Showing posts with label O'Hara's. Show all posts
Showing posts with label O'Hara's. Show all posts

Monday, March 18, 2024

On the craft trail: Two Red Ales and a Session IPA from 9 White Deer, O'Hara's and Lough Gill

On the craft trail

Two Red Ales and a Session IPA 

from 9 White Deer, O'Hara's and Lough Gill



9 White Deer Stag Rua Red Ale, 4.2% ABV, 500 ml bottle Bradleys



Be big, be bold, Bí Dána


Made with a mix of ale, crystal and chocolate malts, Stag Rua by Ballyvourney’s 9 White Deer, pours a very dark red indeed, with a soft off-white head. Indeed at first glance, you’d be forgiven for thinking that a glass of stout was on the way to you.


Chocolate, coffee and caramel in the aromas and also on the smooth palate. A really well-balanced beer with no single ingredient dominating. Quite a satisfying mouthful indeed. Easy-drinking as they indicate and also Gluten Free (since 2018).


They say: Stag Rua is a beer with big malt flavours and it’s our impression of a perfect Irish Red Ale. The body is moderate meaning it’s not a heavy beer with an ABV of 4.2%. The flavour profile of Stag Rua is full of irresistible chocolate, caramel and toffee characteristics. These are derived from the liberal use of chocolate and crystal malts besides the gorgeous Irish ale malt. We hope you enjoy drinking it as much as we love it. Be big, be bold, Bí Dána”




Very Highly Recommended.

 

O’Hara’s Irish Red Ale, 4.3% ABV, 500 ml bottle, Dunnes



O’Hara’s has quite a dark red robe and an off white head that hangs about for a bit. They say the red colour is intensified by the finest roast barley, while subtle hop additions in the kettle give just the right bitterness and aroma to craft this distinctive Irish Red Ale.


Roasted caramel stands out in the aromatics. And you get that caramel and toffee flavour on the palate as well, thanks to the addition of a “pinch of roast barley during the brewing process”. The sweetness of the malt and traditional hop flavour combine well. A terrific example of the style gets a major thumbs up from this quarter.

 

The Carlow Brewing crew is naturally quite proud of their red ale: “This Red stands out in this beer style category. The malt body is as impressive as a bock, albeit in a uniquely Irish way….is much more complex than its mainstream rivals.”



Excellent balance and Very Highly Recommended


 

For the Geek

Style: Traditional Red Ale

ABV: 4.3%

IBU: 34 

Fermentation: Top fermentation 

Availability: Keg (carbonated), Bottle 50cl and 33cl (occasional 41L cask)

Serving Temperature: 6-8°C

Food Pairing: Pairs well with baked and roasted main courses from the oven such as beef hotpot. Also excellent with winter soups. A delicious accompaniment to mature cheddar or soft goat cheeses.


Lough Gill Shaka Session IPA, 3.8% ABV, 440 ml can, Higgins SuperValu


This light gold coloured IPA comes from the excellent Lough Gill Brewery in Sligo. 


It is hazy. Look hard and you’ll note fountains of bubbles rising up to the soft white head.  At 3.8% ABV, it limbos comfortably under the session bar. Aromas are moderate, are of the tropical kind and very pleasant. And so it continues smoothly on the palate with more tropical notes, also some citrus, and an almost creamy mouthfeel that “has been amped up with the addition of oats and Dextrin malts”. 



Another well-balanced beer with a refreshing finish and well suited to a session.


Highly Recommended.

Friday, October 20, 2023

CorkBillyBeers #50. Quite a quartet of craft with Kinnegar, Third Barrell, O'Hara's and Rodenbach.

CorkBillyBeers #50

Craft with Kinnegar, Thired Barrell, O'Hara's and Rodenbach.


Four beauties for you in #50


********************



Kinnegar has a festival beer for you. 


