Beer of the Year Contenders and July's Favourites

Favourite Beers of July

(The long list, from a longer list!)

Best of July (long list)

Session: Kinnegar Brewers at Play #24 Summer Ale. Whiplash Ephemeral Table Beer 2.6%. Dot Brew Loose Session IPA 3.5%; 

IPA: Wicklow Wolf West Side Story West Coast Kveik IPA; Dot Go Go IPA

Witbier: Whiplash Alma Witbier 

Saison: Wicklow Wolf Locavore Summer 2022 Foraged Elderflower Saison Red Ale: Clonakilty Foxy Red Ale. 

Gose: Lough Gill Wild Irish Gose. 

Beer of the Year Contenders  to date:

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

Pints enjoyed in bars:

The Maritime, Bantry: 9 White Deer Kölsch

The Lake Hotel, Killarney: Ale and Lager by Killarney Brewing Co.

Merry’s, Dungarvan: Wicklow Wolf Ale

The Shelbourne, Cork: Beamish

The Cotton Ball, Cork: Lynch’s Stout, Indian Summer

Mellet’s Emporium, Swinford: Reel Deel Jack the Lad, Mescan Seven Virtues Lager.

Keenan’s, Tarmonbarry, Co. Roscommon: White Hag Little Fawn; Kinnegar’s Scraggy Bay.

A Quart of Ale± #114. On the craft journey with Dot Brew, Wicklow Wolf, Rye River, Abbot's Ale House, and Whiplash

A Quart of Ale± #114

On the craft journey with Dot Brew, Wicklow Wolf and Whiplash, Rye River and Abbot's Ale House.

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Dot Brew Loose Session IPA 3.5%, 440 ml can Bradleys

Dot are happy with this one:  ”A perfect all year round thirst quencher.” Think I could go along with that.

A light orange colour with a fleeting white head. Citrus-y aromas, notes of pine there too. And the bold hoppy stuff marches on through the palate. Low ABV yet mid to full bodied with high refreshment values. One to look out for when organising a session.

Dot indicate there’s a place for Loose Session as a “new core”. “Full thundering hits of fresh stone fruit, built with flaked & malted oats / low rider yeast whirlpool & dry hop additions of Idaho7 & Centennial.”

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Dot Go Go IPA 6.0% ABV, 440 ml can Bradleys

Closer to orange than lemon is the colour of this Dot Brew IPA. It is of course hazy and is classed by some, though not the brewery (at least not on their limited social media info), as a New England IPA.

Used my usual finger in the (short-lived) foam to test for flavour, and citrus was the first to show. But there’s more as we progress to actual drinking including mango and other sweet fruits. The reinforcements lift the Go Go from a middle of the road beer and it chugs amiably, if not over impressively, but never really threatening the leaders of the IPA pack.

Geek Bits:

Hops: Mosaic, Citra and Centennial (all USA)

Suitable for vegans.

Ingredients included malted and flaked oats.

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Wicklow Wolf West Side Story West Coast Kveik IPA 6.6%, 440 ml can Bradleys

Wicklow Wolf seem to be on quite a run this year and this West Coast IPA, featuring the popular Kveik yeast, is another quality beer.

Colour is an amber/orange, hazy of course. Aromas on the dank side, citrus and pine. Strata is one of the hops used and has been described as described as “Passion fruit meets pot.” So maybe I’m on the money with dank.

And that dank quality is found on the palate also, along with citrus-y traits and floral notes. It is bitter but not overly so, as any extremes are smoothed down by the dank influence. 

The other hops used by the way are Idaho7 and Talus and malts are listed as Golden Promise, Pilsner and Cara Clair.

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. Kveik is getting popular here: Eights Degrees, Metalman, and Wicklow Brewery have been among its users in recent times.

The endangered species brews (this is #29) are a series of small batch, limited edition crafted beers from Wicklow Wolf. "These beers are so rare that only a lucky few will get to experience them in the wild before they become extinct.”

By the way, Wicklow Wolf have been in touch about their taproom news. "We've just added a whole new list of tour dates for the rest of the Summer! Book in for your tour and beer tasting now. We're delighted to now offer flights of beer at the taproom, the perfect accompaniment to a pizza from our friends in the firehouse!" 

