A Quart of Ale± #100. Quite a quartet for the 100th: Whiplash, Dot Brew, Ballykilcavan and Boundary.

 A Quart of Ale± #100

Quite a quartet for the 100th: Whiplash, Dot Brew, Ballykilcavan and Boundary.

Whiplash Smoke Stack Lightnin’ Oaked & Smoked Brown 8.5%, 440 ml can Bradleys

Oaked and Smoked it is with its tanned head over a very close to black body. Aromas are also from the dark side, rich dark dates and raisins come with toast and in a wee cloud of coffee, may even have been a bit of smoky bacon in the background, even though Whiplash say it is not a Rauchbier. Complex, isn’t it?

It doesn’t get any simpler on the delicious palate, just better. Toasty in the main from the Brown and Biscuit malt used and the smoke’s around as well. Add in the light tannin of the oak while the yeast contributes a mild sweet nuttiness to the complexity. And yet, it is superbly balanced. Lipsmacking and totally satisfying to the finalé. Think I may live forever on the dark side.

They say: It’s still cold out there, and we’ve still room for some malty winter-ish warmers in us. Here’s Smoke Stack Lightnin’, an oaked & smoked big brown. After ferment we age this one in a light amount of American Oak. Not going for big vanilla barrel aged here, just a reminder of how beer used live for a week or two before the days of stainless steel.

Geek Bits

Pilsner Malt, Smoked Malt, Brown Malt, Dark Crystal Malt, Biscuit Malt, Flaked Barley, and Columbus hops.

Old English ale yeast

ABV 8.5%

440ml Cans

Artwork by @sophie_devere

Dot Brew When the Going Gets Gose 4.0%, 440ml can Bradleys

Coriander and Salt are among the ingredients here, a clue that this is a gose! The Beer Bible suggests that the flavour of this style of beer “is something like salted yoghurt”.

So, okay, we proceed with caution! Colour is not alarming at all, a light orange but murky. Perhaps that’s coriander in the herby aromas, light floral notes too. And then on the tangy palate, you may detect clove notes and the lemony tartness introduces itself, the coriander and salt duet towards the finish. Yet there’s nothing extreme here in the Dot Brew version; it is all very approachable, quite a pleasurable and refreshing beer indeed.

The can’s list of ingredients: Barley, Oats, Wheat, Hops, Salt, Coriander, Yeast.  The variety of the other ingredients has reduced the effects of the hops leaving us with a bright, zingy and refreshing beer. As they say themselves: “An easy drinking mixed fermentation tart ale built with pilsner malt and pale wheat.”

Gose-type beer is a beer originally made in Germany in the Goslar salt mining region, where the local water contributed the salty element.

Ballykilcavan Export Bambrick’s Brown Ale, 7.5%, Whiskey Chats Birthday Pack

“I’m in farming mode now,” said Ballykilcavan’s David Walsh-Kemmis as he joined a recent Zoom where the subject was whiskey. Whiskey? Yes, indeed. Ballykilcavan has been building strong links with the national spirit over the past decade or so. Their barley is used by Waterford while Irish Distillers have used their oak to make a limited amount of casks (for Dair Ghaelach).

This particular beer was one of the non-whiskey drinks for the Zoom tasting. David explained that the brewery is part of the diversification of the farm: “This is the export version of Bambrick, nice and malty with toffee and caramel, at 7.8%. Very much a malt beer yet not malt driven, a real flavour beer. It’s made with amber and crystal malt from our own barley.”

Deep brown going on black is the colour here, with a tan head. Aromas are chocolate and coffee. It is indeed rich and satisfying on the palate, a broad deep flavour, but quite a balance there too, maybe something mineral from their spring water and the land through which it flows, to help you to both enjoy the chocolate and burnt toffee flavours and enable the refreshing finish.

So what’s an American brown ale? The New York Times says: 

Brown ales and like-minded styles — including straightforward lagers, pilsners and porters — to name a few, are very different sorts of beers (to IPAs). They occupy subtler realms, quenching thirst with pure flavors and perhaps a snappy zestiness in the case of pilsner and a rich depth in the case of porter. They are not flamboyant styles that wow with complexity or make themselves the centers of attention. They simply satisfy. It’s the kind of beer that gets left behind in our I.P.A. culture.

The Beer Bible: Standard American Brown Ales generally weigh in at about 5% ABV and are accented toward malt richness.

Reckon the standard 5.8% Ballykilcavan Bamrick’s more or less fits the bill while this Export has a bonus for you!

Boundary Love is Here Hoppy Table Beer Pale Ale 2.6%, 440ml can Bradleys

On the lookout for a low alcohol beer? This Belfast offering, weighing in at 2.6 abv, could well fit the bill. Known in France as bière de table, table beers—are a low-ABV, malty, Belgian tradition.

