A Quart of Ale± #111 with Cotton Ball, Lough Gill and Athletic Brewing

 A Quart of Ale± #111

On the craft journey with Cotton Ball, Lough Gill and Athletic Brewing

Cotton Ball Lynch’s Stout 4.3%, 500ml bottle O’Donovan’s

The Lynch’s Stout from the Cotton Ball brewery is an excellent one, flavour, smoothness and a long dry finish the striking characteristics. 

You get the hints of your old toffee bar in the aromas, coffee there also, and on the palate; the flavours last, still a pleasure well after the swallow. The beer is available on draught at the bar and also in bottle.

Lynch's at The Cotton

Humphrey Lynch, an American Civil War veteran and a cotton mill foreman, returned to his native Cork in 1874 to set up his own public house which he called the Cotton Ball. It is still here today and the current generation are brewing a selection of craft beers named after their great great grandfather who left the West Cork countryside as a teenager. The brewery, under the Mayfield pub, was founded in 2013.

A day or two after finishing the bottles in bought in O'Donovan's, I headed up to the nearby Cotton Ball for a quart± from the tap. Excellent stout and excellent company.

Hand crafted from five malts and traditional flaked barley, moderately bittered and late hopped with US and New Zealand hops, they say: “This stout is as dark as our great grandfather Humphrey’s black humour and has a warm and mature flavour. With a phenomenal marriage of coffee roast, caramel lush, balanced by a clean bitterness exploding into a tangerine, mandarin aromatic delivery.`’

They reckon it’s a great accompaniment for hearty meat dishes, stews and steaks. But, with a shameless piece of name dropping, they say that the ultimate food pairing is "our Famous Cousins’ Clonakilty Black pudding"!

 

Lough Gill Mo Chara Hazy Seisiún IPA 4.8%, 440 ml can 

Bradleys

This hazy IPA is a collaboration between Lough Gill and their friends at Mo Chara. 

It is pale in colour, almost lemon, hazy for sure with a white head that soon sinks down to leave a circular trace. Citra and Mosaic are the hops so I’m expecting Citrus and Mango and that’s what I get both in the aromas and, after a little shyness, on the palate. It’s not a big tiger of a beer, more like a pussycat, gentle and compatible over a session I’d say.

Lough Gill indicate that the Norwegian Yeast called Kveik has been used here and that does help bring out fruiter notes and that is the case here with exotic notes including Mango, Pineapple, Papaya, Tangerine and Passion Fruit. Quite a pleasant posse of flavours indeed.

Dundalk based Mo Chara are craft beer supporters, big time. “With 24 taps of craft beer, wines & cocktails, we have one of the biggest selections in Ireland on tap. Ten of our taps are rotational which means we change to a new beer after every keg so you can try something new every time you call in for just the one.” 

Dundalk’s First Craft Beer Taphouse are not just about the drink. Here you may also get coffee, sambas and pizzas, And lots of craic by the look of it!

Athletic Brewing Run Wild Alcohol Free IPA <0.5%, 355ml can Bradleys

The American producers of this beer tell us Run Wild is the ultimate sessionable IPA for craft beer lovers. “Brewed with a blend of five Northwest hops, it has an approachable bitterness to balance the specialty malt body. Always refreshing and only 70 calories.”

Nice slightly hazy golden colour on this IPA with a decent white head that’s not for hanging around. Aromas, citrus and hoppy, are modest. And it looked as if the palate would continue that trend. But I gave it a good swirl around and that approachable (modest) bitterness made its appearance. Refreshing enough but not deeply so.

Still I’d be happy enough to agree with their assertion that "This isn’t your traditional watery, tasteless alcohol-free beer.” It is certainly more than that and better than many on the market. It could certainly do the job for a night if you are driving. And I’d also see it useful to alternate it with an alcoholic beer over a session where you want to exercise restraint. No major sacrifice! And I could say much the same about the Golden Ale, though with less enthusiasm.

When I picked it up first, I thought it was Irish but Athletic Beer are US producers with an office address in Dublin. And the US connection is written on the can which comes in a slightly different size to the usual European one. By the way, why do most non alcoholic beers, with the exception of the German ones (probably the best of the style), come in smaller sizes?

They say: Whether you’re looking to cut out alcohol for life or just for a night, you shouldn’t have to sacrifice your ability to be healthy, active and at your best, to enjoy great beer.

Run Wild is the ultimate sessionable IPA for craft beer lovers. Brewed with a blend of five Northwest hops, it has an approachable bitterness to balance the specialty malt body. Always refreshing and only 70 calories.

