CorkBillyBeers #49. Craft with Hope, Western Herd and Dungarvan Brewing

CorkBillyBeers #49

Craft with Hope, Western Herd and Dungarvan Brewing

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Hope Pass If You Can Pale Ale, 4.6% ABV, 440 ml can Dunnes Stores

A great all-rounder

A classic Pale Ale in the American style, synonymous with the current worldwide craft beer explosion since the 1980s. It is an easy-drinking beer, with a clear hop character, but not as hoppy or indeed as bitter as an IPA.

That’s the brewery’s summing up of their Pass Oif YouCan Pale Ale.

It has a lovely gold colour, a hazy one but not enough to hide the fountains of bubbles rising towards the big soft white head. The fruity character of the hops comes through in the aromas. And also on the palate. Not overly fruity mind you nor overly bitter either. The well-judged harmony between the fruity hop flavours and the medley of Irish and European malts defines the beer.

Hope is quite happy with it. “An easy drinking malty and slightly fruity pale ale with a subtle hop kick. A great all-rounder that combines well with most main dishes, such as chicken or prawns, BBQs and pizza.”

I’m also very happy with it. Very Highly Recommended.

The Ale is named after Michael Collier, a notorious 19th-century highwayman who was North County Dublin’s answer to Robin Hood. He was so successful that his townland was dubbed Passifyoucan. Finally arrested in 1807 in his favourite haunt The Cock, he was transported and returned home only to die of cholera! Still, the name remains.

Geek Bits

Hops: Magnum, Mosaic, Citra,

Yeast: US-05

Malts: Pale Ale, CaraHell, Munich, Acidulated.

Core Range: Yes

Bought 20.09.23.

BBD 27.10.23

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Western Herd Islander Session IPA 4.2% ABV, 440 ml can No 21 Midleton

“Inspired by the hazy, juicy beers made famous by Vermont brewers, this is Islander. Embrace the haze.”

That’s the intro to this session beer by Count Clare brewery Western Herd, which stands on a picturesque hilltop farm in a converted shed built over 80 years ago by “our great-grandfather”. The grandchildren, siblings Michael Eustace and Maeve Sheridan, founded the brewery and it was then “found” in 2018 by Montana-born Bridger Kelleher and he “kept turning up” and eventually took over as brewer.

The Islander has a hazy light orange colour with a fluffy white head that stays around for a spell. Aromas are mild, tropical and ripe. On the palate, the beer is soft with citrus and melon showing. The producers indicate that the intention is “to provide a hop burst of flavour that is easy to drink and won’t weigh you down”. Reckon they have succeeded here.

Highly Recommended. The Best Before date had not expired here but there were just a few days to go. 

Geek Bits

Style
Session IPA

Colour/Appearance
Golden, hazy, juicy

Hops
Amarillo, Citra, Simcoe

Malts
Pale, Stout Mix, Malted Oats, Flaked Oats, White Wheat, Torrified Wheat, CaraPils

Yeast
House

Original Gravity
1.045

% ABV
4.2%

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Hope Handsome Jack IPA, 6.6% ABV, 440 ml can Dunnes Stores

Citrusy - malty - bitter. A full-flavoured citrusy and double dry hopped IPA. Great with burgers and pizza.

That’s the brief intro to Handsome Jack by brewers Hope.

This golden beer, with a soft white head, is a little on the hazy side. There’s a supple hint of orange in the aromas but the sweet malt is also holding its own here. And that duel continues on the palate with juicy citrus coming to a duet that also involves the sweetness of the Irish Pale malt. In the end, it's all square between the bitterness of the hops and the mildness of the malt. No losers here of course and the punters are the winners with another excellent beer from Hope who indicates that it pairs well with burgers and roast meat, pizza, Indian dishes, strong, salty cheese and carrot cake.

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And who was Handsome Jack? Jack Criss, the 17th-century Irish pirate, was tall and handsome with blonde hair and eyes as green as the sea. He set sail from Ireland, plundering his way to Spain and Italy. He didn’t die in battle but someone got cross with Criss and stabbed him to death in a Naples hotel. Probably one of his four wives. Some bachelor!

Highly Recommended. The beer that is, not the pirate!

Geek Bits

Hops: Magnum, Cascade, Sorachi Ace, Simcoe, Citra

Yeast: American Ale

Malts: Minch Hook Head Ale, Weyermann CaraMunich II, Weyermann CaraPils, Weyermann Acidulated

EBU 49

Bought 20.09.23.

