CorkBillyBeers #52
https://www.corkbilly.com/2023/12/happy-christmas-to-you-and-yours.html
Craft with Whitefield, Lineman, Blacks, and Lomza
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Whitefield Harvest Ale 5.8% ABV, 375 ml bottle Bradleys
Seasonal. Classic tastes to suit the seasons. Brewed in Tipperary.
“To celebrate each year’s harvest we brew a beer with a unique ingredient. This year we are using raspberries from Con Traas’s farm in Cahir in a blend of sour beer and weisss beer. The raspberries were added at the start of cold maceration to preserve their unique flavour.”
Orange is the colour (opaque) here and the white head vanishes quickly. The longish cork is secured with the normal wire trap and takes some removing. Smell the beer and you get a sour whiff, no hint of the wheat beer as yet! No hint of the raspberries from the Apple Farm though I did detect a hint of crab apples.
That refreshing sourness rushes through on the palate, a concentrated hit, some clove notes interspersed, that my palate welcomed,. Probably one of the rarest flavours I've ever tasted. But I'm not backing off. I'm ready for more, taking my time though, sipping small the more to enjoy the flavour and the refreshment.
Out on its own in more ways than one! Go for it. Very Highly Recommended.
Best before date is March 2025 (bought 10.10.23). Wonder if I got a few and kept them until ‘25! They could well be even better.
Whitefield is a small family-owned brewery dedicated to brewing authentic, traditional-style beers. “Our focus is on using the best available malt and hops from farmers and people we’ve actually met and visited. Beers are brewed using a traditional style German brewhouse, matured over many months and then we self-distribute all our beers to publicans and off licences we respect and trust. This we believe, allows us to provide you, the customer, with a genuinely authentic beer.” See our feature on the Tipperary brewer from earlier this year here.
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Lineman KHZ IPA, 7% ABV, 440 ml can Bradleys
There’s this promise on the label: “With the bitterness to refresh and the fruitiness to satisfy your hop cravings..”
Lineman’s KHZ is back after a 2-year break, “one of our dankest and funkiest IPAs thanks to the lashings of Ekuanot and Azacca we give it.”
Colour is a light orange but a very hazy one whose white head holds on for a brief moment. Aromas tell of the dankness to come. And it comes in a power-packed rush, bitterness welling across the palate as a shoal of strong citrus flavours swirl about. The dry hopping has worked like a dream but this is no heavy metal performance. It is Booker T cool and smooth, knocking out a rhythm of fruity hop aromas. Jamming it up so you don't want it to end.
Very Highly Recommended. Kilohertz or kilohops, KHZ is just buzzing, just the job for the Lineman himself.
Geek Bits
BB: 15.08.24. Bought 25.09.23
ABV: 6.9%
Hops: Azzaca, Ekuanot, Centennial, Citra
Suitable for vegans
Format: 440 ml can
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Blacks KPA Kinsale Pale Ale, 5.0% ABV, 500 ml bottle Dunnes Stores
Can’t blame folks for blowing their own trumpet! “Our world-famous KPA is all about perfect balance and amazing drinkability.” I have been drinking this since 2014 and would gladly help with that trumpet.
You know the story. This is an American-style Pale Ale bursting with Cascade and Citra Hops. Tropical and citrus flavours are beautifully balanced with malt sweetness. Loved the way the flavours spread over the palate from the first sip and that dry clean lingering finish. Indeed, linger is the word. Take your time sipping, the better to enjoy every single drop.
The Magic of Malt and Hops
The delicate balance between malt and hops is what makes this pale ale so special. Some brewers go too heavy on the malt, but this recipe allows the hops—a mix of Centennial, Cascade, and Citra—to shine through with their grapefruit, lime, and other citrus flavours. The malt still plays its part, giving the beer a delicious mouthfeel and a crisp clean finish.
This is how Blacks themselves put it: Blacks escape the mundane of the mass market, producing beers with passion, personality and lots of hops. American-style Pale Ale bursting with Cascade and Citra Hops. Tropical and citrus flavours are beautifully balanced with malt sweetness.
Very Highly Recommended
Geek Bits
Style: Top FermentedIBU: 60
Hops: Centennial, Cascade, Citra
Best before: BB: 12.06.24 (purchased 05.10.23)
Pair: Burgers, Steaks, BBQ Meats
Released: 2013
Available: Draft, Bottle 500ml, Cans
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Lomza Lager 5.7% ABV, 500 ml bottle Dunnes Stores
Spotted this Polish lager on the shelf and thought, thanks to my long-standing European spirit, that I’d give it a twirl.
Their recipe consists of nothing more than three carefully selected ingredients: water, barley malt and hops. It is distinguished by being non-pasteurised.
It certainly looks (with its gold colour and white head and millions of bubbles) like a lager. Smells like one also with its malt qualities prominent. The flavour is excellent and the beer is refreshing, a simple well-made lager.
“At Łomża we believe that simplicity is a great thing. In an increasingly complex world, we offer clarity - just the highest quality ingredients with nothing to hide. The only complicated thing about Łomża is our name.”
The Łomża brewery is one of the last remaining independent big-capacity breweries in Poland. “The decisions we make directly affect us and our business. We don’t compromise on quality. We stay true to ourselves and our aim to produce good quality, honest beer.”
Expiry date is next January. I didn't take too much notice of the non-pasteurised note even though it is flagged very clearly on the label until I photographed the bottle for this post. The cans and bottles of pasteurised beers are run through a hot water spray that’s around 140 degrees to kill any bacteria and stop any yeast still in the beer from growing. Unpasteurised don’t get that treatment.