Geek Bits

INGREDIENTS: Water, Organic Vienna Malt, Malted Barley, Oats, Hops, Wheat, Yeast.

Pair with: Burgers, Pizza, Tacos

Hops: a blend of five Northwest hops

Calories: 70.

Atlantic Brewing Upside Dawn Alcohol Free Golden <0.5%, 355ml can Bradleys

Made in a “classic craft Golden Ale style", this is the other Athletic Brewing alcohol free beer that I recently picked up in Bradleys.  Again it is a pale orange colour with haze and a white head that doesn’t hang about. Aromas are more floral than fruity (citrus). On the palate it is not that dissimilar to the IPA but is that bit milder, easier-drinking.

They say: Classic craft Golden Ale Style. Refreshing, clean, balanced, light-bodied. Aromas subtle with floral and earthy notes. Brewed with premium Vienna Malt along with combo of English and traditional American hops. Crafted to remove gluten*.

While Upside Dawn is crafted to remove gluten, it may still contain gluten. Here’s why: “This product is fermented from grains containing gluten. The gluten content of this product cannot be verified, and this product may contain gluten.”

Ingredients: Water, Organic Vienna Malt, Malted Barley, Oats, Hops, Wheat, Yeast.

Vegan - yes

IBUs:15

Style: Golden Ale

A Quart of Ale± #94. On the craft journey with Wicklow Wolf, Guinness, Whiplash, Blacks

A Quart of Ale± #94

On the craft journey with Wicklow Wolf, Guinness, Whiplash, Blacks

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Wicklow Wolf “Apex Cherry” Black Cherry Oatmeal Stout 5.5%, 440 ml can Bradleys 

Not too much on the label here but I read that the ingredients include oats and cherry. Oats are used to enhance a beer’s texture, creating a velvety, creamy quality that is seen at its best in both stouts and pale ales.

It pours the expected black with a soft tanned head that gives you a few minutes of its time. Aromas are at once fruity and chocolate. And the fruit, those cherries, lead on the smooth and silky palate and across the lips, with the chocolate appearing again in the swallow before the finish comes wrapped in a refreshing moderate tartness. Not sure how much cherries were added here but the Wicklow pack got the quantity spot-on. The balance is perfect.

Brewed with Black Cherries, “this deliciously decadent 5.5% oatmeal stout is packed with layers of flavour”. Released into the wild in the first week in February. It is available nationwide in all good independent off licences and at the Wicklow Wolf Taproom (would surely love to try it there!).

Based on their well-known Apex Oatmeal Stout, this is another in the Endangered Species series and is therefore rather rare. Get yours before it goes extinct!

They say: Sustainability is at the core of everything we do. It influences how we brew, package and advertise our beers. From growing our own hops to installing state of the art systems in the brewery, we are doing all we can do reduce our footprint on the land around us. It is not all talk. Read more here   

Guinness Foreign Extra Stout 7.5%, 330ml bottle O’Donovans

After a strong recommendation from Jeff Alworth in The Beer Bible (2021) I just had to try this Guinness Foreign Extra Stout (FES). Jeff says this is a “wonderfully rich and complex beer” but he doesn’t say, at least in the book, that he has a partnership with Guinness for his amazingly popular website Beervana.

Guinness say: We can trace the origins of Foreign Extra Stout back to 1801 and the original recipe of West Indies Porter. Originally brewed to withstand long journeys, the use of higher gravity and more hops resulted in a bold tasting beer with a complex flavour profile.

Colour is, of course, black with a tan head that sinks very slowly indeed. The aromas are quite intense with a definite fruity and roast character. A finger test into the tan foam produces much the same result and that is repeated when the first sip hits the palate. 

And sipping is the way to proceed with this 7.5% bittersweet gem. Take it easy, the better to enjoy your FES.

Partner though he is (and he does disclose it quite openly on his web site), Alworth has found Guinness “hugely secretive about the process”. But his conclusion on “this wonderfully rich and complex beer” is positive: “Whatever the process, the result is one of the most intense beers on the market: a muscular 7.5% stout of great density and layered complexity.” 

Must say, and no problem saying it, that I have been highly impressed by my bottle but there is now, in Ireland, as there mostly always was, quite a lot of competition when it comes to stout and porter. 

Alworth himself, in the book, mentions Porterhouse’s Plain Porter and O’Hara’s Leann Folláin as outstanding candidates but even in the space of a few recent days I have been very highly impressed by Wicklow Wolf’s Black Cherry Oatmeal Stout and by the collaboration between Bradley’s Off Licence and Dot Brewing called Shady Dealings. 

Long live choice. Long live the multitudinous possibilities of flavour which for so long were denied us.

