A Quart of Ale± #61. On the craft journey with a mixed session, rounded off by a superb Yellow Belly "Red Noir"

A Quart of Ale± #61

On the craft journey with a mixed session, with this superb Red Ale the final can of the four. 

Yellow Belly “Red Noir” Dark Red Ale 4.5%, 440ml can Bradleys

They say it’s a dark red and it is, very dark, more black than red with a slim milky-coffee coloured head (shortlived). Aromas, caramel and toasted malt, are pleasant, if modest. You get much the same but more intense on the palate, caramel, chocolate prominent here. It is very smooth, very flavourful, very dark. Just wondering have Yellow Belly come up with a new style here, the dark Irish red ale?

They say: How a Red Ale is supposed to taste. Mild aromatics of sweet toasted malt and light smoke entices the drinker to this dark decadent red ale. What follows is a velvety smooth beer with a complimentary combination of chocolate and dark forest fruit flavours on the tongue. 

Style: Dark Red Ale

The Wexford brewery didn’t quite realise that it had a big hit in this one in its earliest incarnation, regarding it as a seasonal if not a one off. But popular demand has its way and, since early this year, they responded to demand and now Red Noir is part of their core range. I can understand why and very happy that the Belly took notice! Tending more toward the simple than the complex yet simply superb!

Geek Bits 

Malts - Irish Pale, Cara Gold, Wheat, Roast Barley

Hops - Cascade, Huell Melon.

Mescan “Seven Virtues” Lager 4.9%, 330ml bottle O’Briens Wine

It’s got the nice golden lager colour and billions of bubbles rising up to the soft white head. A bit of citrus and grass (not that grass!) in the aromas. On the palate, it is a bit more than your usual lager - it is after all dry-hopped. But it is crisp and refreshing, easy-drinking. Well worth a try!

They say: Virtues lager is the first in a series of one-off brews. Crisp and slightly dry hopped, a nod in the direction of both tradition and innovation.  Serving Temp 2 - 4 °C. Note that serving temperature, somewhat lower than usual.

Mescan always pay attention to matching their beers with food and last year even invented the Mescan Food-Pairing Wheel, designed to take the angst out of matching beer and food. It’s an easy way to pair each Mescan craft beer with the foods that complement it. It’s available on the website and is easily printable from a pdf format. It’s a useful resource for all the home chefs who are exploring new options in their kitchens during the pandemic.

The Mescan Food-Pairing Wheel was developed by Inge Roels, a Belgian expert in food-pairing who has worked with the brewery since its early days. She has produced a guide for nine Mescan beers so far – Mescan Blond, Westporter Stout, Mescan White, Mescan Red Tripel, Mescan Extra, Mescan Saison, Mescan Special Reserve, Seven Virtues Lager and Seven Virtues Lambik.

“Mescan craft beers are exceptionally suited to enjoying with food”, said Cillian Ó Móráin of Mescan Brewery, “We were inundated with queries as to the best pairings from consumers and from restaurants and bars. We wanted to create something simple yet effective that would help people enjoy our beers with the optimum foods – hence the Mescan Food-Pairing Wheel was born”.

Check it out here to see what goes with this lager. 

Rascals with Hopfully “Siamese Dream” Pale Ale 4.5%, 440ml can Bradleys

This Pale Ale collaboration between Rascals and Hopfully brings you a bagful of Far Eastern flavours, specifically coconut, pink guava and lime zest (all listed as ingredients).

There’s a hazy yellow colour. Aromas are rather modest. But it certainly delivers on the palate reaching, as promised, every corner with aromatic sweet pink guava, lime zest and coconut. A delicious easy-drinking ale, nicely-timed for the summer!

They say: The beer is brewed with Sabro and Sorachi Ace hops. The latter is a Japanese hop known for its lemon, coconut and even bubblegum properties. Meanwhile, Sabro hops offer fruity and herbal flavours and aromas, with noticeable coconut, sweet citrus and tropical fruit characteristics. Overall you’ll get a nice coconut hit up front, followed by a gorgeous tropical sweetness from the guava, and then in the finish there’s a spirited citrus payoff from the lime zest. Oat malt and Vermont yeast ensure a smooth mouthfeel and enticing hazy appearance.