Kinnegar Leaf Kicker 2023 Marzen, 5.9% ABV, 440 ml can Bradleys


Gorgeous golden/amber colour on this one, a repeat of last year's Leaf Kicker Märzen, one that I enjoyed immensely. And it's the same again in 2023. “You enjoyed it so much in 2022 (and we did too) that we’re giving it another whirl before departing this particular chapter of German lager tradition”, say Kinnegar, meaning that they’ll more than likely move on to another German lager style (festival related no doubt) for 2024.



There’s a lovely bubbly white head atop the gold/amber. It has an almost creamy mouthfeel.  This supple beer leads with its rich malts, along with a sweetish bagel flavour and a touch of caramel. It finishes clean and a little hoppy.


It is deeply refreshing and also well suited to food including BBQ, pizzas and tacos plus a chicken from the rotisserie. A deeply satisfying lager and  Very Highly Recommended.


Geek Bits

LEAF KICKER 5.9% ABV

STYLE Märzen

COLOUR Dark amber

HOPS German noble

TASTE A deeply satisfying lager.

KNOWN AS Märzen was the original Oktoberfest beer

AVAILABILITY Autumn seasonal

440ML can and keg

BB: 04.05.24 (bouight 25.09.23)


Most of us who have hosted and or attended weddings will no doubt have enjoyed a beer or two. Very few weddings have started a beer trend. But that’s what happened when a royal wedding between Ludwig (the future king) and Therese took place in Bavaria in October 1810. That party was so good and the couple so popular that another party was held the following year and so Octoberfest was established.


By 1819, the festival had become a 2-week event (beer was just one strand), now organised by the city of Munich, and kicked off, as it does now, in mid-September. Marzen was the main style of beer for the festival and its name came from the fact that it was brewed in March to be at its best in Autumn.



********************



Third Barrel Vulture Culture Cold IPA, 6.0% ABV, 440 ml can Bradleys


Third Barrel: “Clean, crisp and bursting with flavours of ripe tangerine, peach and papaya from a healthy dose of Idaho 7 Cryo and Luminosa hops.”


Rice is also included in the ingredients. The beer is fermented with lager yeast, add in those hops and you get, as promised, a clean refreshing and fruit-forward cold IPA.


From Idaho 7, comes pungent tropical fruit and citrus (think apricot, orange, red grapefruit, papaya) with big notes of resiny pine and hints of black tea.  Here though, we are talking Idaho7 Cryo and that, designed to be aromatic and flavour enhancing,  means you get an even more potent aroma and flavour and also good bitterness.

Add in the contribution from Luminosa and the whole beer is brighter, the tropical side enhanced and you know you’ve got a good thing going.

At least, you've got a good thing going if you know your stuff as well as Third Barrel does! Very Highly Recommended.

Most of us are familiar with the hop cone, used by brewers for centuries. Then along came hop pellets and now we have Cryo, which is so concentrated that they’ve become an essential in a brewer’s toolbox. 

The word Cryo (or similar) pops up a lot these days and you may be familiar with it through medicine (especially sports) where certain injuries can benefit from Cryotherapy Treatments, a kind of ultra-cold immersion. Cryo comes from the old Greek word for cold. 

On to the hops then which, using liquid nitrogen (which your doctor might use to make a wart vanish), the raw hops are quickly chilled to sub-zero temperatures — after that, the producers shatter it. More on the process here .

********************


O’Hara’s Irish Red Ale, 4.3% ABV, 500 ml bottle Dunnes Stores 


The Carlow Brewing crew is quite proud of their red ale: “This Red stands out in this beer style category. The malt body is as impressive as a bock, albeit in a uniquely Irish way. With an incredibly smooth malt body complimented by caramel tones and perfectly balanced in bitterness, this Irish Red is much more complex than its mainstream rivals.”


O’Hara’s has a very dark red robe but that “dense lasting white head” fails to materialise, though I have to add subsequent top-ups did shape up with a coffee-coloured crown. Roasted caramel stands out in the aromatics. And you get that caramel and toffee flavour on the palate as well, thanks to the addition of a “pinch of roast barley during the brewing process”. The sweetness of the malt and traditional hop flavour combine well. A terrific example of the style gets a major thumbs up from this quarter.


