The Beer of The Year 2021. The candidates, so far!

Beer of The Year 2021

The candidates, so far!

June: O’Hara’s Irish Stout Nitro

May: Dungarvan “Mahon Falls” Rye Pale Ale

April: Heaney New England IPA

March: Whiplash “Melodie Noir” Baltic Porter

February: Eight Degrees “The Pilgrim’s Path” Lager

January: Lineman “Vesper" Pale Ale

June

Stout: O’Hara’s Irish Stout Nitro

Session: Brú Cheep Flirt IPA

Pale Ale: Lineman Electric Avenue #2 Extra

Red Ale: Western Herd Atlantic

IPA: Brú IPA

Golden Ale: Sullivan’s Irish Gold

Non Alcoholic: Stonewell 0% Cider

Blond: Mescan Westport Blonde

Overall: O’Hara’s Irish Stout Nitro

May

May Favourites

White/wheat/wit: Heaney Irish White Ale

Rye Ale: Dungarvan “Mahon Falls” Rye Pale Ale

Lager: Western Herd "Loop Head" Pilsner 

Red Ale: Brú

Amber Ale: Kinnegar Devil’s Backbone 

IPA: O’Hara’s 51st State IPA

Session: Rising Sons “5th Horseman” session IPA 

Overall: Dungarvan “Mahon Falls” Rye Pale Ale

April

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

Brown Ale: Whiplash “The Ocean Wide” 

NEIPA: Heaney New England

Session: Blacks The Session IPA 3.5%

German style IPA: Rascals Wunderbar IPA

IPA: O’Hara’s Tropical IPA,

Stout: O’Hara’s Irish Stout,

Overall: Heaney New England

March

Lager: Wide Street “Mill Pils”

Session: Eight Degrees Bohemian Pilsner Lager

Red Ale: O’Hara’s Irish Red Traditional Ale, 4.3%

Baltic Porter: Whiplash Melodie Noir Baltic Porter

Overall: Whiplash Melodie Noir Baltic Porter

February

Lager: Eight Degrees “The Pilgrim’s Path”

Pale Ale: Blacks Kinsale KPA

Session: Rascals “Fruitropolis” Pale Ale, 4.3%

Overall: Eight Degrees “The Pilgrim’s Path”

January

Pale Ale - Lineman Vesper

IPA - Hopfully Graciosa

Session: Whiplash Northern Light

Lager: Kinnegar Brewers at Play Rye Lager

Porter: Elbow Lane “Liberty”

Overall: Lineman Vesper

No lists kept for 2020 but the “winners” were

Stout: Brehon Brewhouse “Ulster Black” Oatmeal Stout 5.0%

Belgian Tripel: Eight Degrees Devil's Ladder Belgian Tripel 11.5%

Golden Ale: West Kerry Brewery “Béal Bán” Golden Ale, 5.0%

Imperial Stout: Lough Gill Dark Majik Imperial Oatmeal Coffee Cream Stout 11.0%

Pale Ale: Trouble Brewing Ambush Juicy Pale Ale, 5.0%

Session: Whiplash Rollover Session IPA 3.8%

Lager: White Gypsy Munich Lager, 5.8%

American IPA: Kinnegar “Crossroads” American Style IPA 6.2%

Saison: Third Circle “Unsocial Creatures”  Dry Hopped Saison 4.4%

White/Wheat: Mescan “Westport White” 5%

Cider: Highbank “Proper Irish Cider” 2016 6%

Sour: Yellow Belly Castaway Passionfruit Sour 4.2%

Red: The White Hag “The Fleadh” 6.8%

Hybrid: Hope Underdog Hoppy Lager 4.8%

Non Alcoholic: Highbank’s “Drivers” Cider

Overall: Eight Degrees Devil's Ladder Belgian Tripel 11.5%

A Quart of Ale± #56 Another session on the craft journey with Lager, Pale and Dark Ale and Stout.

A Quart of Ale± #56

Another session on the craft journey. 

O’Hara’s Nitro Stout 4.3%, 440ml can Bradleys

Great visuals with this one. After the sound effects of the widget, you pour, at the 45 degrees of course and slowly, and then it clears, upwards, from a muddled mess to a shiny black mass with a steady and creamy head. The roasted aromas confirm the familiar feeling. Am I back in the bar or what? The magic continues on the palate, full bodied and impressively smooth and all the while that superb roast flavour, a hint or two of smoke there too. And then that traditional dry finish. 

Like the few words on the label: Chill Pull Pour Pause Enjoy. Pretty accurate! By the way, we finished (rather than started with this beauty!)

