Direct from the Cocoon, Round Four of our Irish and Belgian Beers

Round Four, direct from the cocoon, of our Irish and Belgian Beers

#4

Canning line at Kinnegar

Kinnegar “Crossroads” American Style IPA 6.2%, 500ml bottle

Colour is close to amber, plenty of bubbles rising (naturally carbonated), white head hangs around for a while. Good hoppy backbone carrying tropical fruit flavours across the palate and into the very satisfying finish. One of the best bottles of IPA you’re likely to come across and you can taste why this is one of their core range. 

You may see natural sediments at the bottom of the bottle. Avoid, if you wish, by pouring carefully.

Kinnegar’s craft beers are brewed in a new brewery in Letterkenny.  “Our roots are deeply embedded in the hilly fields and farms of northeast Donegal. This is the perfect environment for the way we make beer. We don’t filter or pasteurise, and we let our industrious little friends, the yeast, carbonate the beer naturally during fermentation.” We visited the brewery last autumn and you may read all about it here.

O Brother “The Sinner” IPA 6.2% abv, 440ml can

A light gold colour, white head (for a shortish stay). Aromas fruity (citrus, exotic) and floral. Lively and fruity (those soft fruits again) with malts and hops balanced on the palate, before a dry finalé with the hops to the fore. Different, somewhat drier, compared to the Kinnegar and another for my short list. Going well tonight!

This is unfiltered, unpasteurised, unadulterated and you are advised to drink it fresh with the recommended serving temperature at 8°- 10°. 

Barry, one of the three brothers involved in the independent Co. Wicklow brewery, tells me The Sinner was their third beer ever, after The Chancer and The Fixer (now retired), back in 2015, and remains part of the core line up.

“Originally brewed with the clean Chico yeast strain, with a pronounced bitterness, over time we have switched fermentation to the Vermont yeast strain, for a softer fruitier profile, but still retaining the strong bittering and structure of the original recipe.”

All O Brother beers are now being packaged exclusively in cans (as of March 2020).

Chouffe Blonde 8.0%, 330ml bottle

This award winning beer comes in a golden robe, and a big white head that stays around for a while. It is a beer with oomph and, the story goes, might well have been named something like that until Chris Bauweraerts, co-founder of the Achouffe Brewery (now under the Duvel wing), came out with the word Chouffe. ‘“What does that mean?” colleagues asked. Sweet FA was more or less the answer. But it now means a high quality beer with an 8.00% abv.

Not that you really notice the alcohol as you drink. Instead, there are calm citrus notes and a slightly hoppy taste. Indeed, the beer seems light,  the balance of flavour and alcohol is more or less perfect and has seen Chouffe win many awards, including this thumbs up from me.

You’ll note quite a lot of humour (be sure and check their Facebook page) in the hype surrounding this beer. For instance, the website gives three reason to drink it:

01 - Awaken the gnome inside you. (They have a gnome on the label instead of the usual jolly monk)
02 - It makes unicycling easier (try it and see!)
03 - You can officially be part of the CHOUFFE community

Enjoy, as I did, and let your inner gnome shine. By the way, I’m second on the right, red nose and all, as you come into the garden,.

 Brouwerij Bosteels Tripel Karmeliet 8.4%, 33cl bottle

Colour of this lovely three-grain beer is a mid gold, slightly cloudy with plenty of bubbles, and it holds its white head well. Aromas of banana, even a little clove I thought. A really smooth beer, fruity (banana and citrus), light and fresh and no jarring evidence of the high abv. That creamy smoothness may be coming from the oats. A surprising delicacy and harmony all the way to the highly satisfactory finish. One for the short list!

The Carmelites from Dendermonde in East Flanders were brewing a three-grain beer in the area in the 1600s. This information, published in a recent book on local brewing history, happened to come to light after Brouwerij Bosteels (located in Buggenhout) had decided to start brewing a three-grain beer as its next specialty. It was only after the beer was created that the name of the Carmelites was linked to the beer.

They say: Tripel Karmeliet was launched in 1996 and was received to great and fully-deserved acclaim. It is a Tripel (8.4 % in volume), but brewed with barley, wheat and oats. It could even be considered a six-grain beer as each of these grains is used in their raw as well as malted form. Steiermark hops  (from Austria) has good herbal flavours. It owes its fruity character (banana and vanilla) to the home-cultured yeast.