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Whiplash Alma Witbier 5.0%, 440 ml can Bradleys

Bright fresh lemon peel, tangerine, white wine, limes, white pepper and a hint of clove dominate the initial aroma while the body and flavour is airy, silky, fluffy, gently sweet and reassuringly citrus forward.

A Belgian style beer from Whiplash, a Witbier. Amarillo is the main hop and it is used in the dry hop while the other two,   Nelson Sauvin (gooseberry, Grape, passion fruit) and Moteuka (tropical, lime, lemon), both from New Zealand, are small additions to the brew at the whirlpool stage.  Just before finishing they add fresh lemon zest to the tank, “electrifying the whole affair and transforming this Wit into something extremely special.”

Colour is a light orange, hazy for sure. Aromas are zesty as is the first impression on the palate. The lovely and lively lemony zestiness continues strongly on the palate, with peach and pine there also. 

Whiplash say they “always approach our Belgian style beers in a less than traditional way” and the divergence continues throughout, though you may find little hints of clove in the aromas and at the end. Something different, something special as they say themselves. 

Geek Bits

ABV 5.0%

440ml Cans & draught

Artwork by @sophie_devere

Pilsner Malt

Wheat Malt

Amarillo

Lemon Zest

WLP550 (yeast)

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News from Cork's Abbot's ale house

@HouseAbbot

Event Alert!! We are proud to welcome our old friends Rye River for a tap takeover weekend!! This event will take place all weekend long from Thursday 11th August - Saturday 13th. There will be 9 taps pouring ! And free giveaways too!

A Quart of Ale± #110 On the craft journey with Lineman, Brú and Dot Brew

 A Quart of Ale± #110

On the craft journey with Lineman, Brú and Dot 

Lineman Green Light West Coast IPA 7.0%, 440 ml can

A hazy bright light gold is the colour of this West Coast IPA. It has a lingering soft white head. More importantly, it has been “packed with a large hop load”. 

And that load makes its mark first on the pungent aromas. Well balanced though on the dank palate. No shortage of flavour with pine and grapefruit prominent and bitterness galore, the hop load delivering all the way to the impressive finish. Impressive finish, impressive beer.

Not surprisingly, they’ve picked a trio of US hops for this one: Columbus (also known as CTZ), Centennial and Idaho7.

So what is a West Coast IPA? It started off as an IPA made on the west coast of the US. Nowadays, the style may be made anywhere in the states, anywhere in the world. The most important elements, according to the current Beer Bible, “are enhanced bitterness and a pronounced citrus or pine flavour”. On that basis, Lineman’s gets the green light here. I’m good to go again!

Lineman Stopover Blond Ale 5.1%, 440 ml can Bradleys

It is widely acknowledge that we owe much to Belgian brewers, not least for Amber and Blond Ale inspiration. As you can see , Lineman used a a Belgian yeast strain in their Stopover. 

And they also used Golding and Saaz hops. And in what other beer do you find those two? Well in the Duval, which gets the nod “as the world’s most beautiful beer” in the Beer Bible. Author Jeff Alworth tells us the Duval Yeast is legend… and the secret to Duvel is its balance. Would be nice to compare the Belgian and this Lineman side by side!

Lineman, an independent Irish microbrewery based in Rathcoole, Co. Dublin, consistently produce quite excellent beers and this Blond Ale is one of the most recent.

It has a gorgeous gold colour and soft white head, regularly reinforced by upward streams of bubbles. No shortage of hops here and they’ve been generous with the Golding, Saaz and Hallertau. But they’ve also used a Belgian yeast strain that also contributes to the fruit as well as adding some spice flavours. And the malts also play a role here in a crisp and refreshing beer that is a bit different to the norm.

Available in cans and draught.

Brú Howling at the Sun West Coast IPA 5.7%, 440 ml can Bradleys

“Part of the Urban Jungle series that celebrates the brewery’s adventurous side. A classic West Coast Pale Ale, Howling at the Sun delivers bitterness alongside a big hit of juicy tropical notes.”. That’s the brewery intro to Howling at the Sun. 