So what’s this nitro? Nitrogenation was used in stouts to approximate the smooth carbonation typical of cask conditioned ales and has become the norm for kegged Irish stout, giving a smooth creamy texture to the head.

And stout itself? While the term stout is reputed to have been applied to higher abv porters in Britain, it is said that the “stout” style that evolved in Ireland originates from the use of heavily roast malts introduced in Irish breweries after the famine in hardened economic times. While not strong in terms of abv the stronger roast flavoured malts lends a more robust flavour to the style giving a dry finish – hence the term Dry Irish Stout.

Geek Bits 

Plato °

10.75°

IBU

36 

Fermentation

Top fermentation

Availability

 (nitrogenated), Keg 50cl and 33cl, occasional 41L cask Can 44cl

Serving Temperature

6-10°C.  

Food Pairing

Excellent with seafood particularly shellfish and smoked salmon. Also pairs well with strong flavoured cheeses and dry cured meats such as Parma ham.

Glass

O’Hara’s tulip glass

Brú Lager 4.2%, 330ml can Bradleys

Very clear light gold colour.  Aromas are malty and on the palate it is the malt that comes through more than the hops (their website describes it as their love song to malt). It’s a light and refreshing lager, certainly more for recreation than meditation, more for a multi-person session than a solo hour. Enjoyable.

Details:

Hops: Tradition

Malts: Lager, Carapils, Munich, Crystal

They say: You can find BRÚ beers on the shelf or at the bar across Ireland in many pubs and restaurants and in your local independent off licence. We’re also stocked nationwide in some of Ireland’s finest retailers.

Lineman Electric Avenue #2 Extra Pale Ale 5.3%, 440ml can Bradleys

Treat this one fairly roughly at the start and you are rewarded with a big white head, with a bit of staying power. Colour is an almost totally clear light gold with many fountains of bubbles finding their way upwards. Take a sniff over that slowly shrinking head and you get the freshness of the hops. Dip your finger into the foam and you get a hint of what’s to come, a bit of bitter orange, as if you’d eaten a piece of the peel. That orange is still there on the palate but now there is a balance, a crisp and refreshing harmony all the way through to the finish. The label promises a bright crisp Pale Ale designed to let those delicious hops sing. I reckon they got it spot-on. By the way, after all that smelling and tasting, the head is still there but barely half a finger’s worth - no matter.

This March issue is the second in the Electric Avenue series which uses the freshest hop combinations on a base beer that allow them to shine. Hops used here are Talus and Hallertau Blanc. Talus is a new proprietary hop from the USA. 

They say: Hallertau Blanc has been a firm favourite here at the brewery but we hadn't got our hands on Talus before now. It didn't disappoint. We think this is a great pairing.

A relatively simple beer. Simply superb.

Their story: Lineman had been a long-planned project of founder/owner/brewer Mark Lucey. Having been obsessed with beer and heavily involved in homebrewing for all his adult life, it was always an ambition to open a brewery or have a commercial brewing project that would allow him to produce a diverse range of beer: Stouts, Belgians styles, IPAs and Mixed Fermentations.

It soon became a proper husband and wife team when Vivienne joined shortly before the first beers were released. Being a graphic designer with lots of commercial experience she was able to bring the look for Lineman together just in time for their beers to be released. Vivienne produces all the artwork and looks after the marketing side of things.

West Kerry “Cúl Dorcha” Dark Ale 5.0%, 500ml bottle Bradleys 

The name Cúl Dorcha comes from a local shore and means dark back (probably no lightbulb out the back). Dark red is the colour of this Kerry beer with its soft white head that reduces soon enough.

All’s dark then. Roasted malts on the nose, hints of smoke. The malt runs deep, caramel, chocolate, smoky peat; complex palate also has a sourish aspect and slightly bitter too towards the finish.

It is indeed a distinctive beer as we’ve come to expect from West Kerry where sculptor Adrienne is also the owner and brewer at Tig Bhric, the public house where the West Kerry brewery is based.

They say: Cúl Dorcha is a dark ale, with a deep maltiness that includes hints of dark chocolate. Hopped with English hops for an easy-drinking beer with a slight spice note to the finish.

