Beer of the Year 2022. Best of October - The Long List

My Favourite Beers of the Year 2022

Best of October - The Long List

(whittled down from a much longer list!)

 

Session: 

White Hag Little Fawn Session IPA 4.2% 

Outer Place Mini Mini Session Disco IPA, 4.4% ABV 

Farringtons Clever Plucker Session NEIPA, 4.5% 

DOT Brew Spin Off Series Session IPA, 3.2% 

Lineman Group Therapy Session IPA, 4.6%

IPA:

White Hag West Coast to West Coast. 

Blacks Pineapple & El Dorado 

Stout: 

Brehon Shanco Dubh Porter, 7.7%

Pils: 

Farringtons Bohemian Pils 

Spon: 

Wide Street Coolship Spontaneously Fermented Ale  

Red Ale: 

Sullivan’s Maltings Irish Ale, 5%

Contenders to end of October:

October: ??????

September: Bradleys (with Dot Brew) Nice One IPA

August:12 Acres Pale Ale

July: Wicklow Wolf Locavore Summer 2022 Foraged Elderflower Saison

June: Wicklow Wolf Mescan Wit or Without You Belgian Wit

May: Wicklow Wolf Locavore Spring 2022 Barrel Aged Farmhouse Ale

April: Whiplash True Love Waits Dry Hopped Pils

March: Lineman Schadenfreude Schwarzbier

February: Wicklow Wolf  “Apex Cherry” Black Cherry Oatmeal Stout.

January: Whiplash Dry the Rain Double Decoction Dunkel

December: Lough Gill Mac Nutty Macadamia Nut

A Quart of Ale± #127. On the craft journey with Brehon, Full Circle, Farringtons, and Outer Place. Plus BeoirFest Special!

 A Quart of Ale± #127

On the craft journey with Brehon, Full Circle, Farringtons, and Outer Place

Brehon Shanco Dubh Porter, 7.7% ABV, 500ml bottle Bradleys

Black, as you know, is the colour of this porter. The coffee coloured head is not for hanging about. And there’s strong chocolate, maybe some roasted malt, drifting up towards your nostrils. 

The taste buds are soon in overdrive, sifting enjoyably through the chocolate flow and, among the sweet stream, picking out hints of wood, blackcurrant perhaps, wet flowers, and resin. Pretty rich stuff but it gets somewhat less sweet, more coffee than chocolate, towards the satisfying finish. 

An amazing porter from a brewery that seems to be at its best when operating on the dark side. More good things to come as the nights grow shorter. And, by coincidence, Brehon just announced on social media that they have something special lined up for this winter.. “..we’ve tasted the first trial and it tastes amazing already and we can't wait to get it on the shelves for you to enjoy!!” Neither can I!

They say: A full bodied Porter with strong notes of dark chocolate roasted malt and liquorice. Hopped with Magnum (German) and Williamette (USA). Best enjoyed slightly chilled, they suggest.

Always a yarn with Brehon brews. Brewer/farmer/drinker Seamus McMahon: “My grandmother always offered this..wisdom. ‘Never marry a man with Duff in his name or address.’ The reason? Chances were that he had poor land…land sure to produce a bad harvest. It’s probably why she ignored the advances of her neighbour from Shanco Dubh with its black hills that never saw the sun rising. At least, that’s what she always said, but maybe she just didn’t fancy him.”

Full Circle Hoop APA, 5.5% ABV, 440ml can Bradleys

Thought this was Irish when I bought it but, no, it comes from Newcastle. Waste not want not, though, even if I can’t include in the rankings of Irish beers. 

It has an inviting golden colour, topped by a foamy white head. Aromas are moderate, pretty much on the citrus side. Crisp and citrusy on the palate where you find a good balance between hops (Cascade and Chinook) and malts. Not bad at all.

Farringtons Bohemian Pils, 4.4% ABV, 440ml can Bradleys

Light gold is the colour of this beer by new Kildare brewery Farringtons. Aromas are slightly spicy with floral, hay and herbal hints there too. The malt makes an impressive entrance on the supple palate, balancing the classic bitterness of the Saaz hops before a crisp and refreshing finish. This is a Pils with a bit of heft and a very impressive debut effort.