BBD 25.04.24

Core Range: Yes

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Dungarvan Mahon Falls Rye Pale Ale, 5.1% ABV, 440 ml can No 21 Midleton

Dungarvan is a family-run independent microbrewery in Dungarvan with over a decade of brewing experience and this is one of their regular seasonal beers, appearing annually in the springtime.

The colour is a murky orange/red with a soft white head that hangs about a bit. Aromas are a bit on the punchy side, with the rye leading the attack, the hops bringing the fruit posse onto the palate before a moderately bitter finish with the spicy rye always a player in the background though it is more hoppy bitter overall than malty sweet.

Highly Recommended. Not bad for a beer that was disappointingly almost six months past its Best Before date.

Food Pairings: This full-flavoured punchy fruity ale works great with lighter-flavoured foods like chicken, pork and fish or even with salad dishes. The brewery also says that the fruitiness of this Mahon Falls works really well with the tang of a Wensleydale or Caerphilly-style cheese. Try Knockdrinna‘s Laviston or The Little Milk Company‘s Brewer’s Gold.

Geek Bits

Style: Rye Pale Ale

ABV: 5.1%

Malts: Malted Rye (Pale, Cara)

Hops: Galaxy, Summit, Ella

IBUs: 50

Allergens: Contains barley.

Calories: 230 per 500ml

Serve: 8-12°C

A quartet of excellent German wines from Reh Kendermann

A quartet of excellent German wines from Weinhaus Reh Kendermann

All four wines are on offer at Dunnes Stores until April 2nd; check them out here

Weinhaus Reh Kendermann Terra Quartär Pinot Noir Pfalz Trocken 2019, 13%, €9.20 until April 2nd (RSP 11.50)

Germany is one of the world’s top producers of Pinot Noir (or Spatburgunder, as they call it there) and the Pfalz (also noted for its Riesling) is one of the top growing areas in Germany. The soil here, from an ancient sub-tropical sea, is now fertile and warm, suits the Pinot well and ensures healthy and ripe grapes.

You can almost guess it’s healthy from the glossy light-red colour. Aromas are moderately intense, red berries and cherries.  Fruit flavours impress on the palate with mineral notes in there too. Light and elegant, juicy with balancing acidity, all the way to a smooth finish. Highly Recommended.

The combination between the good water retention and warming properties of this special Löss soil encourages aroma development and gives very elegant wines. The proof is in your glass.

Pairings recommended include Pasta, red meat, white meat.

Terra Quartär translates as Terra Quaternary

By the way, France and the USA are the top two country producers of Pinot Noir. I was somewhat surprised a few years back to  hear  that Germany was third but even more so to read recently that the fourth top grower is Moldova!

Weinhaus Reh Kendermann Schiefer Steillage Riesling Feinherb Mosel 2020, 11.0%, €8.80 until April 2nd (RSP €11.00)

 

Germany’s Mosel region is world famous for its steep and stony slopes as well as its slate soil. It also grows some excellent Riesling, perhaps slightly less dry than those of the Rhine vineyard. I learned that when I was a regular caller to the late lamented Joe Karwig who imported so many excellent German wines to Carrigaline.

This one, by the Rev Kendermann company, is typical. Colour is a light straw, very little colour really. Aromas are moderate, ripe white apples, and the slightest hint of diesel (which I rarely get in young European Riesling). 

The fruit, citrus and apple again, comes into its own on the fresh palate, which displays also liveliness and minerality. Lemon and lime take the lead towards the finish. Yet it is that residual sweetness that comes through to underline its Mosel heritage and earns it the off dry term (Feinherb) on the label.

A delicious and toothsome wine. Try it on its own or with Asian Cuisine, fish and seafood and white meat dishes. Highly Recommended.

The vines which grow on these steep slate slopes of the Mosel profit from the angle of the sun and the perfect heat storage property of the slate (depicted on the bottle). It absorbs the heat from the day and gives it back to the vines at night. In combination with the cool climate it helps the grapes to ripen.The results are wines with high minerality and a lively character.

We have Trocken on the both Sauvignon Blanc and Point Noir labels meaning dry. Feinherb is mentioned on the label here and this is a popular German term for off-dry. The soils that the three vines grow in are highlighted on the bottles.