Favourite Beer of The Year 2021-The candidates, so far! + May Favourites

Favourite Beer of The Year 2021-The candidates, so far! + May Favourites

Monthly Favourites

May: Dungarvan “Mahon Falls” Rye Pale Ale

April: Heaney New England IPA

March: Whiplash “Melodie Noir” Baltic Porter

February: Eight Degrees “The Pilgrim’s Path” Lager

January: Lineman “Vesper" Pale Ale

May Favourites

White/wheat/wit: Heaney Irish White Ale

Rye Ale: Dungarvan “Mahon Falls” Rye Pale Ale

Lager: Western Herd "Loop Head" Pilsner 

Red Ale: Brú

Amber Ale: Kinnegar Devil’s Backbone 

IPA: O’Hara’s 51st State IPA

Session: Rising Sons “5th Horseman” session IPA 

Overall: Dungarvan “Mahon Falls” Rye Pale Ale

April Favourites

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

Brown Ale: Whiplash “The Ocean Wide” 

NEIPA: Heaney New England

Session: Blacks The Session IPA 3.5%

German style IPA: Rascals Wunderbar IPA

IPA: O’Hara’s Tropical IPA,

Stout: O’Hara’s Irish Stout,

Overall: Heaney New England

March Favourites

Lager: Wide Street “Mill Pils”

Session: Eight Degrees Bohemian Pilsner Lager

Red Ale: O’Hara’s Irish Red Traditional Ale, 4.3%

Baltic Porter: Whiplash Melodie Noir Baltic Porter

Overall: Whiplash Melodie Noir Baltic Porter

February Favourites

Lager: Eight Degrees “The Pilgrim’s Path”

Pale Ale: Blacks Kinsale KPA

Session: Rascals “Fruitropolis” Pale Ale, 4.3%

Overall: Eight Degrees “The Pilgrim’s Path”

January Favourites 

Pale Ale - Lineman Vesper

IPA - Hopfully Graciosa

Session: Whiplash Northern Light

Lager: Kinnegar Brewers at Play Rye Lager

Porter: Elbow Lane “Liberty”

Overall: Lineman Vesper

Not quite the same attention to detail paid to the lists for 2020 but the “favourites” were:

Stout: Brehon Brewhouse “Ulster Black” Oatmeal Stout 5.0%

Belgian Tripel: Eight Degrees Devil's Ladder Belgian Tripel 11.5%

Golden Ale: West Kerry Brewery “Béal Bán” Golden Ale, 5.0%

Imperial Stout: Lough Gill Dark Majik Imperial Oatmeal Coffee Cream Stout 11.0%

Pale Ale: Trouble Brewing Ambush Juicy Pale Ale, 5.0%

Session: Whiplash Rollover Session IPA 3.8%

Lager: White Gypsy Munich Lager, 5.8%

American IPA: Kinnegar “Crossroads” American Style IPA 6.2%

Saison: Third Circle “Unsocial Creatures”  Dry Hopped Saison 4.4%

White/Wheat: Mescan “Westport White” 5%

Cider: Highbank “Proper Irish Cider” 2016 6%

Sour: Yellow Belly Castaway Passionfruit Sour 4.2%

Red: The White Hag “The Fleadh” 6.8%

Hybrid: Hope Underdog Hoppy Lager 4.8%

Non Alcoholic: Highbank’s “Drivers” Cider

Overall: Eight Degrees Devil's Ladder Belgian Tripel 11.5%

The Quart of Ale± Special. Favourite Beers 2021 (and belatedly 2020)

The Quart of Ale± Special

Favourite Beers 2021 (and belatedly 2020) 

April Favourites 

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

Brown Ale: Whiplash “The Ocean Wide” 

NEIPA: Heaney New England

Session: O’Hara’s Session IPA, Wicklow Brewery Coola Boola Session IPA, Blacks The Session IPA 3.5%

German style IPA: Rascals Wunderbar IPA

IPA: Rising Sons Fandango Hazy IPA, O’Hara’s Tropical IPA,

Stout: O’Hara’s Irish Stout,

Overall: Heaney New England

March Favourites

Lager: Wide Street “Mill Pils”

Session: Eight Degrees Bohemian Pilsner Lager

Red Ale: O’Hara’s Irish Red Traditional Ale, 4.3%

Baltic Porter: Whiplash Melodie Noir Baltic Porter

Overall: Whiplash Melodie Noir Baltic Porter

February Favourites

Lager: Eight Degrees “The Pilgrim’s Path”

Pale Ale: Blacks Kinsale KPA

Session: Rascals “Fruitropolis” Pale Ale, 4.3%

Overall: Eight Degrees “The Pilgrim’s Path”

January Favourites 

Pale Ale - Lineman Vesper

IPA - Hopfully Graciosa

Session: Whiplash Northern Light

Lager: Kinnegar Brewers at Play Rye Lager

Porter: Elbow Lane “Liberty”