Here though the tables are turned and this is a hoppy one. Boundary say: A full on hop assault in the kettle and fermenter ensures this low abv beer packs a punch. 

This is a hazy beer with a white head over a lemon-juice coloured body. The hops used are an American trio of Cascade, Citra and Simcoe and the Australian Vic Secret. Expect pine notes along with exotic fruit such as mango, pineapple and grapefruit and indeed that is what you get.

Superbly flavourful for a such a slight abv and just enough bitter notes to ensure a refreshing and balanced finish. Enjoy one. Or two!

2022 Beer of the Year. Confirmed to date

 2022

Beer of the Year 

Confirmed to date

March: Lineman Schadenfreude Schwarzbier

February: Wicklow Wolf  “Apex Cherry” Black Cherry Oatmeal Stout.

January: Whiplash Dry the Rain Double Decoction Dunkel

December: Lough Gill Mac Nutty Macadamia Nut

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Best of March (short list)

Schwarzbier: Lineman Schadenfreude Schwarzbier 5.9%

IPA: Boundary Inefficient Knowledge IPA 6%;

Weizenbock:Whitefield The Viscount Weizenbock 7.5% 

Pale Ale: Third Barrel Shut Up Juice

Black IPA: Rascals Rude Girl Black IPA

Session: Boundary Trees We Didn’t Plant Pale Ale 4.0%

Best of February 2022 Short List

Oatmeal Stout: Wicklow Wolf  “Apex Cherry” Black Cherry 

BA Stout: Bradleys & Dot Brew Shady Dealings

Milk Stout: Trouble Brewing Nocturne Milk Stout

IPA: Killarney Scarlet Pimpernel

Smoked Porter: Whitefield Old Smoke Smoked Porter; 

Porter: Clonakilty Smuggler Irish Porter. 

Bitter: West Cork Baltimore Bitter

Session: Blacks The Session Pink Grapefruit IPA 3.4%

Rye IPA: Wicklow Wolf Canis Rufus

Dark Lager: Whitefield Ivy Hall

Gold Lager: Whiplash Dawn Chorus Helles. 

Best of January 2022 Short List

Dark Lager: Whiplash Dry the Rain Double Decoction Dunkel

Oats IPA: Hope Overnight Oats IPA.

Session IPA: Porterhouse Sundown Session IPA

American Pale Ale: O Brother The Chancer APA

Barleywine: Brehon Brewhouse Red Right Hand Barley Wine Beer

NEIPA: Porterhouse Renegade New England IPA

Stout: West Cork Stout X Stout West

Blonde: Killarney Golden Spear Blonde

Best of December (2021, for 2022) Short List

Brown Ale: Lough Gill Mac Nutty Macadamia Nut.

Single Hop IPA: Eight Degrees Citra Single Hop IPA 5.7%

Cask-Aged Porter: Brehon Brewhouse Shanco Dubh Porter 8.8%

Coffee & Oatmeal Stout: Third Circle Shot In The Dark

Pale Ale: Lineman Fluid Dynamic Extra Pale Ale.

Single Malt IPA: Eight Degrees Full Irish 6.0%

Session: Whitefield Brewery “Woodville” Session Pale Ale 4.3%

Lager: Whiplash Das Model. 

A Quart of Ale± #98. On the craft journey with Third Barrel, Rascal's, Boundary, Whiplash

A Quart of Ale± #98

On the craft journey with Third Barrel, Rascal's, Boundary, Whiplash

Third Barrel Shut Up Juice Juicy Pale Ale 5.0%, 440ml can Bradleys

Third Barrel had a lot of success previously with this Pale Ale: It’s back! Our biggest selling beer of 2018 is back with a 2020 hop bill. Loaded with Vic Secret, El Dorado and Citra. Seriously Juicy, Seriously fruity, Seriously crushable!

Colour is a light orange with a white foamy head. Aromas, not quite as big as expected, feature pineapple and citrus. But the flavours are seriously exotic, passionfruit, pineapple, and mango, a delicious melange that take you all the way to a refreshing finish, dry enough and with bitterness present to confirm the use of New World hops.

By the way, the hops packed in here are the US pair of Citra and El Dorado plus Vic Secret from Australia.

Dublin based Third Barrel claim to be “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 Irelands most cutting edge breweries. Thye make lots of beer and sell it in 11 countries: Ireland, Spain, France, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Holland, Portugal, Switzerland, UK and Italy.”

Rascals Rude Girl Black IPA 6.0%, 440ml can Bradleys

Rascals introduce this as “A top ranking mash-up featuring citrusy hops and dark roast malts”. Good, but not quite that good methinks.

Pour it, a little robustly perhaps, and you get the black topped with a tan head, a head than hangs about a bit. The old finger test into the foam give hints of roast from the malts and a bite of evergreen from the hops. That roast also discernible in the aromas with a faint hint of pine in the background.