Weinhaus Reh Kendermann Kalkstein Sauvignon Blanc Trocken Pfalz 2020, 12.5% €9.20 until April 2nd (RSP 11.50)

Colour of this Sauvignon Blanc from Germany’s cool northerly Pfalz is a light straw, very light.  Apple and citrus, also a little pepper, in the aromas.  Lively and fresh on the palate, more exotic fruit here too but a balancing acidity helps makes this a zesty and delicious wine. It is dry and food-friendly and quite an impressive German contender in Sauvignon Blanc. Highly Recommended.

Sauvignon Blanc may well be one of the finest and most widely grown white wine varieties in the world but it is fairly unusual to find a German example in Ireland. The grape is just not associated internationally with the country. Just took a look at the often quoted Grapes and Wine and, in a few pages on where the grape grows best, Austria is mentioned but not a word on Germany. Same story in Wine-Searcher.com. And, by the way, this is not a Sancerre imitation nor a Marlborough either. Somewhere in between, this Kalkstein is its own vin.

Kendermann  say: The cool and dry climate in combination with the deep and nutrient-rich limestone soils of the Palatinate offer ideal growing conditions for the Sauvignon Blanc grape. The vines can root deeply and hence they are more water stress–resistant. This grape variety which came from France via New Zealand to Germany develops great aromas on these thin porous limestone soils. Therefore, the wine is very aromatic and has exotic notes of mango, passionfruit and citrus fruit.

Recommended pairings are: fish, Asian cuisine, white meats and salads. One of our favourites is Scallops, with rashers (Truly Irish) and Irish Shellfish Butter. That was our recipe, designed to match with the Cono Sur Single Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc, and it got us to the European final of the Cono Sur Blogger competition in Paris in 2014.

Weinhaus Reh Kendermann Kalkstein Pinot Noir Rosé Trocken Pfalz 2019, 12%, Dunnes Stores exclusive -  €9.20 until April 2nd (RSP 11.50)

This very very pale Pinot Noir rosé is barely coloured. Light red fruit aromas turn up as pleasant flavours in the mouth, light and fruity and with a crisp mouth-watering acidity. The tip here is not to chill it too much or you lose some of the benefit of the impressive if subtle citrus flavours. Amazing that a wine with such a weak colour can be so refreshing and bursting with flavour right through to a crisp finish. Highly Recommended.

Much of the credit goes to the soil of Kalkstein where the limestone helps the grapes reach full ripeness. Kalkstein is actually the German for limestone. Recommended pairings: Fish, Vegetarian, White Meat.

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* Winemakers since 1920, family owned Reh Kendermann is Germany’s largest export wine company. As a leading wine exporter, the winery makes German wines popular in the whole world: Black Tower the most successful German wine brand worldwide comes from Reh Kendermann.

**All the above four wines are on offer at Dunnes Stores until April 2nd; check them out here.

A Simply Better Continental Cheese Selection.

Continental Cheese Selection

From Simply Better By Dunnes Stores

Gorgonzola Piccanta

A Christmas present of cheese put me thinking of a Swiss holiday and an excursion to the town of Gruyères, and aliens! There were fabulous views, a church, a chateau, and the famous cheese!

There was also a strange museum – based on the film Alien. The HG Giger Museum is based on the work of the graphic artist of the same name, who did the special effects for the film and others (such as Poltergeist 11).

This way for cheese!

A similarly themed bar is adjacent and it was here that we had coffee and minuscule meringues made with Gruyère. Then a short drive downhill to an “industrial” cheese manufacturer where a robot is usefully employed turning, watering and replacing big wheels of cheese in the racks.

Gruyère was included in Continental Cheese Selection by Simply Better Dunnes Stores at Christmas and it was quite a pleasant and tasty surprise, not least because some were “new” to me, as the vast majority of the cheese eaten here in this house over the past few years has been Irish. 

Babies in the bar.
G'us a drink, now!

So it was nice to see and taste what is going on the continent. And there was a good bit of variety in the selection. There were two fairly familiar cheeses, the Gruyère and the Gorgonzola. The other two were completely new to me, the soft rind Langres from Champagne and the L’Edel de Cleron from Franche-Comte. Also included was a little jar of Fig and Macadamia Nut Chutney from Girona in Spain; the nuts from Australia the all-spice from Jamaica.

One day last week, we made a fruitless run to try out the Cork Marina Market again but the large car park was full and lots of pedestrians coming in as well, plenty of  families around with schools still on hols. Quite a gang already eating out on benches under the full sun. We had to beat a retreat. 