Whiplash Dawn Chorus Helles 5.1%, 440 ml can Bradleys

This bright clear golden lager comes from the busy Whiplash Brewery in Dublin. It has fountains of bubbles rising as the white head falls, the bubbles last much longer. The aromas with grassy and floral notes, along with some spicy notes, are moderate enough and are more or less as expected from the two hops used, Magnum and Mittelfruh, both German.

On its classic malt base, it is soft and refreshing in the mouth with light fruit (lemon) flavours and a little sweetness and just a little bitterness. Still it finishes well and overall is very easy-drinking and a good companion of an evening.

Geek Bits

Malts: Pilsner Malt, Munich Malt

Yeast: WLP833

Hops: Magnum and Mittelfruh.

Lagers and all its variants were born and bred in quite a small area of Central Europe, from Bamberg in the west to Vienna in the east is about 500km and from Gera in the north to Munich in the south is shorter at less tan 400km with Pilsen in the middle (more or less). Here you’ll find Pilsner, Helles, Märzen, Vienna Lager, Bock, Dunkel lager, Schwarzbier, and Rauchgier. A small enough geographic area from which the beer which, in one form or another, accounts for 90% of all beers produced nowadays, came.

Pils or Pilsner is a pale lager first brewed in the 1840s in the Czech town of Plzeñ (Pilsner). Helles is associated with Germany, is close to Pilsner and it is known for its soft maltiness and that is where we came in with Whiplash. 

* If you want to read more on the lager family, then check out my review of The Beer Bible here.

Blacks The Session Pink Grapefruit IPA 3.4%, 440 can O’Donovans

Packed full of hoppy goodness, and at 3.5% abv, it’s the ideal beer for days when you’re in the mood to drink a few. That’s the intro from Blacks of Kinsale to their Session Ale with a shot of Pink Grapefruit (listed as an ingredient)

Colour of this IPA is a hazy lemon/orange with a white head that fades away without really taking time to say hello. But what the beer does is to say hello, as early as the positive aromas, via the grapefruit. And the grapefruit continues the conversation on the refreshing palate, a lively sparkling palate that takes you smiling to an excellent finish.

They say that this beer is light and crisp in character with a streamlined malt structure, and the addition of new world hops bring floral, grassy and orange zest aromas to life. A taste of summer that’s available all year round!  

Have to agree. While summer may be the optimum season, there’s no reason not to enjoy it even in midwinter, fire on of course, as I am. Just don’t tell the doc as my meds forbid grapefruit!

A Quart of Ale± #91 On the craft journey with Whitefield, West Cork, Clonakilty. + news via Rascals, Killarney & Craic Beer.

 A Quart of Ale± #91

On the craft journey with Whitefield, West Cork, Clonakilty and Journeyman

(+ news via Rascals, Killarney &  Craic Beer.)

Whitefield Old Smoke Smoked Porter 5.4%, 500ml bottle Bradleys

Whitefield (formerly White Gypsy) is a brewery in Templemore, County Tipperary. Cuilán Loughnane is the main person here and, according to Sláinte  (2014), his fingerprints “are all over the Irish brewing scene”. I knew that he (through White Gypsy) had helped Cork’s Elbow Lane and Waterford’s Metalman get up and running by contract brewing their beers and more. 

But Sláinte also details his earlier involvement, first with Dwan’s Brewery (Thurles) from 1997 and, from 2002,  he was head brewer at Dublin’s Messrs Maguire (the forerunners of J.W. Sweetman) before setting up on his own as White Gypsy in 2009, a move that saw him join the “Second Generation: Mid 2000s to 2011” of Irish craft brewers.

He has grown his own hops and also brewed beers specially for food, beers in wine sized 75cl bottles and aimed at the restaurant trade. He is still going strong under the new label. By the way, this porter is named after Templemore legend, Old Smoke Morrissey.

They say: Traditionally, beers made in the midlands would have had a slight smokiness due to the malt being dried from peat fires. This stout brings out that combination of smoke and roast while remaining light on the palate.

Black as a newly tarred road between Templemore and Nenagh. There’s a tanned head, soft, and soon sinking away to the black. Aromas are smoky, a hint of bacon as you sniff. And it’s much the same combination on the palate. But nothing too extreme, all rather svelte and subtle, terrific balance right to the very satisfactory finish indeed.

West Cork Baltimore Bitter 5.5%, 500ml bottle Upstairs at Quay Coop 

In December 2014, Dominic Casey, Henry Thornhill and brewer Kevin Waugh launched the West Cork Brewing Company. The 1st Brew-Hotel to set up in Ireland and also the country’s most southerly brewery.