For the geeks

Malt: Pale Malt, Torrified Wheat, Oat Malt

Hops: Sabro, Sorachi Ace

Yeast: Vermont

Other: Lime Zest, Coconut, Pink Guava Puree

ABV: 4.5%

Otterbank Brewing “Mates Rates” Tart Session IPA 4.9%, 440ml can Bradleys 

Poured this a little too vigorously and got myself quite a head, a head that was slow enough to sink. Actually a fingerful of that head gave me the clue that citrus would be a factor. Light gold is the colour and there’s no shortage of carbonation activity. And citrus is a key feature on the palate; refreshment’s another. A sour for sure but a well balanced one. Sour is not my favourite style but the balance here keeps me onside.

Otterbank are described as a brewing and blending outfit and the brewer is none other than Declan Nixon of Yellow Belly, themselves known for their sours. Otterbank is a bit on the side. By the way, this was brewed at Third Barrel by and for Otterbank who are based in Muff, Donegal.

The label also informs us that the malts are Pils, Cara, Clair, Wheat, and Oats while the hops are Pacifica and Citra (used in the dry-hopping).

By the way, Session is also used on the label. I’d have thought that the abv would have to be at 4.5 or under to earn that tag. What do you folks think?

A Quart of Ale± #45A. On the craft journey with IPA including a stunning NEIPA by Heaney

A Quart of Ale± #45A

On the craft journey with IPA including a stunning NEIPA by Heaney

 IPA

Heaney New England IPA 5.7%, 440ml can Bradleys

The label intro to this beer is short, and accurate: Haze, hops, and juice.

Light gold, deeply hazy, and a fluffy white head that’s in no big hurry to depart, mark the appearance of this new IPA from the Heaney brewery.

Aromas are somewhat reticent but you may note ripe Apricot plus notes of the more exotic Pineapple and Grapefruit. And more fruit on the palate, Mango and Charantais Melon to the fore, with just a touch of bitterness in the background. Lovely soft mouthfeel and perfectly balanced. Another well-made beer from the Derry brewery, one for the short-list for sure.

Mal Mackay from Heaney’s tells me the second batch is even better: “Yes, it is our first NEIPA and we’re very proud of it, although we thought it was great there is always room for improvement and the second batch we canned this Wednesday (April 7th) is even better. 

It’s slightly more refined on the body, a little smoother with the carbonation dialled in exactly right. I’m not sure what you get on your tasting notes but I feel there is a lot of squidgy apricot in there and some juicy red apple, it’s all about the jooooose. Very little bitterness if any, and a nice smooth lush body. We used Mosaic and Amarillo in equal quantities in the dry hop and Chinook in the whirlpool, no hops in the boil at all. Bottom line is yes, we thought it was good, but as ever here at Heaney, the next one will be better - until it’s perfect.” 

Food pairing suggested by the makers: Jamaican Jerk Chicken with a stone fruit sauce.

O’Hara’s Session IPA, 3.8%, 500ml bottle via Radical Drinks

A light golden body, a hazy one, with a white head that hangs about a bit. Hoppy citrus in the aromas. Clean and crisp as it hits the palate, almost lager like until the hops quickly dispel that notion and it continues full of flavour to the bitter end.

They say: This session IPA was designed to be light and easy drinking while still full of the punchy flavours of a traditional IPA. Brewed with 100% Irish malt to deliver a pale, clean and very crisp body. This matched with the late addition of hops, including Cascade, Simcoe and Chinook, make this a full flavoured, incredibly drinkable IPA.

That’s a pretty good summation of one of the better session beers you’re likely to come across.

For the geek:

Malts: Caramalt and Oat Malt

Hops: Cascade, Simcoe and Chinook followed up with the double dry hopping from Citra and Amarillo.