What now for lunch? I thought of this selection and we opened the L’Edel de Cleron produced by Jean Perrin. I was reading about it and saw that Perrin makes it with milk from Jura Mountain Montbéliarde cows, the same milk used for Mont D’Or (both are wrapped in spruce bark). 

In the belly of the beast! Inside the pub in Gruyeres

So we heated up the cheese in its little round box and, when warm and soft, scooped it out with fingers of toast. Very delicious indeed, lusciously creamy and it vanished very quickly. Just the job though for lunch and I drizzled some of local honey (Leamlara) onto the last few scoops and that added to the pleasure.

Langres Cathedral

Langres is named after a little town in Champagne and is distinguished by a wee hollow on top of its small drum shape designed to hold a tiny pool of brine while maturing. Our producer, Fromagier Schertonleib,  went a spirited step beyond and this is matured with Marc de Champagne!  A touch of class.

It is a cows milk cheese with an edible orange coloured rind. It is creamy and smooth and melts on the palate. There is a delicate pungent aroma while the flavour is light, though the intensity of aroma and flavour can change as it matures. It is excellent on its own or when used in cooking.

By the way, we did use the multi-national chutney with all the cheeses (plus some Hegarty’s Cheddar that we had in the fridge) and it was excellent. The versatile Spiced Plum and Port Jam (by The Big Red Kitchen) also saw plenty of use and really starred with the Gorgonzola, as did the lovely Toro Albalá Marqués de Poley Oloroso (from O'Briens Wine).

Gorgonzola (via Pixabay)

Speaking of Gorgonzola, this Piccante Gorgonzola (AOP) was produced by the Arrigoni family in Lombardy, a region where nowadays the famous blue is made mostly in commercial plants. It traditionally has a white moist paste with green/blue veining and a sharp lactic smell.

The chateau at Gruyeres

Our Piccante has a beautiful smooth texture and a rich spicy flavour - so little bits are best! The rind is inedible. There are two types of this cheese, Piccante (savoury) and Dolce (sweet), with the latter (less blue-veined with a more delicate taste) representing some 90% of the production (ref: The Oxford Companion to Cheese).

French Onion soup with Gruyère (at Market Lane)

And the Gruyère? Characteristics of this famous Swiss cheese are its dry, firm and chewy texture and a moderately tangy flavour and with a nutty sweet finish - no need for any chutney here. A good one for the cheeseboard and a superb cooking cheese. The rind by the way is inedible.

Ours, a 15-month cave aged cheese, is made in traditional copper vats by the Margot family in the heart of the Jura Mountains and it is slowly matured in caves. The texture is firm and smooth and the flavour is rich and intense. 

Hegarty's copper vat

Gruyère is made mainly from Holstein milk and its long-time cross-mountain rival Comté (or Gruyère de Comté) from Montbeliarde. Just a few miles north of my house in Cork lies Whitechurch where Hegarty’s make a superb Templegall that can rival the Swiss and French; they use milk from their Freisians and, yes, they make it in a beautiful copper vat (over 60 years old).

A Quart of Ale± #64 On the craft journey with a session of Hope, Black's, Tom Crean and Rye River's Grafters

A Quart of Ale± #64

On the craft journey with a session with Rye River, Tom Crean, Hope and Blacks 

Rye River Grafters Working Day IPA, 6.5%, 440 can Dunnes Stores

This 2020 Blas na hEireann Gold Medal winner comes in a gold colour with hints of amber. A bit on the cloudy side but you can’t miss all those bubbles rising. Citrus in the aromas and also in the mouth. More fruity and bitter than malty and sweet and also making an impression that is more alcoholic than the 6.50%.

They say: Big, bold and tasty, this American style IPA is full-on flavour, delivering a big hit of juicy, citrus fruits. Perfect to accompany a spicy Indian or Mexican dish. Great with salads too.

Rye River are the brewers here and they make exclusive beers for some of Ireland’s biggest retailers including Lidl (the Crafty range), Tesco and Dunnes… “We’ve no plans to stop growing.” Grafters is one of their brands.

Geeks Bits

Malts: Wheat, Pale Wheat, Torrified Oats.

Hops: Columbus, Ekuanot and Mosaic.

Just wonder who is the guy on the label. He looks familiar.