It’s a very hazy mid-orange, the haze hinting at east coast rather than west. Head is foamy, soft and white. The power of the hops jumps up from the glass. And your first sip confirms bracing bitterness, a bitterness that outguns the flavours right to the end.

No doubt, hop aficionados will go for this one. Can’t take a shine to it though; I prefer a bit more balance and its lack leaves me howling at the moon😉. 

Dot Brew General Population IPA 6.5%, 440 ml can Bradleys.

Dot Brew’s General Population, a New England IPA apparently, has a light orange colour with a pillowy white head that’s slow to sink. The hops, two from Australia and one from the US, head up the aromatics. First thing I noticed on the palate was the softness, probably down to the oats. And there’s quite a bit of fruit, mostly tropical such as Passion Fruit and Pineapple and some from nearer home like Peach and Grapefruit. A hint of sticky stuff from the pines too that those of you who have ever sawed evergreen trees into firewood, when times were tougher, may remember. Good balance though and easy-drinking.

Geeks Bits:

Ingredients: Barley, oats (expect creamy), hops, yeast.

Hops: New England IPA w/ Aus Galaxy (Passion fruit, Peach, Citrus), AUS Vic Secret (Passion fruit ResinousPineapple) & USA Amarillo (Grapefruit, Peach, resinous) Easy drinking, soft and pillowy

A Quart of Ale± #100. Quite a quartet for the 100th: Whiplash, Dot Brew, Ballykilcavan and Boundary.

 A Quart of Ale± #100

Quite a quartet for the 100th: Whiplash, Dot Brew, Ballykilcavan and Boundary.

Whiplash Smoke Stack Lightnin’ Oaked & Smoked Brown 8.5%, 440 ml can Bradleys

Oaked and Smoked it is with its tanned head over a very close to black body. Aromas are also from the dark side, rich dark dates and raisins come with toast and in a wee cloud of coffee, may even have been a bit of smoky bacon in the background, even though Whiplash say it is not a Rauchbier. Complex, isn’t it?

It doesn’t get any simpler on the delicious palate, just better. Toasty in the main from the Brown and Biscuit malt used and the smoke’s around as well. Add in the light tannin of the oak while the yeast contributes a mild sweet nuttiness to the complexity. And yet, it is superbly balanced. Lipsmacking and totally satisfying to the finalé. Think I may live forever on the dark side.

They say: It’s still cold out there, and we’ve still room for some malty winter-ish warmers in us. Here’s Smoke Stack Lightnin’, an oaked & smoked big brown. After ferment we age this one in a light amount of American Oak. Not going for big vanilla barrel aged here, just a reminder of how beer used live for a week or two before the days of stainless steel.

Geek Bits

Pilsner Malt, Smoked Malt, Brown Malt, Dark Crystal Malt, Biscuit Malt, Flaked Barley, and Columbus hops.

Old English ale yeast

ABV 8.5%

440ml Cans

Artwork by @sophie_devere

Dot Brew When the Going Gets Gose 4.0%, 440ml can Bradleys

Coriander and Salt are among the ingredients here, a clue that this is a gose! The Beer Bible suggests that the flavour of this style of beer “is something like salted yoghurt”.

So, okay, we proceed with caution! Colour is not alarming at all, a light orange but murky. Perhaps that’s coriander in the herby aromas, light floral notes too. And then on the tangy palate, you may detect clove notes and the lemony tartness introduces itself, the coriander and salt duet towards the finish. Yet there’s nothing extreme here in the Dot Brew version; it is all very approachable, quite a pleasurable and refreshing beer indeed.

The can’s list of ingredients: Barley, Oats, Wheat, Hops, Salt, Coriander, Yeast.  The variety of the other ingredients has reduced the effects of the hops leaving us with a bright, zingy and refreshing beer. As they say themselves: “An easy drinking mixed fermentation tart ale built with pilsner malt and pale wheat.”

Gose-type beer is a beer originally made in Germany in the Goslar salt mining region, where the local water contributed the salty element.

Ballykilcavan Export Bambrick’s Brown Ale, 7.5%, Whiskey Chats Birthday Pack

“I’m in farming mode now,” said Ballykilcavan’s David Walsh-Kemmis as he joined a recent Zoom where the subject was whiskey. Whiskey? Yes, indeed. Ballykilcavan has been building strong links with the national spirit over the past decade or so. Their barley is used by Waterford while Irish Distillers have used their oak to make a limited amount of casks (for Dair Ghaelach).