Farringtons have been working on it for a while. “We are delighted to be launching our new range of beers. After several months of trialing beers in our pub it’s exciting to finally have our recipes locked down and available in 440ml cans to sell to a wider audience.”

And they have an invite for you. “Join us for a bite in our bar and restaurant. Our chefs specialise in dishes based on seasonal vegetables and herbs grown here on our 40-acre farm.” Might well take them up on that!

Other Farringtons beers include a Pale Ale, an Amber, a NEIPA and a Lager. I have the NEIPA in the queue!

Outer Place Mini Mini Session Disco IPA, 4.4% ABV, 440ml can Bradleys

“Mini Mini Disco is our new Session IPA. Big on aroma and flavour but small in ABV so you can have a few…Soft and juicy and unfiltered..” That is how producers Outer Place introduce this session IPA. 

It has a light orange colour and is indeed cloudy. Aromas are maybe less strong than you’d expect but still quietly complex with tropical, citrus, and floral notes all in a light dank envelope. Dank and tropical also on the soft and pleasant palate and the hop-led finish is decent as well. Confidently and easily fits the bill as sessional.

The hops are the American trio of Columbus, Azacca and Cascade and the other ingredients are water, barely, wheat and yeast. ABV is 4.4 while the IBU count is 27.

 

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BeoirFest this coming Saturday!

Brian: "This Saturday I have another great mix of brewers to chat with, including our first Hungarian brewery.

• Dealbreaker is our first ever Hungarian Brewery. A ghost brewery founded by 2 leaders of the Budapest beer scene who are also responsible for Budapest Beer Week.
• Spybrew describe themselves as a secret microbrewery based in Hvidovre, Denmark. They've been brewing since 2014 and this is our opportunity to make them just that little less secret.
• Crooked Spider from The Netherlands are joining us for the second time. Based in Wassenaar they are also a microbrewery founded in 2014, though they upgraded the facilities in 2021.

This is a really interesting mix of brewers with lots of different experiences. It should be a good chat."

Beer of the Year 2022. Early Contenders! Wicklow Wolf Tours are back!

Beer of the Year 2022

Early Contenders!

January: Whiplash Dry the Rain Double Decoction Dunkel

December: Lough Gill Mac Nutty Macadamia Nut

Beer of the Year 2021: Brehon Brewhouse Oak & Mirrors Two Stacks Whiskey Cask Aged Imperial Porter.

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Best of January 2022 Short List

Lager +: Whiplash Dry the Rain Double Decoction Dunkel; Whiplash Immolator Triple Decoction Smoked Dopplebock; Whiplash The Mash & The Fury Double Decoction Märzen.

Oats IPA: Hope Overnight Oats IPA.

Session IPA: Porterhouse Sundown Session IPA

American Pale Ale: O Brother The Chancer APA

Barleywine: Brehon Brewhouse Red Right Hand Barley Wine Beer

NEIPA: Porterhouse Renegade New England IPA

Stout: West Cork Stout X Stout West

Blonde: Killarney Golden Spear Blonde

Best of December (2021, for 2022) Short List

Brown Ale: Lough Gill Mac Nutty Macadamia Nut.

Single Hop IPA: Eight Degrees Citra Single Hop IPA 5.7%

Cask-Aged Porter: Brehon Brewhouse Shanco Dubh Porter 8.8%

Coffee & Oatmeal Stout: Third Circle Shot In The Dark

Pale Ale: Lineman Fluid Dynamic Extra Pale Ale.

Single Malt IPA: Eight Degrees Full Irish 6.0%

Session: Whitefield Brewery “Woodville” Session Pale Ale 4.3%

Pilsner/Lager/Helles: Whiplash Das Model.

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Wicklow Wolf Tours are back!

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A Quart of Ale± #88 Craft journey with Whiplash, Brehon, Porterhouse and Journeyman. + Brewery News

 A Quart of Ale± #88

On the craft journey with a session of Whiplash, Brehon, Porterhouse and Journeyman

Whiplash Dry the Rain Double Decoction Dunkel 5.2%, 440ml can Whiplash Online

“Dry The Rain sees us lightly decoct a more complex grain bill to produce our first Dunkel Lager.” Maybe not my favourite Whiplash lager but a good one.