IBU: 25

Fermentation: Top fermentation

Serving Temperature: 6-8°C

Food Pairing: Pairs perfectly with chicken Caesar salad, smoked salmon, crisp lamb and Stilton cheese.

Glass: O’Hara’s Irish Craft Beer conical glass

Availability: 30L Keg, 50CL Bottles (carbonated)

Wicklow Brewery Coola Boola Session IPA 3.8%, 330 can Bradleys

Colour of this Coola Boola, a session IPA, from the Wicklow Brewery is a very pale yellow. The head shrinks quite rapidly. Aromas are somewhat reticent but, with Amarillo and Citra in the hop list, expect a little citrus. And you get that too, with a hint of lime, on the palate. With some tropical stuff in there too, it is quite a mouthful, good balanced inter-play of fruit and bitterness, more than enough to keep hop-lovers happy. Put this on your session list!

Rascals Wunderbar IPA, 6%, 330 can via Bradleys

Mid-gold is the colour of this German-style beer (bet you knew the style!). Fluffy head starts big, diminishes quickly. Touch of orange on the nose. And on the punchy palate too where the malt comes on-stage also to balance it all up. Actually, you realise (rather than realize) that this IPA is, thanks to sourcing and the interplay of hops and malt, is very much a European drink and a very welcome version indeed.  Man doesn’t live just on exotic fruit and floral. After all, variety is the spice of life. So well done to the folks at Rascals.

As they say themselves: A true IPA that stands up to its American competitors….DAS IST GUT! HOPPY  | FRUITY | PUNCHY. Unfiltered. Unpasteurised

A Quart of Ale± #40. On the craft journey with variations on a lager theme.

A Quart of Ale± #40

On the craft journey with variations on a lager theme.  

O’Hara’s Lager 4.5%, 500ml bottle via Radical Drinks

This Helles, a traditional lager style on the continent, has a lovely clear mid-amber colour with a myriad of little bubbles rising towards the shrinking white head. Aromas are pleasant if not intense. And on the palate you have a very pleasing smooth lager that heads confidently, full of flavour but with a balancing low hop bitterness (thanks to having been hopped several times), towards a clean and satisfactory finale.

They say: The hop profile is tailored to suit the craft beer drinker and the bitterness is clean and intense. The malty body pays tribute to traditional European lagers and an extra-long conditioning time allows the maximum array of lager flavours to develop. The combination of noble hops, speciality malts and a classic lager yeast strain allow the esters and hop aromas to combine and balance perfectly.

Brewed to the Helles style (combining the brewing methods of a pale ale to the lager style) developed by German and Czech brewers, this is a lager with true character. It is conditioned for over 4 weeks to allow the floral esters from the lager yeast to fully infuse into the brew and develop a well attenuated body. These offset the malt and hop aromas to produce a truly unique craft lager brewed with flavour. Can’t argue with that assessment. Class in a glass as far as I’m concerned. Helles by the way is not mentioned on the label.

Advice is to serve at 6-8°C with roast lemon chicken, Spanish paella and grilled seabass or snapper and more using the O’Hara’s Irish Craft Beer conical glass.

Weihenstephaner Original Helles, 5.1%, 500ml bottle via Bradleys

This German beer, from the oldest still existing brewery in the world, comes in a bright amber colour, with no shortage of bubbles streaming towards the slowly reducing white head. Spicy hops and malty sweetness can be found among the delicate aromas. The character shines through in the palate, strong and clean and refreshing. Terrific balance with a friendly light bitterness coming through also. Weihenstephan Original Helles is unique and exceptional and a regular award-winner.

 

The IBU figure, not given on all beers, is a modest 21. Serve at 6-8 degrees. Again, like many of the continental beers, the brewery comes up with a food pairing. Here they recommended Rump steak with marinade and give you the recipe as well. Check it out here.

Almost a thousand years ago Weihenstephan was the monastery brewery of the Benedictine monks. Then, the Royal Bavarian State Brewery stepped in and it is now operating as a state directed enterprise under the control of the Bavarian Government.