Overall: Lineman Vesper

++++++

2020 

Stout: Brehon Brewhouse “Ulster Black” Oatmeal Stout 5.0%

Belgian Tripel: Eight Degrees Devil's Ladder Belgian Tripel 11.5%

Golden Ale: West Kerry Brewery “Béal Bán” Golden Ale, 5.0%

Imperial Stout: Lough Gill Dark Majik Imperial Oatmeal Coffee Cream Stout 11.0%

Pale Ale: Trouble Brewing Ambush Juicy Pale Ale, 5.0%

Session: Whiplash Rollover Session IPA 3.8%

Lager: White Gypsy Munich Lager, 5.8%

American IPA: Kinnegar “Crossroads” American Style IPA 6.2%

Saison: Third Circle “Unsocial Creatures”  Dry Hopped Saison 4.4%

White/Wheat: Mescan “Westport White” 5%

Cider: Highbank “Proper Irish Cider” 2016 6%

Sour: Yellow Belly Castaway Passionfruit Sour 4.2%

Red: The White Hag “The Fleadh” 6.8%

Hybrid: Hope Underdog Hoppy Lager 4.8%

Non Alcoholic: Highbank’s “Drivers” Cider

Overall: Eight Degrees Devil's Ladder Belgian Tripel 11.5%

Cheers 212201 Beer, Wine, Spirits with Porterhouse-Kinnegar-Lineman-Rascals-BeerCloud-O'Briens-Teeling

Cheers 212201

Beer, Wine, Spirits with Porterhouse-Kinnegar-Lineman-Rascals-BeerCloud-O'Briens-Teeling

Independent Breweries Ireland

 "Beer of the Year"

The results are in for #ICBIBeerOfTheYear

This is a new and unique competition where beers are judged by peers!

2021 Gold goes to

Porterhouse Brew Co.

for their Round the Clock Imperial Stout, followed by Silver to

Lineman

for Astral Grains Stout and Bronze to

Kinnegar Brewing

for their Thumper Double IPA.

The idea is that microbreweries each submitted one beer of their choice - these were then supplied unbranded to all the entrants who had a very enjoyable time judging each beer! You can read a little more here http://icbi.ie/beer-of-the-year/

#indieirishbeer #irishcraftbeer #craftbeer #microbrewery

Best greetings of the day to you all. The Breakfast of Champions 6.1% oatmeal stout is yours to buy! It’s an oatmeal stout like no other. We’ve made it with specialty coffee roasted by our Dublin 8 neighbours Imbibe. The base recipe of our new stout has a generous helping of chocolate wheat and café malt; we’ve also used plenty of oats and some lactose too. We’ve even added a few cacao nibs just because we know how well they’ll complement the beer. Combine all the ingredients and you’ve got the breakfast stout of champions!

Buy The Beer

BeerCloud Welcome to the January BeerCloud BREWSLETTER We're delighted to announce that, once again, we're teaming up with the Craic Beer Community to bring you the January Brews virtual meet-up. This (virtual) mini-festival kicks off at 7.30pm next Friday, 29th January. As well as plenty of beer-chat, we'll be joined by brewers from Hope, Larkin’s, Canvas, O Brother and Dead Centre to talk through some featured beers.  To book your place just purchase a Craic Box before Wednesday 27th. Attendance numbers are limited, so don't leave it too late!  WINES FOR NETFLIX NIGHTS with Lynne Coyne MW, O'Briens Wine If you are settling down to Netflix on these January lockdown nights, add to your relaxation and enjoyment by trying these wine and movie matches along with a simple, easy to put together plate of tasty nibbles. Champagne Piper-Heidsieck Cuvée Brut NV   Enjoying the antics of Bridgerton and their society parties? then Champagne is the perfect match. Champagne would have been flowing freely during this period, establishing itself as a luxury celebration wine. Piper-Heidsieck's history dates back to 1785 and now own 70 hectares of sustainably managed vineyards. Their signature cuvée Brut is round and vibrant with a richness from the high proportion of black grape varieties. With notes of almond and hazelnut to accompany lively bubbles and fresh flavours of pear and crunchy red apple, the beautifully balanced finish is delicate and long with a hint of citrus fruits.   Food Match - Rustic Bread & Black Olive Tapenade   Netflix Match - Bridgerton More of Lynne's wine suggestions here Teeling Got That Lovin' Feelin' Bring back that ‘Loving Teeling’ this Valentine’s Day! We’re hosting a virtual Valentine’s Cocktail class. Cocktails kits for 2 include - 4 cocktails, utensils including (2 mason jars & glassware) to accompany a live online demo. Book Now https://teelingwhiskey.digitickets.ie/event-tickets/32491?catID=11834&mc_cid=8df45c5bcc&mc_eid=6226262564