It is based in Casey's of Baltimore Hotel and they started with three beers, Sherkin Lass a citrussy Pale Ale 4.4%, Roaring Ruby Dark Red Ale 4.4% and Stout X Stout West a chocolate porter 4.3%, the crew intent on their beers matching the quality of West Cork’s artisan foods. 

This Baltimore Bitter is one of their latest. Colour is a very dark red with a tan head, soft, and slow to disperse. Aromas are moderate, notes of pepper. On the palate, there’s quite an amalgam, fruit, honey and a tang of citrus, lime perhaps. Quite a lip-smacking finish.  

Refreshing and somewhat different, with a bitter aftertaste, and I can see it playing its part in the suggested pairings of Pulled Pork and Smoked Gouda. “We have used our own well water and the most traditional methods.” It is unfiltered and vegan friendly.

Clonakilty Smuggler Irish Porter 6.0%, 500ml bottle O’Donovan’s 

Dark stuff this with a bubbly frothy tan head that sinks slowly. Moderate aromas of roast and chocolate as the head sinks another notch, just a thin disc now. And, now on the palate, it is sweet chocolate, coffee too and a medium touch of bitterness at the finish.

They say: We are passionate about making beer with no compromise, brewing small batches with big personality. Using locally sourced grains, the best hops and water from our own well, our beers are handcrafted with care…. 

Pour slowly for a smooth creamy head. Enjoy at 10-12 degrees. It goes well with dark meats, rich desserts and chocolate, and is delicious and satisfying on its own.

The Deasy family brewed beer in Clonakilty (known as the brewery town) for almost 200 years, including the famous Clonakilty Wrastler. The Deasys also had a legendary reputation as successful smugglers along the dramatic and rugged coast of West Cork.

Journeyman IPA 5.2%, 500ml bottle, X-mas gift

Hazy amber is the colour here and the white foamy head lingers a while. Expecting more middle of the road from the final bottle of my five pack (all different styles) but certainly more of a punch here. Big whack of hops on the palate - they say, and I agree, “bursting with fruity hop flavour”. And, as was the case in the previous four, the balance is good, thanks to the malt. 

No details on the hops or malt used, at least none that I can find. Not too many details at all. And certainly nothing about food pairings. All I can tell you is that it went down pretty well with the middle chapters of the John Banville piece of crime fiction playfully titled April in Spain, though hardly a playful mystery, at all, at all, as Banville’s Chief Superintendent Hackett might add.

But there is something of a mystery on the label, and indeed on all the Journeyman labels in the pack. It tells us you of need of a great barrel to make a great beer, that Journeyman is steeped in the tradition of the highly skilled craft of coopering. Are these Journeyman beers are matured in wood rather than stainless steel?

Cooperage can be confusing. I walked past one earlier, in a building once owned by a distillery. It now houses the Aquaculture & Fisheries Development Centre, a research facility of UCC and embedded within the School of Biological, Earth & Environmental Sciences (BEES).

Brewery News

The Rude Couple Canned By Rascals

NEW BEER ALERT! Say hi to our next limited edition release: Rude Boy white stout and Rude Girl black IPA.

The former is a full-bodied pale stout with chocolate, caramel and coffee tones, brewed with coffee from our neighbours Imbibe, with oak-smoked wheat adding a lovely touch of character. The latter is a robust medium-bodied IPA with a unique blend and balance of dark roasted malts and piney, resinous hops. 

We're very excited for Feb 24 when you'll be able to get your hands on these. Not only that, we're also having a launch party! Click here for FREE tickets. 

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Killarney Brewing & Distilling Co.

We're on the hunt for waiting staff for the Taproom on Muckross Road in Killarney. The role is made for someone full of energy who enjoys the craic and would like to know more about brewing and our premium Irish beers. Does that sound like you? Send your CV across to Ivan at Ivan@killarneybrewing.com.

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Craic Beer Community - Brew Project Four breweries, four unique beers all packaged up exclusively for the Brew Project. Includes online tasting session as well as in person meet-up in Dead Centre Brewing, Athlone to taste and discuss the beers! €65.00  Only 24 boxes left!

A Quart of Ale± #90. On the craft journey with Franciscan Well, Killarney Brewing, Trouble, Whiplash,Hope, and Wicklow Wolf.

A Quart of Ale± #90

On the craft journey with Franciscan Well, Killarney Brewing, Trouble and Wicklow Wolf. 