This bottom-fermented beer of Southern Germany is called Helles, which means both light and bright. Weihanstephaner also have a non-alcoholic version; check it out here.

Germany, by the way, is the “world’s fifth largest producer of beer” and “is also its second largest grower of hops”.

Rascals “Jailbreak” Helles Lager, 4.2%, 330 can via Bradleys

Colour of this Dublin produced lager is a light amber, no shortage of carbonation. No head worth talking about, at least from this can. Aromas are mostly floral. A pretty good Helles follows, decent body (soft and full), good balance between hops and malts as the lager smooths its way to an excellent finish. Now where would you get a pizza to go with it?

They say: In Inchicore, Dublin, we’ve a world class pizza restaurant with the freshest beer pouring straight from tank to tap. You can check out our event spaces and find out about brewery tours and the Rascals taproom experience at www.rascalsbrewing.com  

 

Geek Bits:

Malt: Bohemian Pilsner, Vienna, Melanoidin

Hops: Hallartau Mittlefruh

Yeast: Munich Helles

ABV: 4.2%

Wide Street “Mill Pils” Farmhouse Pilsner 5.5%, 440ml via beercloud.ie

Colour of this Wicklow Pilsner is a pale yellow, quite close to lemon, and cloudy, with lots of bubbles shooting up to the steady, if not substantial, head. No shortage of hops here so you notice them straightaway on the nose and soon on the palate, where you come across plenty of earthy character and a hint of spice and a good dry finish. Something that bit different and well looking out for, a lager with attitude.

The label reveals it’s unfiltered, unpasteurised and can-conditioned, containing yeast sediment. Fermented with the famous German strain 34/70 at 12 degrees then dry hopped 12g/l with Hallertau Mittelfrüh and Saaz blend to add an Italian twist and create a hoppy Pilsner.

Wide Street Brewing Company specialises in mixed fermentation methods and 100% Brettanomyces beers. The vision is to brew innovative beers with alternative fermentation methods. Their house yeast is a custom blend of Brettanomyces, saccharomyces and lactobacillus strains from Bootleg Biology, a yeast laboratory based in Nashville, USA. This gives the beer a distinctive dry mouthfeel and enhanced fruity flavours.

They say: It’s a Pilsner with a twist! This Farmhouse Pilsner is double dry-hopped with hopped with Hallertauer-Mittelfrueh brewed revealing traditional spicy and earthy notes. The inspiration behind this beer is an Italian Pilsner style. This is brewed with Chateau pilsner malt and a small addition of Cara pils. 

Not quite the “traditional” lager as we’d know it around here and might be just to dry and too hoppy for some traditionalists. On the other hand though, it would be very interesting to compare it in a head to head tasting with Fort of the Fianna by Eight Degrees, another Italian style lager. Actually, very recently and at the last minute, I did manage to do just that and must say, that the Wide Street may be a shade more hoppier and a touch drier, there is very little qualitative difference, both getting the thumbs up, not just from me, but from around the table!

A Quart of Ale± #39. Moving on over to craft with a session of IPA.

A Quart of Ale± #39

Moving on over to craft with a session of IPA.

Western Herd “Magic Road” IPA, 5.8%, 440ml can via Bradleys

Clare’s Western Herd bill this as a New England style IPA “brewed using experimental hops from the Charles Faram development program, so new to Irish brewing, they don’t even have names yet”.  They are acknowledged though via numbers on the can label.

Colour is a hazy lemon. Quite a bit of citrus (lemon) in the aromas along with a touch of pine. And you again meet the citrus and pine on the palate, nicely balanced here all the way through to the satisfactory finalé of this quite distinctive IPA with its dry and satisfying bite.