Excellent balance and Very Highly Recommended


 

They say: Visually the red colour is intensified by the finest roast barley, while subtle hop additions in the kettle give just the right bitterness and aroma to craft this distinctive Irish Red Ale. The traditional red ale style is sweet malt based, dominated by caramel malts which give a sweet malt base complimented by nutty flavours in complete contrast to the Belgian Red ale style which has a distinctly sour character attributed to lactic acid.


For the Geek

Style: Traditional Red Ale

ABV: 4.3%

Plato °: 10.75°

IBU: 34 

Fermentation: Top fermentation 

Availability: Keg (carbonated), Bottle 50cl and 33cl (occasional 41L cask)

Serving Temperature: 6-8°C

Food Pairing: Pairs well with baked and roasted main courses from the oven such as beef hotpot. Also excellent with winter soups. A delicious accompaniment to mature cheddar or soft goat cheeses.

Glass: O’Hara’s tulip glass or O’Hara’s conical glass. 

BB: 28.08.24 (bought 20.09.24)

********************


Rodenbach Grand Cru Flanders Red Ale, 6% ABV, 330 ml bottle Bradleys


Brownish red is the colour of our Rodenback Grand Cru Red ale. With a short-lived coffee-coloured head. Aromas are certainly on the sour side. There’s also quite a tang on the palate but also the sweet contribution of delicious fruit flavour. Complex and amazing and a totally different animal to the O’Hara’s Red Ale. 


The sourness in the aromas is repeated on the palate and, if you’re not prepared for it, you might as well throw your hat at it at this stage. Someone here has joked that a citron pressé would be a better drink. But remember, it is “probably the most award-winning beer in the world”. So pay a little heed and a little respect!


Soon, at least for me, that complex fruitiness begins to assert itself, both on the palate and all the way through to the finish and you realise there is much more to this than the obvious sour character. Sour comes up quite often but I’m pretty sure the word doesn’t appear on the label (lots of tiny print though!)


The Rodenbach Grand Cru sour red/brown at 6%, is a blend of 1/3rd young beer and 2/3 of beer aged two years in large oak vats, giving fruity taste, complexity and intensity. It even has its own AOC. It takes over two years to make (even the angel’s share happens here and they know the good things) and the young beer is added to restart fermentation. 


I throw in the odd non-Irish beer, not to be rated, but just for variety and as an example of what can be done by our much more experienced Belgian and German brewers. Perhaps a few of these could be enticed over here for collaborations.


The Rodenbach Grand Cru is the archetypal Flanders red-brown beer. Each of these beers is a unique blend, but they all share a brewing process characteristic of the area surrounding Roeselare and Kortrijk.

The typical sweet and sour taste of a Rodenbach Grand Cru is produced by a two-stage fermentation process called mixed fermentation, involving top-fermentation and bacterial fermentation using lactic acid bacteria. The Rodenbach Grand Cru matures in oak foeders, or barrels, over a period of two years, giving the beer a unique, complex fruitiness that is reminiscent of wine.

Rodenbach, the mother beer, is usually one-quarter mature beer to three-quarters young beer. When it comes to Rodenbach Grand Cru, the blend is two-thirds mature beer with one-third of a young brew added.

By the way, there is a series of these Rodenbachs and do watch out for the Rodenbach Caractère Rouge. It is billed as a red/brown sour and it is sour but also packs amazing fruitiness. The beer is macerated with fresh cherries, raspberries and cranberries and, after that, is matured in oak barrels.

BB: 15.12.25 (bought 25.09.23)

Sunday, March 19, 2023

CorkBillyBeers #16: Craft with Red Ale by Ballykilcavan, 9 White Deer, O'Hara's and Rascals

CorkBillyBeers #16

Craft with Red Ale by Ballykilcavan,  9 White Deer, O'Hara's and Rascals


*********************


Ballykilcavan Brick Yard Red Ale, 4.2% ABV, 440 ml can, 


A fine introduction to red ales and bound to please anyone who is a fan of the style! That’s how Ballykilcavan introduce their Brick Yard Red Ale. And it is indeed a very fair representation.