This particular beer was one of the non-whiskey drinks for the Zoom tasting. David explained that the brewery is part of the diversification of the farm: “This is the export version of Bambrick, nice and malty with toffee and caramel, at 7.8%. Very much a malt beer yet not malt driven, a real flavour beer. It’s made with amber and crystal malt from our own barley.”

Deep brown going on black is the colour here, with a tan head. Aromas are chocolate and coffee. It is indeed rich and satisfying on the palate, a broad deep flavour, but quite a balance there too, maybe something mineral from their spring water and the land through which it flows, to help you to both enjoy the chocolate and burnt toffee flavours and enable the refreshing finish.

So what’s an American brown ale? The New York Times says: 

Brown ales and like-minded styles — including straightforward lagers, pilsners and porters — to name a few, are very different sorts of beers (to IPAs). They occupy subtler realms, quenching thirst with pure flavors and perhaps a snappy zestiness in the case of pilsner and a rich depth in the case of porter. They are not flamboyant styles that wow with complexity or make themselves the centers of attention. They simply satisfy. It’s the kind of beer that gets left behind in our I.P.A. culture.

The Beer Bible: Standard American Brown Ales generally weigh in at about 5% ABV and are accented toward malt richness.

Reckon the standard 5.8% Ballykilcavan Bamrick’s more or less fits the bill while this Export has a bonus for you!

Boundary Love is Here Hoppy Table Beer Pale Ale 2.6%, 440ml can Bradleys

On the lookout for a low alcohol beer? This Belfast offering, weighing in at 2.6 abv, could well fit the bill. Known in France as bière de table, table beers—are a low-ABV, malty, Belgian tradition.

Here though the tables are turned and this is a hoppy one. Boundary say: A full on hop assault in the kettle and fermenter ensures this low abv beer packs a punch. 

This is a hazy beer with a white head over a lemon-juice coloured body. The hops used are an American trio of Cascade, Citra and Simcoe and the Australian Vic Secret. Expect pine notes along with exotic fruit such as mango, pineapple and grapefruit and indeed that is what you get.

Superbly flavourful for a such a slight abv and just enough bitter notes to ensure a refreshing and balanced finish. Enjoy one. Or two!

A Quart of Ale± #92. On the craft journey with Dot Brew, Bradleys, Whitefield, Wicklow Wolf, Mourne Mountains

A Quart of Ale± #92

On the craft journey with Dot Brew, Bradleys, Whitefield, Wicklow Wolf, Mourne Mountains

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Bradleys & Dot Brew Shady Dealings BA Extra Stout 8.5%, 440 ml can Bradleys

This amazing barrel-aged (BA) stout has a very low carbonation so don’t expect much of a head on the black body. And that is how it pours out, black with a thin tan disc that slinks away very quickly. There’s a light fruitiness in the aromas and more on the rich velvety palate, dark fruits now though and chocolate, and there’s a sweetness too from the cask.

The cask? Dot Brew explain: Shady Dealings was originally meant for the export market but we've hijacked the shipment and brought it down to the real capital. This 8.5% illicit imperial export stout is aged in Banyuls dessert wine barrels and punches dark fruits and lush chocolate. Just don’t let anyone know how we got it…"

Where’s that 8.5%? The collaborators justifiably ask. You hardly notice it and this is so well balanced that the abv just doesn’t get the chance to take centre stage and swallow everything else up, depriving the beer of any display of individual character. Still, it is 8.5% so do take their advice and sip this from a wine glass. Sip and savour for there is much to savour.

Banyuls dessert wines come from the south-eastern corner of Roussillon, southern France, in the lower reaches of the eastern Pyrenees, just a few miles from the Spanish border. These sweet vins doux naturels are drunk both as aperitifs and as dessert wines. 

Quite a few Irish will have holidayed in the area, families in particular in the campsites around the beaches of Argeles sur Mer. Wish that I were there now with the beach out front, a glass of Banyuls or even of Shady Dealings (personally exported of course) and a lovely meal to come with the edges of the waves splashing gold as the setting sun leisurely slips behind the mountain tops. 