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Killarney Scarlet Pimpernel IPA 6%, 500ml bottle Bradleys

There is a statue of a priest, dressed in an older fashion, at an entrance to Killarney National Park. He is striding out, a man in a hurry. They seek him here, they seek him there - he is O’Flaherty, the Scarlet Pimpernel. And this IPA is named in his honour.

Pimpernel

It has a deep red colour. “Best served with a thick frothy head so pour with vigour.” I missed that bit of advice so my head, a bit like the Pimpernel, didn’t hang about. Got “rough” with the second one and a better longer-lasting head was the result.

Built “on a smooth malty base”, it is not a million miles away from our Franciscan Well. Aromas are moderate, citrus and pine. There’s a light caramel sweetness on the palate. Overall, a good balance is found, hop bitterness is moderate, and they boldly recommend it as “a perfect partner for full flavoured dishes”.

During WW2, Rome based Monsignor Hugh O’Flaherty  saved over 6,500 people by hiding them in monasteries, farms, and other locations. After the war, he was awarded the US Medal of Freedom and Commander of the British Empire.

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Franciscan Well Chieftain Irish Pale Ale 5.5%, 330can O’Donovan’s

Franciscan Well Chieftain IPA, then described as “a great stepping stone into the land of big and bitter”has proved quite a popular beer since launched by the Cork brewery. Colour is amber, not a million miles away from their Rebel Red. Indeed, when I posted an early photo of the IPA, a reader challenged me saying I got it wrong, that is the red in the pic.

Certainly hoppy in the aromas, a burst of tropical.There’s a malty theme there too and both continue onto the palate. Citra, Tettnanger and Magnum are the hops and they make their presence felt here, with Pine and Citrus, but the malts (Ale Malt, Crystal Malt) ensure a flavoursome balance, meeting the brewer’s aim of “casual enjoyment” for the drinker rather than the “intense hoppiness” that some IPAs deliver, sometimes to the consternation of the casual craft drinker.

Serve at 6 degrees and pair with fried chicken. Mature Irish cheeses and cured meats are also recommended.

By the way, Franciscan Well is looking forward to the coming year. ‘ It’s been a long road for everyone over the last couple of years. Our focus has been on surviving but now we want to bring memorable moments and experiences back to the centre of what we do, ’  says Kate Clancy (right), marketing manager of the Franciscan Well bar. More details here, even the promise of a beer festival.

Trouble Brewing Nocturne Milk Stout 5.5%, 440ml can Bradleys

This limited release looks well in the glass. Black with a creamy tan head that is unhurried. A big whiff of coffee in the aromas. And the coffee again, with sweet chocolate notes now, on the smooth palate. Sip away all that delicious creaminess to a very satisfactory ending. Smooth and easy all the way. No Trouble at all!

Ingredients – Water, Malt, Oats, Wheat, Lactose, Cacao Nibs, Hops and Yeast

Founded over 10 years ago Trouble Brewing is a 100% Irish-owned and independent brewery, located in Kill, Co Kildare. “Everything we do is driven by the desire to produce the highest quality, best tasting beer for our fellow beer lovers. …We mainly brew hop forward, session beers to be enjoyed by all, but we’re always happy to experiment — only a few ideas are too dumb.”

Wicklow Wolf Moonlight Non Alcoholic Hoppy Ale 0.5%, 330can Bradleys

The search for a really good Irish non alcoholic beer continues.

Geek Bits

Hops: Cascade, Hallertau Blanc, Citra

Malts: Melano, Cara Gold 

Brewery News

Fidelity's Back

Holy moly it's actually happening! Fidelity, our beer festival, is returning to Dublin's Round Room at the Mansion House this July and tickets are flying out with the Saturday session just about sold out.  The first brewery announcement is landing next week and we don't expect tickets to last once that killer lineup drops so now if you want to join us in July, grab those tickets! The festival takes places on July 15th & 16th and each session will have a completely different lineup of beers. Tickets are €69.61 and includes all your beer and your festival tasting glass.

Tickets

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Hope Tours Return!

With restrictions lifted we're excited to announce our brewery tours are back. Come visit our state-of-the-art German brewhouse where one of our team will cover all aspects of the brewing process and at the end you'll enjoy a tasting of our beers in the tap room. A tour is €18 per person and requires a minimum of 6 people and a maximum of 15. Tours are available on Thursdays and Fridays at 5pm and Saturdays at 4pm.

Book a Tour ********* Wicklow Wolf Joining the Pack as number 24 and 25 in the Endangered Species Series are Apex Cherry, a Black Cherry Oatmeal Stout and Canis Rufus, a Red Rye IPA. Available nationwide this week in all good independent off licences and at the Wicklow Wolf Taproom!