Colour is an attractive mid red, bright, with a light off-white head that doesn't linger too long. Not too much in the aromas; aside from the malt influence, you may note perhaps a hint of mint and honey. The body is medium sweet, the rich malt doing the business. The hops, Fuggle and Golding, aren’t exactly there just for the ride and they, with their woody and grassy contributions, come on more towards the dry lip-licking finalé. The finish itself has a moderate bitterness (IBU number is 25)


This traditional Irish red ale is brewed by Ballykilcavan using malts and water from their own farm in County Laois.


Ballykilcavan is a 440 hectare block of beautifully landscaped farmland and forestry in the heart of Ireland. We are very fortunate that our ancestors loved the look of the farm and left in almost all the landscape features, particularly the hedgerows and trees in the fields. We also still have our original 18th century stone farmyard, 19th century stable yard, walled garden and gardener's tunnel as well as the champion black walnut tree of Ireland.


Its barley is renowned: “We have won a Boortmalt barley grower award, and won the first ever Best Barley Cup for Waterford Distillery growers. With the opening of a brewery at Ballykilcavan, we are now able to use our award-winning barley to produce our own beers.”


Highly Recommended


*********************


9 White Deer Stag Rua 4.2% ABV, 500ml bottle



“Easy going malt focussed beer, using a mix of ale, crystal ad chocolate malts resulting in a deep ruby red colour.” 


A very deep ruby with an off white head. Indeed at first glance, you’d be forgiven for thinking that a glass of stout was on the way to you.


Darker but with the same ABV as the Ballykilcavan. Chocolate and crystal malts have been used liberally here and there is quite a presence of chocolate, caramel and toffee on the palate (though some fruit notes reveal themselves too). But nothing drastic, nothing too extreme, the balance is good. The beer is a good one with a fine finish.


Stag Rua is a beer with big malt flavours and it’s our impression of a perfect Irish Red Ale. Can’t argue too much with that.


Very Highly Recommended.


Is Red Ale an Irish style? In the 1970s, beer writer Michael Jackson is credited with giving the tag to Smithwicks. According to World Atlas of Beer, American beer competitions started awarding prizes for the category and smaller Irish breweries started to “launch highly-hopped higher strength or even barrel aged versions”


The recent Brew Dog books mention only the American Red, in fact they barely mention the Irish scene at all. Sláinte (2014) acknowledges that there is some “dissent” about Red being an Irish style but say some local breweries have “evolved the style”.


Looks like the style is still evolving.


*********************



O’Hara’s Nitro Irish Red 4.3% ABV, 440ml can CraftCentral


Smooth and creamy says the label and that is accurate, after a good pour by yours truly. 


Colour is one of the deepest ruby reds you are likely to see and the head is white and steady. Aromas come from the malt including a hint of biscuit. The late addition of Mt. Hood hops is credited with adding an “unmistakable fruity and almost herbal quality” to the aromas. And the flavours come mostly from the same source as the aromas, the malt bringing its sweet caramel and that biscuit again. Really smooth in the mouth on the way to a comforting finish.


Not too much experience of Nitro but I’m thinking it adds more to a red ale than to a stout. 


Highly Recommended.


The brewers note: The wonderful malty caramel notes and flavours found in our Irish Red come from a healthy addition of caramalt to the mashing process.The sweetness generated is balanced with dryness of the crystal malts. Visually the Red colour is intensified by the finest roast barley, while subtle hop additions in the kettle give just the right bitterness and aroma to craft this distinctive Irish Red Ale. The nitrogenation process subtly mellows the flavours together and compliments with a smooth creamy texture.


Pairs well with baked and roasted main courses from the oven such as beef hotpot. Also excellent with winter soups. Delicious accompaniment to mature cheddar or soft goats cheeses.


*********************


Rascals Big Hop Red, 5% ABV, 330 ml can CraftCentral


Lively. Piney. Zesty.Malty.