Might have to settle for a picnic table in Inchydoney. How bad! Or, keep a few cans in stock until next Christmas and sip it with the pudding! Or maybe there’s a 2021 pudding hidden away somewhere here. Must check.

Banyuls, with hilly sandy vineyard in foreground left.

Whitefield Ivy Hall Dark Lager 5.2%, 500ml bottle Bradleys

The label tells this is a Bavarian style Dunkel, a lager style beer, with a smooth velvet finish! 

Colour is as black as you’d expect and it comes with an impressive tan coloured head. It is probably the best head I’ve poured from a can or bottle over the past 12 months or so. That head is creamy and so is what follows on, yes, a very smooth palate indeed with a mild touch of caramel sweetness. You may not think this is a lager early on but the finish is dry and lip smackingly refreshing. 

A very satisfying beer and a very satisfactory style thanks to Cuilan and his team in Templemore. And big thanks too are due to the descendants of the last king of Bavaria König Ludwig III. Whitefield tell us the former royal family were largely responsible for saving this lager style.

It may befuddle the senses with those early sips but you’ll quickly grow to like it! Don’t be afraid of the dark! A lovely beer for these mid-winter days but it will also be very acceptable in the summertime. Dunkel simply means a dark German lager. 

This Ivy Hall, previously the Dark Lady, is yet another superb beer from Templemore. As you probably know, there is ongoing rebranding with the main change being that the White Gypsy brewery name has been changed to Whitefield.  “As part of the rebrand we wanted to link everything to our locality and Ivy Hall is a towns land in Templemore.”

By the way, how did you come to real ale? In an interesting piece on their website here Cuilan admits to having his first in a bar at Heathrow Airport!

Wicklow Wolf Canis Rufus Red Rye IPA 5.5%, 440 ml can Bradleys 

The updated Beer Bible (well worth getting your hands on) says Rye thrives in poor soil, so its use in both bread and beer has been concentrated in colder, harsher regions. Finns and Russians used it to make their traditional beers. I was thinking that the endangered Red Wolf (Canis Rufus) also came from these northern lands but no, the handful that are left are mostly in the south east of the US. 

Red, a murky one, is the colour of this Wicklow Wolf beer. Aromas have a touch of the wild with notes of resin but there’s also a fruity element with citrus to the fore. And the fruit is prominent on the complex toothsome palate, the balance, and it is very nicely balanced, coming from the sweet malt with, of course, the spice from the rye.

The Endangered Species brews are a series of small batch, limited edition crafted beers. These beers are so rare that only a lucky few will get to experience them in the wild before they become extinct and this one is inspired by the Red Wolf.

They say: We have taken a classic American style IPA with American hops and given it a Classic Irish Twist. Citra and Chinook make up the double dry hop addition to this IPA… This is a fiercely bold Red IPA in honour of the Red Wolf.

 

Mourne Gold Pale Ale 4.0%, 440 ml can Bradleys

Gold is the name and gold is the colour of this Pale Ale, my first beer from the Mourne Mountains Brewery, Warrenpoint, Co. Down. No shortage of rising bubbles either and a white top that gives you a few minutes of its time.

Malts used include Cara Gold and that can help enhance the colour and give a softer mouthfeel. The lightly roasted Amber brings a deeper malty flavour to the party and helps balance the hops.

They use a combination of German, English and American hop varieties for a clean bitterness, spicy kettle hop flavour; and a floral, fruity hop aroma. All more or less borne out with the first few sips. Well balanced and easy drinking, this comfort beer (it doesn’t wander outside of the style) can be recommended for your session shortlist. And for mine!

They say: Mourne Mountains Brewery was founded in 2015, situated in the foothills of the beautiful Mourne Mountains. At our 16HL brewery in Warrenpoint we brew a diverse range of beers from fruited sours to imperial pastry stouts and highly-hopped IPAs - all vegan friendly!

At our traditional brewhouse we use the finest whole leaf hops from around the world and the highest quality brewing malt but the ingredient we treasure the most is our water supply. Originating in the high Mournes, it is beautifully soft and perfect for brewing a wide variety of beer styles.