They recommend serving at 6 - 7°C on the website, a degree or two higher for the upper limit on the bottle. Food pairing note from the brewers: The citrus aromas and the ripe fruits are beautifully complemented with ginger. This beer makes a perfect pairing with mussels, served with black and white rice for example. It can also be used in the preparation of certain dishes, for example to add to stock for cooking mussels. We tried it with a fish pie (packed with great fish, mostly from Star Seafood: salmon, trout, and white fish), and it proved an excellent match.

Serving Glass Video link: https://youtu.be/BagJTUwFMuQ 

A Ramble Through Four Lovely Irish Ales. Cork, Donegal, Kerry and Tipperary

A Ramble Through Four Lovely Irish Ales

Cork, Donegal, Kerry and Tipperary.

West Kerry Brewery “Béal Bán” Golden Ale, 5.0%, 500ml bottle

Gold is the colour of this ale from West Kerry. Creamy rather than crisp, yet light and refreshing with malt prominent earlier on, the hops making a show at the finish. A distinctive beer indeed, very impressive.

I drank this in 2012 at Blair’s Inn and also during a visit to Tigh Bhric where the brewery is based. It was then being described as a pale English style bitter. It was then, still is, a light and refreshing golden ale with a slight malty sweetness and a bitter finish, imparted by a generous helping of hops. Indeed, one could see why the English aficionado would feel at home here.

Paul and Adrienne (the brewer) told us that they use water from their own well to brew the beers, both cask and bottled. The malt is predominantly Irish and the beers are brewed naturally, with no additives or preservatives. By the way, they use local botanicals in the brewing, such as rosehips, elderflower, blackberries and black currants “added to our seasonal beers”. 

Beoir Chorca Dhuibhne is the Irish name for the brewery in the Dingle peninsula. It was established in 2008 to make traditional yet progressive beer. You’ll find them in their brew pub: Tigh Bhric (which also offers accommodation). .

Béal Bán is one of their core range and like the others, Carraig Dubh (porter) and Cúl Dorcha (red ale), is called after local place names. Adrienne is Ireland’s first female brewer.

White Gypsy “Woodcock” American Pale Ale, 5.8%, 500ml bottle

Colour here is almost gold, lighter than the Kerry ale, darker than Kinnegar. Hops and malt in the aromas. Fruity and refreshing with the hops and malt in excellent balance, each contributing to the pleasant journey through to the finish.

The Gypsy invites you to follow your fortune to this independent Irish craft brewer in Tipperary. This ale is named after a local legend: “The Woodcock Carden”.

There’s a bit of Greek on the label - didn’t have time to google it! But they do tell us that this is brewed with the finest malt and hops with the aim of making “a nicely fruit forward refreshing ale”. Ingredients include: Floor malted Marris Otter barley, Citra and Mosaic hops.

Did you know that White Gypsy make a food pairing range of beers in 75cl bottles. Well worth checking out, more info here.

Must say I was very pleased with Béal Ban and didn’t think I’d be more pleased during this tasting but the superb harmony of the Woodcock is a pleasure to enjoy and the ace Tipp beer would be difficult to top in any company.

Nine White Deer “Stag Bán” Pale Ale, 4.5%, 500ml bottle

Stag Bán was the first beer for Ballyvourney based 9 White Deer and has been gluten free since 2018.

Basically, it’s an easy drinking beer, brewed at lower temperatures to create a cleaner profile; the malt profile is uncomplicated, neither heavy nor cloying. It is a dry and refreshing beer with a light malt body. The hop character is spicy citrus, finishing clean.

For me, the attraction here is the hops, though it’s far from being a “hop bomb”. This is about balance. The lads say they designed this beer with summer in mind and the hops used (First Gold, Admiral and Cascade) emphasise that. It is a harmonious drink with citrus, floral and spice notes all combining well in the golden cloudy glass.

Kinnegar “Limeburner” Pale Ale, 4.7%, 500ml bottle

Lovely light gold colour on this one, floral and hoppy on the nose. Crisp and refreshing in the mouth with a good hoppy finalé. Easy to quaff and one to note if you haven’t already. One of their first beers and still going strong as part of their core range.

“Superb Kinnegar Ales” I wrote back in 2013, when this Limeburner was included in a selection at The Cove at Port na Blagh (Donegal). This independent Irish craft beer is named after a local 40m high hidden sea pinnacle.

It is unfiltered, naturally carbonated. When pouring leave any natural sediments (I didn’t see any) at the bottom of the bottle. It is one of their core range. Easy to enjoy this one!