That’s how Rascals introduce this big hop red, an American Amber Ale, so an outlier in this quartet.


Colour is as much amber as red and the white head is gone as I start this sentence. Big Hop Red has been dry hopped to give it an extra kick of zesty hop flavour and piney aroma. 


Aromas are indeed piney and zesty from the hops and a whiff of sweetness from the malts. So pine and resin in the aromas and they continue their engagement with the malt in the mouth. It is an lively arena with the hops also offering citrus flavours, less of the exotic than might be expected (suits me fine!), and quite a balancing act being performed by the caramel and biscuit notes from the malts.


Hoppy and malty they say. Hoppy and malty, I agree. I admit I thought this might be a lightweight bit of fun. But it is more than than, quite enjoyable and something new in the red ale style.


Highly Recommended.


GEEKS!

Style: American Amber Ale
Malts: Pale, Munich, Caramalt, Crystal
Hops: Cascade, Citra, Ekuanot, Magnum, Chinook (all USA except for the German Magnum).
Bitterness: Low – medium
ABV: 5%

Available: All Year Round

Tuesday, October 4, 2022

Irish Food & Drink Month Launches with 140 Venues Around The Country

 Irish Food & Drink Month Launches

 with 140 Venues Around The Country



Great Irish Beverages is very proud to share details of their first Irish Food & Drink Month festival - a nationwide celebration of pairing Irish foods with Irish drinks running in October.


Pride in Irish food has never been stronger in Ireland’s hospitality sector. All across Ireland, you’ll find Irish produce taking front and centre of most menus. Few would argue that local food tastes best when enjoyed with local drinks and Ireland is no exception. Our native drinks pair wonderfully well with Irish meats, fish, farmed produce and cheeses. We want to see those drinks as well loved as the foods they share the same land with. That’s why we’re rolling out a brand new nationwide festival for all of October 2022 –  Irish Food & Drink Month.


We are working with 18 different Irish drinks brands across many sectors for this project. Throughout September, any licensed bar, restaurant or hotel was able to register for free and in order to get involved, they had to create and sell a signature Irish food & drink pairing for the month of October. They are all now live and can be seen here. Each registered venue is divided by the county and then alphabetically. The public vote for which participating venue has the best Irish food & drink pairing is now live too. People can vote by tagging the venue in a post on Instagram and using the hashtag #EatDrinkIrish. Or they can vote by posting on the Great Irish Beverages Facebook page, tagging the venue and using the #EatDrinkIrish hashtag there. Voting closes on October 31st and it’s one vote per person. The winning venue will be able to nominate a registered charity of their choice and we will give them €1,000.

Apple Tart by Dede

140 venues in 16 different counties are on board. Each venue has their own page on the Great Irish Beverages site where you can see each of their Irish food & drink pairings. They range dramatically both in venue style, choice of food, choice of drink and include:
 - Irish lobster paired with Irish Pilsner from The Seafood Café in Temple Bar to Irish lobster cooked and served with Irish whiskey from King Sitric in Howth.
- Pizzas made with Irish cured meats & cheeses and served with Dublin beers in Rascal's HQ and The Circular in Rialto
- Irish scallops paired with local lager from Mimosa Bar de Tapas in Carlow and Irish scallops paired with an Irish Whiskey Sour cocktail from Sole in Dublin.
- Cork ciders paired with Cork mussels in Casey's of Baltimore.
- Irish Apple Ice Wine served alongside Irish cheese in the 2 Michelin Star Aimsir in Kildare.
- Wild Irish venison paired with Irish Mead from Rare 1784 in Kinsale
- Irish Espresso Martinis paired with desserts from venues such as Camden Bites & Brews
- Burgers and steaks paired with pale ales and porters from Dash Burger and Bull & Castle 


Lots and lots of delicious Irish food & drink combos to be had! So why not treat yourself to something Irish in the month of October. Check out your nearest participating venue and enjoy what's best in Irish cuisine and beverages! By doing so you're bringing some much needed help to Irish businesses and producers.