Highlight here is the beautifully balanced bitterness towards the end.

At first glance, it is black but look longer and closer and there is an amber in there (from the Munich Malt) with a short-lived tan head. The aromas are modest, a sweet caramel and bread. And there’s more caramel on the palate, right through to the finish.

They say: We .. incorporate a traditional double stage decoction to produce a natural melanoiden that lends a rich dry and mellow caramel flavour throughout and binds this beautiful wort together. Hopped in kettle exclusively with German Magnum for a soft and unobtrusive bitter balance; this wort is cast off to meet our house German Lager yeast WLP833 in tank and is lovingly cold matured for over a month before packing - and your enjoyment.

Geek Bits

ABV 5.7%

440ml Cans

Artwork by @izzyrosegrange

Malts: MUNICH MALT; CARA BOHEMIAN

Hops: MAGNUm

Yeast: WLP833

Brehon Brewhouse Red Right Hand Barley Wine Beer 11%, 500ml bottle Bradleys

The Red Right Hand, a bourbon-aged barley wine, has a dark red, close to black, colour and is crowned with a coffee coloured soft head. Despite the high abv, it is rather gentle and easy to drink, clean, mellow and smooth. 

Really good but this bourbon-aged beer, earthy and sweet, good and all as it is, isn’t quite at the same level that their Oak & Mirrors Cask Aged Imperial Porter reaches, perhaps because the bourbon influence is very very subtle here.

Brehon have made a name for themselves with barrel-aged beers, beginning with their Crann Beatha barrel-aged stout. This one is well up to standard and, by the way, is a terrific match with Christmas pudding, with the Dunnes Stores Simply Better 12 month matured in particular. Yum on the double.

They say: The red right hand is symbolic of the historic clans of Ulster. It embodies strength, unity and character just like our Bourbon Barrel Aged Barley Wine. 

Porterhouse Renegade New England IPA 5.3%, 440ml can O’Briens Wine

Lots of hops here in the Porterhouse’s take of a New England IPA. So no shortage of flavours such as passionfruit, mango and peach, plus hints of resin. Still, in the end it is not very hoppy at all, underlined by an IBU count of 10.

It is a light orange colour, a fairly dense hazy one, with a soft white head that sinks slowly enough. Aromas are modest, citrus notes showing. It feels quite soft on the palate. The straightforward fruit flavours are pleasant enough as is the finish. Very drinkable, even more so if you’re not too pushed about the lack of hop bitterness towards the end (and that could apply to quite a lot of us).

They say: Renegade is our take on a NEIPA. With an extended whirlpool at lower temperature for a smooth soft finish. Unfiltered and heavily dry hopped with Amarillo, Galaxy & Mosaic…  This NEIPA is fermented on traditional East Coast yeast.

Journeyman India Pale Lager 5.2%, 500ml bottle, X-Mas present

I like the amber colour of this hybrid and the bubbly head that hangs around for a bit. Aromas break out with citrus, a hint of pine too. Citrus also plus tropical flavours feature on the palate where the hybrid features show themselves, the refreshing lager crispness and the punch of the new world hops. The lip-smacking lager style refreshment is the welcome quality here.

Journeyman is one of the beers made by the Pearse Lyons Brewery in Dundalk. The brewery is known as the Station Works and is one of the largest in the country. It produces beers under different brand names - Foxes Rock is another one - for various supermarkets.

Geek Bits

Malts: Ale, Oats, Cara, Wheat

Hops: Magnum, Galaxy (passionfruit, peach, citrus), Mosaic (tropical, berry, stone), Amarillo (grapefruit, peach, resinous)

IBU 10

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Brewery News

1 

Franciscan Well Bar

John and Phill....delighted to be back at the bar counter!

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The Cotton Ball

We are delighted with tonight's announcement. We are all looking forward to getting back to normal .

Keep an eye on our social media for our entertainment schedule .Don't miss out , book your party early

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12 Acres Brewing Company

A fresh batch of Pale Ale kegged and ready to pour! After a very tough time for the hospitality trade the kegs are moving again, great to see normal bar service resume.

Beer of the Year 2021. The Reveal!