Jutting into the Wild Atlantic. Delightful Pieces of Donegal

Jutting into the Wild Atlantic. Delightful Pieces of Donegal

Jutting into the Wild Atlantic are three of the most beautiful pieces of Donegal: Inishowen, Fanad (and it’s spectacular lighthouse) and the petite and pretty Rosguill. Inishowen, with Ireland’s most north-westerly point Malin Head, is the biggest, Fanad (and it’s spectacular lighthouse) is next to the west and then comes tiny Rosguill (a micro-version of the others).

Malin, aside from the remains of an old signal tower and some more modern and equally wrecked Irish army lookout sheds, has no buildings on the head. But it does have Ireland’s most north-westerly bakery and coffee shop parked right up there. Also a curious sign saying Eire 80, a wartime note to German pilots saying that this is Ireland and keep your bombs at bay. These white-painted signs, designed to be read from the sky, were all around the country. Malin though has plenty of walks around the head, all nicely laid-out and signposted. The views are spectacular.

One of the Malin walks

And, in the nearby village, it has one of the most innovative cafés in the country in Wild Strand where seaweed is the essential ingredient.

Having reached Malin, you need to drive all the way back down towards Letterkenny to get to Fanad. You can also shorten the trip a bit by taking the ferry from Buncrana across Lough Swilly to Rathmullan. In any event, the ferry times didn’t suit us on the day so we drove the long way and then all the way up to Fanad.

Sat-Nav wasn’t cooperating that much and we had to rely on the road signs and eventually we were on the long road in. Thought we might be late for the last tour but there were a few more scheduled. Bought our tickets and walked up to the lighthouse. Like quite a few other lighthouses, Fanad now has apartments to rent.

We didn’t disturb those residents though as we took the tour. Our guide gave us the history telling us that, after a two-year build period, it got its first light in 1817 but had no electricity until, believe it or not, 1975. In between, the biggest storm that struck was Debbie in 1961. By 1978 only a Principal Keeper was retained in Fanad, and when he retired in 1983 the lighthouse was reclassified as an Attendant station and the retired Principal Keeper remained on as part time Attendant. Now there is just a caretaker.

Fanad

We climbed the 79 cantilevered steps to the top and, from behind a glass enclosure, took in the views all around, especially Malin Head to the east and Tory Island to the west. We were shown four tiny bulbs, hardly as big as my little finger, in the lamp. But these are powerful little fellows and their light shines over 18 nautical miles, just over 33 kilometres.

The two wrecks whose memory is enshrined in local folklore are those of the Saldanha in 1811 and the Laurentic in 1917. The Saldanha, a Royal Navy Frigate of 38 guns and a crew of about 300 men, was driven by a north-west gale on to rocks off Ballymastocker Bay on the night of 4 December 1811 and that led to the erection of the lighthouse.

Powerful little bulbs at Fanad

But the lighthouse was powerless to prevent the sinking of the armed merchant cruiser, the Laurentic, on on 25th January 1917, when it hit two German mines at the mouth of the lough and sank with the loss of 354 crew. A 6-inch gun from this ship was recovered a few years back and is now on display on the pier in Downings.

The gun from the Laurentic on the pier at Downings

Rosguill

Soon we were on the way to Rosguill, the journey cut short thanks to the Harry Blaney Bridge.  This spans Mulroy Bay (there is water everywhere here!) and connects the Fanad peninsula to Carrigart Village and Carrigart is just a few minutes from Downings at the neck of the Rosguill peninsula. 

Lying between the Fanad to the east and Horn Head to the west, Rosguill is surrounded by the Atlantic. Beautiful ocean panoramas, white beaches and even that distant Harry Blaney Bridge are among the sights you’ll see as you do the short circuit (12 km). Might walk that the next time! Small and pretty.

Harry Blaney Bridge

After a long day at the wheel, we were glad to check in at the Rosapenna and take it easy for a while before heading out for food (and a couple of glasses of Kinnegar beer) at the excellent Grape and Grain, reviewing the amazing sights we had seen and enjoyed that day in north Donegal.

The Rosguill drive

Also on this trip: Kinnegar Brewery
 Mary T. From Mallow to Donegal's Castle Grove
Something fishy going on in Donegal
Superb Day Out at Oakfield Park & Buffers Bistro
Downings. A Great Base for Donegal Visit

Kinnegar's Winning Team. A Squad for all Saisons.

Kinnegar's Winning Team. 
A Squad for all Saisons.

Libby and yours truly in K2

Hard work. Attention to detail. That’s what we saw when we took up an invitation from Libby and Rachel to visit the Kinnegar Brewery in Letterkenny. Libby was on hand to show us around and introduced us to Rick and some of the brewers. 

Hard work? You have to be willing to put your shoulder to the wheel here, well not exactly the wheel but those bags of malt come in 25 kgs size and quite a few need to be regularly hefted to where they’re needed!