The instigators and leads of the Western Herd are the brother and sister team of Michael Eustace and Maeve Sheridan. “Our great, great, great, great, great, grandfather farmed the land where our brewery now stands.  Every time we would visit the farm growing up we would think ‘if only we could bottle this’!!!  We aspire to brew beers that embody the charm and character of this idyllic hilltop farm on the west coast of Ireland.” Bridger Kelleher is the brewer. He’s from Montana where they know their beer.

Label tale: Those privy to the holiday episode of Father Ted will have heard about the “Magic Road” - a place on the mainland where the laws of gravity have no meaning. A physics-defying wonder where cars roll up it. So, it’s a sort of a “mad road’, according to Dougal.

Notes for the Geek:

Style
New England IPA

Hops
CF160 (Mystic), CF184, CF185

Malts
Pale, Malted Oats, Flaked Oats, White Wheat, CaraPils

Rascals Yankee White IPA, 5.0%, 330 can via Bradleys

Rascals introduce this “hybrid” as: American IPA meets Belgian Witbier. Yankee is a hybrid of the two styles, hopped like an American IPA with the malt bill of a wheat beer and fermented with Belgian Wit yeast. 

Mid-amber, slightly hazy, is the colour; bubbles galore and it comes with a big fluffy head that is inclined to hang about. Aromas, as you might expect from the hops used and the addition of orange peel, are heavily in the citrus spectrum, some pine and herb also in the complex mix. And you get much the same on the palate as the soft hop-loaded beer moves gently across. Soft and light but with a refreshing and crisp finish. While the touted contribution of spice from the Belgian yeast is barely noticeable, Witbier does have some presence here; however, the complex hop flavour is centre-stage and I’m happy enough to place this under an IPA heading.

FOR THE BEER GEEKS!

Style: White IPA
Malts: Lager, Wheat, Oats, Acid
Hops: Magnum, Mandarina Bavaria, Mosaic, Citra, Amarillo 

Other: Orange Peel

Bitterness: Medium

Label: IPA meets Belgian Witbier and orange peel. Unfiltered. Unpasteurised. 

Porterhouse “Yippy” IPA 5.0%, 500ml bottle via Bradleys

Mid-amber is the colour of this heavy-on-the-hops American style IPA from Dublin’s Porterhouse. Aromas are fresh, pine and citrus. And the hop bill too plays a prominent role in the mouth with citrus and pine to the fore. Quite an impressive presence actually and the nicely judged bitterness is another plus from this refreshing drink.

Hops are Cascade, Amarillo, Mosaic and Citra plus Nugget and centennial.  Malts are Ale Malt, Wheat Malt, Dextrin Malt, Oat Malt, Vienna Malt and the brewery’s suggested pairings are the old reliables Burgers and Chicken Wings

Quite a few of the newer craft breweries are keen to tout their environmental credentials and Porterhouse have quite a list to their credit.

• Our spent hops are collected by mulch (http://mulch.ie) and are used for composting.
• Our effluent treatment system ensures waste water is safe to release to the water supply. Regular testing both by the brewery and Dublin water ensures this.
• Our modern brewing equipment is designed with energy efficiency in mind, heat exchangers reclaim energy in the form of heat and an extensive insulation system ensures the efficient use of our refrigeration system.
• The Brewery is a verified member of Origin Green (https://www.origingreen.ie/), a Bord Bia initiative enabling Ireland’s food/Drink industry to set and achieve sustainable food/Drink production.
• Our spent grain is collected by a farmer south of Dublin and used as cattle feed.

Third Barrel “Break from the Haze” West Coast IPA 8.5%, 440 Bradley’s

Don’t always get along with high ABV beers but Break from the Haze is highly compatible. It is, though, quite hazy in the glass, colour is close to orange and there’s a slight head that hangs around (though briefly). Aromas are fruity (of the exotic kind), along with citrus and gooseberry.

The “stupidly big dose” of New Zealand Bruce (for the dry hop) makes an immediate impact on the palate but the tropical fruit stands out too. Dense, like most high ABV beers, but the balance works well here as heft and harmony combine to the satisfying finale. One to sip and savour as you try and work out the design on the can. Looks a bit like the fingerprint I use to sign in to the Apple!