The malty background holds it steady in the mouth but is balanced out by contributions from the international hops (floral and spicy from the US Cascade, tart gooseberry from the Kiwi Nelson Sauvin, pepper and resin from the German Magnum). Still that roast comes on, certainly more than the “citrusy” hops, both on the lips and in the aftertaste. They say: One step beyond. I say: Hardly. One step short (which is pretty close, actually).

Geek Bits:

Malt: Pale Malt, Munich Malt, Chocolate Wheat Malt, Melanoidin, Carafa 2 Malt

Hops: Cascade (grapefruit, floral, pine), Nelson Sauvin (gooseberry, grape, passionfruit), Magnum (cedar pepper resin)

Yeast: LAX

ABV: 6%

Rascals reflect on the can design: “We’re big into our music here at Rascals and we thought a really complementary way to put a design to these new beers would be to use the iconic black and white chequered motifs of ska culture. Our designer Rachael has some lovely attention to detail on the can design, such as the female character’s distinct ska hairstyle forming the ‘G’ on the Rude Girl can, as well as speaker stacks forming the letter ‘i’. They really are class designs.”

Boundary Trees We Didn’t Plant Pale Ale 4.0%, 440ml can Bradleys

This Belfast pale ale has quite a pale colour, tending towards lemon. It is also hazy with a soft white head that sinks away soon enough. Melon leads the aromas but there’s also a hint of orange. On the palate, it is clean, crisp and light, no shortage of tropical flavour though. It is well balanced and properly refreshing with just enough bitterness at the finish. 

A pretty decent example of the style and definitely one for your session. Quite a backbone to this one for a four per center. Certainly worth a try.

Ingredients include Barley, Oats and Wheat while hips used are the US pair of Citra and Azacca.

There’s been some good news for the Belfast Brewery (a cooperative) recently and they are happy. ”At very, very, very long last, we are opening Northern Ireland’s first Taproom right next door to our Brewery & we need YOU to help make it happen! Come Join Us.” See the video here. 

Whiplash Loud Places Pale Ale 5.0%, 330 ml can Bradleys

Loud Places comes in a light orange colour, a hazy one. The white top doesn’t hang about for long. Hop aromas, with apricot prominent, rise up in the glass to greet you. 

Juicy for sure on the smooth palate, with melon and orange flavours, the hop aromas continuing in the mouth, with some slight sweetness also present but there’s a good balance here. Pretty creamy mouthful on the way to a slightly bitter finish but no shortage of fruit. As they say themselves: “It's a big hazy hoppy sup.”

Not a great deal of info on the can; it doesn’t include the usual malts and hop details. Ingredients do include oats though and that possibly accounts for the smoothness of this very pleasant pale ale. It is unfiltered and unpasteurised.

A Quart of Ale± #97. On the craft journey with Lineman, Whiplash, Galway Bay

 A Quart of Ale± #97

On the craft journey with Lineman, Whiplash,  Galway Bay

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Lineman Schadenfreude Schwarzbier 5.9%, 440 ml can Bradleys

This lager has a very close to black body with a soft tan head. And, yes, Schwarzbier is a lager - check it out at the finish! All that darkness, the roast malt flavours, will certainly confuse as you go through the stages. The trick is of course to get the balance right and then Schwarzbier “is a marvel to experience” according to Jeff Alworth in the Beer Bible.

The Lineman colour is on track and so too are the aromas with the mild roasty toasty touch. And so it continues. Flavours on the palate are not too far away from stout but soon comes that characteristic lager finish. 

Lineman’s Schadenfreude is indeed one of those marvels. “A cold fermented lager brewed with Munich, caramel and roasted malts then lagered to produce a super smooth dark beer.”

The recent history of this style goes back to the toppling of the Berlin Wall (according to World Atlas of Beer) and the re-unification of Germany. “What the five East German states brought back to the nation was Schwarzbier.” It had more or less died out in the west of the country.

This smooth and satisfying Lineman beer, which first saw the light of day on February 22nd 2022, is unpasteurised and unfiltered and is suitable for vegans. It may contain sediment. Serve chilled.

Lineman Electric Avenue #4 Pale Ale (Idaho7, Citra, Chinook) 5.1%, 440 ml can Bradleys

Lineman’s Electric Avenue has returned with the 4th release in the series and they are “using distilled hop oils to compliment our whirlpool and dry hop additions to produce a modern West Coast style Pale Ale, a crisp American style pale ale. We used a combination of T90 pellets and natural hop oils”. The hops used are Citra, Idaho 7 and Chinook, an all-American trio. 