Attention to detail? Success in many fields is built on this and Kinnegar is no different. Take a look at a notice of work for one area on the day: clean general; arrange utility room; order boiler diaphragms (steam jacket); hops racking. David is a master of detail. He joined the brewery early on as a JobBridge intern. A quick trainer, he is now of four brewers here and was working on K1 as we arrived.

Better explain. K1 is the small brewery from their farmhouse days in nearby Rathmullan and the name Kinnegar comes from the nearby beach of that name. We are in K2, huge by comparison, a magnificent illustration of how far this enterprising brewery has come in a six year span.

K1

K1 (10 hectalitres) has been brought here and given its own space in Letterkenny. Dwarfed by K2 (35hls), it will have a special place and will be used to try out innovative beers for many years to come, thanks in large measure to David who was close to completing the re-assembly here. Indeed K1 looks brand new. They will also bring in and use their first brewery, a 0.5hl unit, now known as K0.

Links with Rathmullan are still strong thanks mainly to Libby’s mother Margaret, 80 years of age and still working on the brewery books, happy to do so in the quiet of the countryside.

With the opening of the new state-of-the-art facility K2, the clinking of bottles coming off the line no longer mingles with the bleating of sheep from the surrounding fields. Yet “the farmhouse ethos at the core of what we do however remains the same”.

While I expected to see a spanking new brewery, my jaw dropped on entering the unit. It is huge, at least to my eyes, and of course, it was a huge investment leap for Libby, Rick and Rachel when they ordered the gear from Slovenia. But so far so good. So very good.

Rachel in the brewhouse

I reckon I was one of the first to sing the praises of Kinnegar beer as I came across them in various places around Downings in June 2013. One of the places was the Cove in Port na Blagh where I worked my way through the ales, the Limeburner Pale Ale, the Scraggy Bay India Pale Ale and the Devil’s Backbone Amber Ale. Thought all three were excellent.  My number one went to the IPA while CL picked the Limeburner, the same two beers that we enjoyed this time around.

We had no problem finding them this time, in bars, in cafés such as Buffers, in restaurants like Grape and Grain, in the splendid country house Castle Grove and in the Rosapenna Hotel. Enjoyed Scraggy Bay India Pale Ale (me) and Limeburner Pale Ale (CL) in particular. These two, along with Devil’s Backbone (Amber Ale), Rustbucket Rye Ale, Yannaroddy Porter, and Crossroads American Style IPA, form their core range.

And they do specials. Lots of them! Hard to keep up. Just a few to note that I’ve liked: the Merry Tiller Dry-hopped Saison, Bucket & Spade Session Rye IPA and the Black Bucket Black Rye IPA. 

 Black Bucket Black Rye IPA, Gold Medal at 2018 Brussels Beer Challenge

Balance is a feature of Kinnegar beers and that Black Rye IPA is a great illustration, hoppy, citrus flavours, quite intense (it is the big brother of the original Black Bucket!), quite superb.

Hadn’t come across the Kumpelnest Pilsner (5%) until this trip. Wasn’t expecting too much but reckon me and this one could be the best of buddies. Nothing dominant or over the top about it but with its persistent and pleasantly moderate aromas making an excellent first impression, we were on the right hop from the off. And those first fruity flavours are also persistent as my new buddy shows staying power. Good finish too. Buddy sure won’t let you down as you can see from the illustration on the can, he has lots of friends!

And speaking of friends, how did Kinnegar come together? Libby had her own graphic design company (and those skills would come in handy) but it was Rick who had an interest in craft brewing and spotted the new wave coming. Rachel was a pro in the world of horse; there was a bit of a downturn in that line and she was looking for something with a scientific angle as that was her long time interest and, having worked with horses, she had no problems with taking her turn at the physical side either. The timing was so right for them and Kinnegar was the vehicle to take them (and their now ten permanent staff) upwards and onwards.

This canning line will stretch you mentally!

Nowadays, everyone contributes to the ongoing development though Rick is the leader on the beer recipe side. By the way, they don’t filter or pasteurise, and let their industrious little friends, the yeast, carbonate the beer naturally during fermentation.

Libby told us that Kinnegar are that bit different to other breweries in that they built their business on bottles and cans rather than draught (they do draught of course). Their bottling line is a Meheen, “one of the two busiest in Europe” while their own canning line is a Wild Goose. 

Bet you didn’t know this. Working these two lines requires different responses from the operator. Libby explained that the bottling line is more physically demanding while the canning operation taxes the mental side more! Different strokes for different folks or vice versa. Just goes to show the value of teamwork and Kinnegar have quite a squad in place in Letterkenny.

