2015 and it was underlined in this Verdejo. So whether it is improving sustainability (turning vine cuttings into a source of energy), using solar panels or organic viticulture or their long-time commitment to fair trade, Torres contribute wherever they are, from Chile to California to Catalonia. The earth could do with more families, more companies like this.

CorkBillyBeers #48. Craft with Bullhouse, Rascals, Lough Gill and Wicklow Wolf.

CorkBillyBeers #48

Craft with Bullhouse, Rascals, Lough Gill and Wicklow Wolf.

Nothing over 5% ABV in this foursome

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Bullhouse Frank The Tank Hazy IPA, 5.0% ABV, 440 ml can Bradleys

Mosaic makes the difference! 

“The Fruity Hop That Changed Craft Beer.”

Colour of this Belfast-brewed IPA is pale, more or less lemon, and it is indeed hazy, like a foggy night on the docks. Frank seems quite the character and is not shy about promoting itself: "Once it hits your lips, it's so good!” It is that extra pale base “to showcase the aromatic, tropical and stonefruit flavours of our Mosaic DDH”.

No kidding with Frank. It is indeed pretty damn good, packed with just the one hop Mosaic and giving up slightly sweet flavours of tropical fruit and a whole lot of hoppy backbone in a complex mouthfeel. Good refreshing finish also.

Bullhouse is emerging, in this house at least, as a brewery to note and Frank the Tank’s IPA is Very Highly Recommended.

California-based Kegerator, well known in home brewing in the US, say their aim is “To provide beer aficionados with the best selection of dispensers, brewing supplies, and home bar accessories.”

They know their hops. The Mosaic hops that Bullhouse have used here - it is just over 10 years old -  is highlighted by Kegerator who call it “The Fruity Hop Variety That Changed Craft Beer.”

“The hop variety was an instant hit and, according to For the Love of Hops by Stan Hieronymus, the variety gained a reputation even before it was named or fully released onto the craft brewing scene in 2012.

The name Mosaic was given to the variety because of the complex and broad aromas it imparts. This complex profile is backed by a clean bittering, which makes it especially remarkable in single hop ales.”

They confirm that it is as versatile as Bullhouse indicate: “Mosaic hops cover all three corners of hop usage pretty well. A fact that becomes obvious when you see the amount of single-hopped IPAs being churned out with this variety. It could also be used in the aroma and flavour department backed by a clean bittering hop like Magnum or Galena. Because of its fruitiness, Mosaic plays well with other fruity or citrusy hops.”

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Rascals Session IPA, 4.4%% ABV, 440 ml can Bradleys

This Session IPA is one of the brewery’s Outbreak Series,  one of “three seriously classy IPAs, each with a particular inspiration”..…

And this is “blissfully citrus and delightfully tropical”. “At 4.4% we're making it an easy-going beer to be sipped, shared and ideal for any bag-of-cans enthusiast: spruce up your sesh with our Session IPA!”

The colour is pale, more or less lemon, with a slight haze. Sweet tropical fruits (mango, lychee, passion fruit) in the aromas. Flavours are quite complex, a blend of floral, tropical, fruity, and earthy characteristics. But it never gets to cross to the sweet side, the balance provided by the hops’ bittering qualities. 

A small ABV yes but a serious session contender. Nice bit of work from the Rascal brewers.

And they know it! “This beer really benefits from the flavour and aroma intensity of using hop oils in the brew. There’s an instant ‘wow factor’ the minute you get a nose – and mouth – full of what’s on offer. There’s a crisp green grape and ripe lime finish, making our Session IPA a proper hoppy belter.”

Can’t argue with that. Very Highly Recommended.

Hops used were Citra T90, Galaxy and Mosaic.

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Lough Gill Shaka Session IPA 3.8% ABV, 440 ml can No 21 Midleton

This lemon-coloured IPA comes from the excellent Lough Gill Brewery in Sligo. It is murky, with a soft white head and, at 3.8% ABV, slips comfortably under the session bar. Aromas are moderate, are of the tropical kind and very pleasant. And so it continues on the palate with a smooth citrus flavour and a mouthfeel that “has been amped up with the addition of oats and Dextrin malts”. 

Another well-balanced beer with a refreshing finish and well suited to a session.

Highly Recommended.

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Wicklow Wolf Raindrop, 0.5% ABV, 330 ml can No 21 Midleton

“Introducing 'Raindrop 0.5', number 39 in our Endangered Species series. A beer inspired by our Mixed Berry Sour, Raindrop - our brewers were excited to brew a non-alcoholic version of our favourite sour.”

This 0.5% Raindrop comes in an unmissable vibrant red colour. Aromas are fruity, sweetly so. No lessening of the fruit on the palate but here there’s a sour backbone. But it is very refreshing indeed, this mix of jam-packed flavours of raspberries, blackberries and blueberries.

One of the more interesting non-alcoholic beers on the market and that includes the imports. But, there’s always a but, this is a limited edition, one of Wicklow’s endangered species. Worth a try if you can get your hands on one, or more than one.