They say: This big ass double West Coast IPA is brewed with Loral and Idaho 7 hops in the whirlpool and a stupidly big dose of New Zealand Bruce for the dry hop.

So who are They? Third Barrel is a unique concept, a collaboration brewery between Stone Barrel Brewing and Third Circle Brewing who have combined their experience, resources, love for brewing and absolute passion for beer to create one of Ireland’s most cutting edge breweries. They can be found in Bluebell (D12).

Cheers on beer, spirits and wine. #210403. With White Hag, Beara Distillery, Wine Australia, Ballykilcavan, Kinsale Mead, Rascals, Blackwater Distillery

Cheers on beer, spirits and wine. #210403. 

With White Hag, Beara Distillery, Wine Australia, Ballykilcavan, Kinsale Mead, Rascals, Blackwater Distillery

The White Hag Comes Up

 With A Magic Mist.  Juicy stuff

The ‘Juicy’ style was only recently recognised by the Beer Judge Certification Program in the United States, as a result of the emergence of more and more New England IPAs (NEIPAs). Juicy pale ales (also known as hazy pale ales) fit into the NEIPA category at an official level.

Magic Mist is highly aromatic with a soft bitterness that explodes with tropical notes of mango, citrus, and passionfruit, followed by subtle hints of orange and strawberries.

More here

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Beara Distillery

We here at Beara Distillery have been working tirelessly behind the scenes to perfect this black cask blend whiskey

A unique blend that we hope our loyal customers enjoy just as much as we do

It is now on the shelves of SuperValu Castletownbere and Kenmare and will expand to your local SuperValu and off-licences 

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Australian Wine

Australian Wine Discovered is a free wine education program offering flexible courses, tools and resources spanning over topics including key Australian regions, varieties and themes. Learn more: wineaus.co/edu

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Ballykilcavan Farm & Brewery Announce Joe O'Driscoll as Head Brewer.

Start of a new era today (1st Mar 2021) as Joe takes over as Head Brewer. I can't think of anyone who deserves it more. Since Joe joined us, he's brought a huge amount of passion, energy and creativity in his role as innovation brewer, so it's brilliant to know that the future of the brewery is in great hands.

*****

Kinsale Mead OnLine Talk and Tasting

Want to learn more about the story behind Kinsale Mead and the fascinating history of mead and honey? Join our online mead talk and tasting on Saturday March 13th at 8pm live from the meadery oak bar with Kate and Denis.
How does it work?
Order your tasting kit before end Sunday March 7th at https://www.kinsalemeadco.ie/product/online-talk-tasting-m/ We will email your tasting link and ship your tasting kit to your door so you can sip along with the Mead Makers live online from the comfort of your sofa. Details here.

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One of your favourite beers is making a return 🍺

Thanks to Rascals!

Well it’s certainly looking like bag o’cans weather out there this week. Mind you, lads going round in shorts and flip-flops? Ah come on. You’ll catch your death.
Here are some new beers to fill your bag with: Betty's dry-hopped New Zealand 4.5% Helles lager and Bruce's hazy New Zealand 6.2% IPA. The former is a bright lager with a crisp, refreshing finish, offering gooseberry and lime flavours and aromas. The latter is a full-bodied IPA with ripe tropical fruit, citrus peel flavours and a perfectly balanced sweetness.

You can get a full case of 12, a mixed case of 12, or even mix either with one of your fave Rascals core beers in a box of 12 or 24. We’ve even put Bruce and Betty into 5L mini kegs. You’ve options galore! €1 from every order in March will be donated to My Lovely Horse Rescue. You can read more about the initiative here.

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Blackwater Distillery 

Irish Mammies are the salt of the earth so why not treat your mother to a bottle of Blackwater Gin. To celebrate this Mother's Day Sun 14th March we are treating your amazing mother to a FREE box of decadent Lily O'Brien's chocolates with every bottle of gin purchased*. Check out our E-Store to avail of this fantastic offer.