Also on this trip: Mary T. From Mallow to Donegal's Castle Grove
Something fishy going on in Donegal
Superb Day Out at Oakfield Park & Buffers Bistro
Malin Head, Fanad and Rosguill Peninsulas
Downings. A Great Base for Donegal Visit

CorkBilly’s Drinks & Social Digest. Wines, Spirits and Beers

CorkBilly’s Drinks & Social Digest

Wines, Spirits and Beers

27 Tastes of Brazil at The Friary

Happy New Year and welcome/bem vindos to the first 27 Tastes of Brazil of 2019!! :)

Brilliant Brazilian tunes by DJ Danilo, tasty Baião de Dois by Luciane Viana, and of course Caipirinhas and Caipiroskas to tickle your taste buds made by The Friary staff  :D 

Kicking off at 2:30 next Sunday, join us for a great afternoon! :)  Details 

Next month at The Friary,they move from Brazil to Brittany!

From Caipirinhas to Cider

 Let's all celebrate Brittany once again. Sat Feb 9th - 6.00pm! Details 

In a galaxy, not so far away, there is a country, proud and full of culture.

For one night, let's celebrate this wonderful land… Brittany! 

Gorgeous single estate cider and apple liqueur imported directly from Château de Lézergué, delicious salty and sweet crêpes made by the “bretonniest” of the bretons Cyril Kerboul, all of this wrapped with the best music that Bretagne can offer (and obviously with no partiality at all). [*edit DJ Arbraz*: extreme partiality intensifies]

Kentoc'h mervel eget bezan saotret…

Breizh da viken!*

Let's all celebrate Brittany once again.

The Bridge Bar for Thursday Tasting (24th)

Our tasting sessions are back @TheBridge and January is kicking off with Kinnegar Brewery on Thursday 24th January, close enough to finish up with Dry January. 

Small Brewery, Big Beers

At Kinnegar we pair brewing tradition with a contemporary sense of adventure to produce clean, crisp, full-flavoured farmhouse beers. The brewery is named after the nearby Kinnegar Beach just north of Rathmullan in County Donegal. Details here 

Kinnegar Sponsor White Horse Trad Sessions

Traditional Irish Music sessions taking place in the main bar at The White Horse from Wednesday 23rd January to Sunday 27th January, sponsored by Kinnegar Brewing, as part of The Ballincollig Winter Music Festival 2019.

23/1/2019

WEDNESDAY

Traditional Session 6,30 to 9.30 Conor O Sullivan & friends

Details here 

L’Atitude WINTER WINE SERIES
MOUNTAINS, ISLANDS,
VOLCANOES & COASTS
 

Thurs Feb 7^th 7.00pm
VOLCANOES

The Winter Wine Series focuses on the landscape around where grapes are grown and how it influences wine style. In this second tasting we will look at volcanoes and how volcanic soil structure creates a unique environment that influences grapes. There are many examples of interesting wines produced on volcanic soils – ranging from Etna to Santorini, Tenerife, Chile, Oregon and Madeira, to name but a few. We will present a selection we think really reflect their volcanic origin.

Join us and Pascal Rossignol of Le Caveau , Kilkenny as we taste our way though our selection of favourite “Volcanic” wines.

Tickets €20. Booking Essential

Spanish Wine Faces Up To Brexit

Some believe that Brexit might be a golden opportunity for English wine, especially after research conducted by polling firm YouGov revealed that wine has become the country’s preferred alcoholic drink. Currently, 99% of the wine consumed in the UK is imported. Read the Spanish view here https://www.spanishwinelover.com/find-356-what-could-brexit-mean-for-spanish-wine 

Richy’s BYO Offer

Clonakilty restaurant Richy’s are offering a helping hand when dining out. “Feeling the crunch after Christmas? Why not save some dosh by bringing your own wine to Richy’s! T&C's apply. Available 14th Jan - 28th Feb 2019. Corkage €5.”

Franciscan Well’s Cask Ales and Strange Brew Fest

Our favourite festival of the year....The Cask Ales and Extraordinary Brew Festival running from Jan 31st to Feb 2nd. Yellow Belly, Rising Suns, Metalman and West Cork Brewing are just some of the brewers at the festival and will compete in the Beoir Cask Competition to see who can come up with the most extraordinary beer under categories: Best lager, best "pale', best stout and best specialty. Judged by The national Beer enthusiasts club, winners will be announced on the Saturday of the festival. Live music, performances & Pompeii pizza! Admission is free