The liquid is bright and clear with a light gold colour and no shortage of rising bubbles. Aromas are meek enough but exotic fruits (mango, pineapple and grapefruit) peek through along with pine notes. The fruits have more of a presence as you begin to drink and you realise you have quite a refreshing beer to enjoy. No strong bitter notes in a satisfactory finish. Another fine beer from a very consistent brewery

This beer is unpasteurised and unfiltered. Suitable for vegans. 

The series was launched in February 21. Where do the Electric Avenue name come from? “As well as being the name of that fantastic 1983 Eddy Grant song; Electric Avenue in Brixton was the first street to be electrically lit. We felt it was a good name for a series of beers that we want to trial new ideas on.”

#1 Hops: Strata, Centennial and Cascade; 

#2 Hops: Talus, Hallertau Blanc;

#3 Hops: Citra and Simcoe, the European Mandarin Bavaria;

#4 Hops: Citra, Idaho 7 and Chinook

Whiplash Quiet Crowd Robust Brown Ale 5.0%, 330 ml can Bradleys

Colour’s more black than brown and there’s a silky and tight knit foam that hangs about a bit.  The aromas, of modest intensity, are on the toasty side led by coffee notes. And so too are the flavours (not too modest now though) and there’s quite a depth here. Really impressive. Malt certainly has the upper hand here yet there is a very satisfactory lip smacking finish with enough bitterness to allow the malt shine without having it too sweet.

It is quite a good example of the English style: the colour, the malt flavour, the ABV of about five. Not sure the 5% would qualify it as robust though! According to the Beer Bible, you are more likely to find these nowadays in Chicago rather than on this side of the Atlantic.

Wouldn't mind having a little duel between this and the Lough Gill Mac Nutty Macadamia Nut Brown Ale ( a favourite of mine). Those Macadamia nuts have been added as an ingredient.

Galway Bay Triból Czech Pils 4.5%, 440 ml can Bradleys

This is one of the clearest beers I’ve seen in a while, really striking, with a lovely white head. Aromas, with floral and lemon notes, are modest. It is flavoursome and refreshing for sure, decent body as well and a hoppy (Mittelfruh) finish.

Unusually, it is a collaboration between the brewery and Galway United, the local football team. The name Triból means the drink of the tribes. Let us hope that John Caulfield’s men have something to celebrate at the end of the season. Not the only craft brewer involved in sponsoring football: Rascals support Saint Patricks.

They say: Founded in 2009, we are an independently owned and operated brewery based in Galway, on the west coast of Ireland. From classic styles to big barrel aged beers, we brew the full spectrum of beer with a passion for quality and innovation.

Pils (or Pilsner) is a pale lager first brewed in the 1840s in the Czech town of Plzeñ (Pilsner). 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 Rauchbier.

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

2022 Beer of the Year. Candidates so far.

2022 Favourite Beer of the Year 

My favourite beers to date

February: Wicklow Wolf  “Apex Cherry” Black Cherry Oatmeal Stout.

January: Whiplash Dry the Rain Double Decoction Dunkel

December: Lough Gill Mac Nutty Macadamia Nut

Best of February 2022 Short List

Oatmeal Stout: Wicklow Wolf  “Apex Cherry” Black Cherry 

BA Stout: Bradleys & Dot Brew Shady Dealings

Milk Stout: Trouble Brewing Nocturne Milk Stout

IPA: Killarney Scarlet Pimpernel

Smoked Porter: Whitefield Old Smoke Smoked Porter; 

Porter: Clonakilty Smuggler Irish Porter. 

Bitter: West Cork Baltimore Bitter

Session: Blacks The Session Pink Grapefruit IPA 3.4%

Rye IPA: Wicklow Wolf Canis Rufus

Dark Lager: Whitefield Ivy Hall

Gold Lager: Whiplash Dawn Chorus Helles. 

Best of January 2022 Short List

Dark Lager: Whiplash Dry the Rain Double Decoction Dunkel

Stout: West Cork Stout X Stout West

Oats IPA: Hope Overnight Oats IPA.

Session IPA: Porterhouse Sundown Session IPA

American Pale Ale: O Brother The Chancer APA

Barleywine: Brehon Brewhouse Red Right Hand Barley Wine Beer

NEIPA: Porterhouse Renegade New England IPA

Blonde: Killarney Golden Spear Blonde 

Best of December (2021, for 2022) Short List

Brown Ale: Lough Gill Mac Nutty Macadamia Nut.

Lager: Whiplash Das Model.

Single Hop IPA: Eight Degrees Citra Single Hop IPA 5.7%

Cask-Aged Porter: Brehon Brewhouse Shanco Dubh Porter 8.8%

Coffee & Oatmeal Stout: Third Circle Shot In The Dark

Pale Ale: Lineman Fluid Dynamic Extra Pale Ale.

Single Malt IPA: Eight Degrees Full Irish 6.0%

Session: Whitefield Brewery “Woodville” Session Pale Ale 4.3%

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!