Rye River Grafters Clocking Off Kölsch Style, 5.0%, 440 can Dunnes Store

Zillions of bubbles race through the slightly hazy gold to the top where a soft foamy head slowly shrinks.   Citrus notes, plus a hint of honey, in the aromas and that continues on the palate where an orange bitterness comes into play as well; no shortage of flavour yet nicely balanced, this World Beer Award winner is crisp and clean with the malt sweetness a factor. Excellent mouthfeel as well. The finish is moderately bitter. But drinkability is high - you want to repeat the experience. Very high quality indeed - a beer that’s top notch and definitely one for the short list.

Geek Bits

Malts: Carapils, Pilsner, Vienna.

Hops: Mandarin Bavaria, Tradition

Tom Crean St Bridget’s Irish Lager, 4.5%, 440 can Brewery Sale

During our brewery tour at Tom Crean’s in Kenmare, one of the first beers that Bill Sheppard mentioned was this lager named in honour of St Bridget who was a brewer. In fact he said quite a lot of the early brewers were women and the church wasn’t very happy with that situation. The brewers wore a special hat for the trade and kept a cat (to protect the grain from mice) and that eventually led to some of them being called witches with dire consequences.

Bill also told us that the Celts would go to war for a good brewer and I was wondering to myself if perhaps Bridget and St Patrick’s right hand man and brewer Mescan knew one another! My Mayo mother was called after the saint. Cheers Bridgie!

Lager of course ties up your brewing kit for longer than ale and maybe that was why there was a shortage of lager from the current wave of craft breweries in the early stages. No shortage now though.

A lovely golden colour on this one, bubbles galore and the bubbly head is not retained for very long. Good balance of hops (Slovenia) and malt (German) on the palate with the malt getting an edge on the finale. Not quite the “cut” that you’d expect from your normal modern lager. Bill has his own methods - take that tour! - and this is a very satisfying lager indeed that reminds me of the traditional Central European style.

They say:  We allow six weeks to bring this classic to perfection. St. Bridget, known in Ireland for her saintly status, her feast day (1st Feb) and her cross made from reeds, is less well known for being a fine Irish brewer.

Hope Pass If You Can Pale Ale, 4.6%, 440 can Dunnes Stores

A bubbly gold ale invites you to “try me”. While its head doesn’t hang about, its pleasure does. It is billed as a classic American style Pale Ale, a pretty wide definition. You‘ll note the citrusy aromas. The hop element of pale ale can vary a lot and this comes in that bit down the scale, certainly much less of a hoppy kick than an IPA. 

The producers describe it as an easy drinking malty and slightly fruity pale ale with a subtle hip kick. I’d go along with that. If you’ve been drinking craft lagers, then this could well be your next step! Worth a try for sure.

It is well balanced; the expressive malt and hop flavours complement one another. It is also an all rounder at the table (indoors or out) and chicken, prawns, BBQs and pizzas are among those pairings recommended.

Pass If You Can was the dare of Michael Collier, a notorious 19th century highwayman, who was North County Dublin’s answer to Robin Hood. He was so successful that his townland was dubbed Passifyoucan. Finally arrested in 1807, in his favourite haunt The Cock, he was transported and returned home only to die of cholera! Still, the name remains.

Geek Bits

Hops: Magnum, Mosaic, Citra,

Yeast: US-05

Malts: Pale Ale, CaraHell, Munich, Acidulated.

Blacks Golden Ticket Pineapple DIPA 8.2%, 440 can

The intensity of this IPA introduces itself the second you pull the tab. Take it easy is the message as the aromas surge upwards.  Colour is a hazy orange, not easy to see the bubbles though there are herds of them. The head, starts at about the 3-finger mark, but soon it thins to skin thickness (or thinness).

So back to those strong aromas, featuring pineapple of course. A lot going on here, even a hint or two of pine (the evergreen). And flavour?  Pineapple for sure, “super prevalent” as they say themselves, apricot too and citrus-y elements as well. 

Quite a punch, yet the alcoholic power is well reined in here, no all-enveloping black hole where everything is so concentrated that you don’t recognise anything. Iron fist in a velvet glove comes to mind. Just keep it in mind, respect the power, proceed with caution and a great deal of pleasure. Less caution = less pleasure.

They say: Amazingly fruity scrumdiddlyumptious Pineapple Double IPA. Packed with honey malt, Citra, Mosiac, Azaccea and El Dorardo hops! IBU = 90.