Beer of the Year 2021

Very difficult to separate the contenders but the nod for my Beer of the Year goes to the Brehon Brewhouse Oak & Mirrors Cask Aged Imperial Porter. Brehon: "Whiskey-aged porter from a collaboration with our good friends at TWO STACKS using their freshly emptied single malt cask to mature our brew. Of course, getting it right took a few tastings with the lads. This is a superior whiskey cask-aged imperial porter that will please the most discerning of whiskey-loving palettes. Limited edition.."

1 - Cask-Aged Brehon Brewhouse Oak & Mirrors Two Stacks Whiskey Cask Aged Imperial Porter

 2 (joint) - Yellow Belly “Red Noir” Dark Red Ale

                  Whiplash “Melodie Noir” Baltic Porter

4 -       Mescan Brewery Old Brown 

5  (joint) -   Western Herd Flora and Fauna 10 Hop DIPA 

                 - Hope “Limited Edition No 25“ Classic Gose

                 -  Dungarvan “Mahon Falls” Rye Pale

8 - Galway Bay NZ Pils Motueka Dry Hopped Pilsner

Mescan's Old Brown

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Below are more of my favourites from the past 12 months. I'm lucky to have a great supplier here in Cork City and virtually every brewer in the country will know of Bradley's in North Main Street. There's a wall of beer there but I'm conscious that quite a few others don't make it this far south and so I've used various online shops to broaden my scope. If you feel, your beer is missing out, do please let me have a DM with info as to where I can buy it.

Category favourites 2021

Pale Ale:  White Hag “Magic Mist” Juicy Pale Ale (from a very competitive section)

IPA (also very competitive!): Blacks St Tropez IPA Summer IPA 4.8%

Session: Eight Degrees Seisíun IPA 4.5%. No shortage of competition here.

Lager: Galway Bay NZ Pils Motueka Dry Hopped Pilsner 4.9%, from a crowded field

Less competitive categories, even sub-categories

Coffee and Oatmeal Stout: Dungarvan Brewing.

Cask-Aged: Brehon Brewhouse Oak & Mirrors Two Stacks Whiskey Cask Aged Imperial Porter 7.5%; 

Porter: Whiplash The Sup

Rauchbier: Kinnegar 20÷2 Anniversary Rauchbier 5%

Barleywine: Eight Degrees Irish Oak-aged Barleywine 12.2%

Old Brown: Mescan

Spon: Land & Labour Crimson Kriek Framboise

Baltic Porter: Whiplash Melodie Noir Baltic Porter

Wheatbeer/Witbier/Wheat: Curious Society Wheat Beer

DIPA: Western Herd Flora and Fauna 10 Hop DIPA, 9.45%

Black IPA: 9 White Deer Black Lightning; 

Rye Pale Ale: Dungarvan “Mahon Falls” Rye Pale Ale

Bitter: Lough Gill Five Candles Extra Special Bitter

Stout: Ballykilcavan Blackwell Stout.

Kolsch: Rye River Grafters Clocking Off Kölsch Style

Red Ale: Yellow Belly “Red Noir” Dark Red Ale 4.5%

Gose: Hope “Limited Edition No 25“ Classic Gose

Non Alcoholic: Stonewell 0% Cider

Amber Ale: Kinnegar Devil’s Backbone 

Sour: Wide Street “Peach Berliner”Sour or Wheat? 

Brown Ale: Whiplash “The Ocean Wide” 

NEIPA: Heaney New England.

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Favourite beer in brew pubs:

Crew “Polly” IPA.

Also enjoyed:

Cotton Ball "Lynch’s" Stout (Cork City); Elbow Lane's "Angel" Stout (Cork City); and Tom Crean's "Six Magpies" Stout in Kenmare.

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Favourite Cider 2021: 

Stonewell Cask

Also enjoyed:

Johnny Fall Down Rare Apple Cider 2019. Longueville “Mór” Cider 8%.

Others to note:

Mac Ivors Traditional Dry Cider; Viking Orchard Cuvée; Con’s Irish Cider; Viking Hop It Craft Cider; Highbank “Proper Irish Cider” 2016. 

Irish Perry

Cockagee Cider Piorraí Irish Sparkling Perry

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