The Brooklyn Brewery. Brews some of New York’s best!

The Brooklyn Brewery. 

Brews some of New York’s best!

Garrett Oliver, brew-master at Brooklyn

Many visitors remark that we in Ireland are fortunate with regard to wine. Drawing from every major wine producing area in the world, we have a great choice on our shelves.

It is, of course, much the same with beer. And that choice is rapidly expanding now that we are in the middle of an invigorating wave of new Irish craft-brewers.  Our own beers are proudly taking up much of the shelf space.

Indeed, the choice of Irish brewed is growing by the week. And much of that is down to brewers who have come from all corners of the world: Kiwis, Germans, British, and Americans are found in the ranks of our brew-masters and, of course, our native brewers (many have returned from abroad) and have soaked up influences from all the above mentioned plus drawing from the likes of Belgium and middle Europe.

The Brooklyn Brewery, founded in 1988 and one of New York’s best, has proved itself a resilient leader in the craft brew movement on the East Coast of America (and beyond) and its brewmaster Garrett Oliver (who joined Brooklyn in 1994)  has many admirers here.

A Beer is Never Alone in Bradley's

His conversion to real beer began with a flavoursome pint of English Ale, he told his audience at the recent Ballymaloe LitFest. And, like many converts, he is now a fervent (but mainly humorous) preacher of the craft-beer gospel.

Most of the beers he showed at Ballymaloe were in large bottles with corks. “This is a beer bottle,” he said. “Not a champagne bottle!” Tongue in cheek, maybe not, he insisted that wine was being sold in a beer bottle.

This is nice, doesn't taste like beer. Garrett said he has often heard people make this remark when they taste a craft beer. He had an explanation: “The beer they grew up with didn't taste like real beer!”

Brooklyn doesn't do only big bottles. The brewery also sells its beers in much more affordable small bottles and I saw quite a few of both sizes on the always well stocked shelves of Bradley’s Off Licence on a recent visit. By the way, the American small bottle is 355ml, slightly bigger than our 330ml.

The Sorachi Ace comes in a small bottle (€3.75) and is based upon a Belgian Saison and that “dill like aroma is unusual”. “It is a super dry beer, slightly hazy and you may find yeast at the bottom. It is very nice with oysters, crabs and other shellfish.” Michael Creedon at Bradley’s is amazed with this one, especially the way it matches with fish and seafood.

I treated myself to a bottle of their 10% Black Chocolate Stout, again in the small size. This is an October to March beer so I was out of season with my tasting. I was thinking of Caroline Hennessy’s Chocolate Brownies as I supped it and indeed their recommendations for this American Imperial Stout are along the same lines.

It achieves its dark chocolate aroma and flavor through the artful blending of six malts and months of aging. Properly kept, it will improve in the bottle for many years. This stout is the toast of the winter season in many countries, and there is nothing better to enjoy with chocolate desserts, cheesecake, ice cream, fine cheeses and roaring fireplaces.

Other small bottles available include an Indian Pale Ale called East IPA (3.29) , a Hoppy Session Saison called ½ Ale (2.69), an American Amber Lager (2.69) and the Double IPA named Blast. Some of these beers are quite strong, though the ½ Ale is just 3.4 per cent.

Among the big bottles in Bradley’s were two that Garrett showed in Ballymaloe. These are 750ml bottles, finished with cork, and will cost you. The highly rated Hand & Seal, for instance, is just under twenty five euro. It is rather special though, a Barleywine style ale that has been aged in Bourbon casks, and ideal with patés, game meats, sausages, rich desserts and cheeses.

The other big one I noted in Bradley’s was the K is for Kriek, Brooklyn’s own take on the Belgian style, although Garrett did remark that no Belgian would recognise it as a Kriek. Again it has been aged in Bourbon barrels with tart dried whole Montmorency cherries from Michigan.

You may check out more of what Garrett said about these and his other big bottles in Ballymaloe here.  Indeed, to get even more detail, check out the brewery’s website. It is quite a read!

Garrett Oliver Talks Beer. Also Tomatoes, Bread and Pre-Sadness.

Garrett Oliver Talks Beer.

Also Tomatoes, Bread and Pre-Sadness

Garrett Oliver

You need real tomatoes to make tomato sauce.

Garrett Oliver, dapper brewmaster at the Brooklyn Brewery, started his Ballymaloe talk and tasting, with this line on tomatoes. Soon, he would delve into bread and cheese, fake bread and fake cheese, and later he would go all philosophical or maybe philological as he explained his theory of pre-sadness!

But there was no sadness in the Drinks Theatre during Garrett’s hour on Sunday afternoon. Just lots of laughs and no shortage of good beer either, beer that tastes like beer!  You hear people say, when they taste a craft beer: This is nice, doesn't taste like beer. He had an explanation: “The beer they grew up with didn't taste like real beer!”

Garrett, no mean chef himself, says that “brewing is more like cooking than wine-making”. He went on to give us a bit of background on New York’s diverse food and drink scene; in the late 1800s, you could eat your way around the world in one day there. He revealed that Guinness had a brewery on Long Island in the 1940s that lasted for ten years or so but closed because people preferred Guinness from Ireland.

Back then to the theme of real food and real beer. “It was a different world after prohibition. Better transport, the mass market and advertising led to less choice. The number of breweries in the US went from 4000 to 40, all making much the same beer.”

He highlighted bread as another example. You had fake bread, cheese with yellow colouring. A cheese sandwich consisted of two wraps of “plastic” and a filling of yellow plastic. “Same thing happened with beer.”

Brooklyn Beers

As he introduced the first beer, Brooklyn’s Sorachi Ace, he revealed that his first pint of real British Ale “changed my life”. The Sorachi comes in what looks like a champagne bottle but Garrett wasn't having any of it saying Champagne comes in a beer bottle. No arguing with that, dude!

The Sorachi is based upon a Belgian Saison and that “dill like aroma is unusual”. “It is a super dry beer, slightly hazy and you may find yeast at the bottom. It is very nice with oysters, crabs and other shellfish.”

And then he brought up the pre-sadness. You might, for instance have pre-sadness as your enter the last few days of your holidays in an exotic place, still enjoying yourself but knowing the end is nigh. 

The Sorachi was one of their 2009 specials and, like holidays, specials are not meant to last beyond their designated span. So as the Sorachi’s allotted time came to end, the pre-sadness entered their minds even though they were happy drinking it at the same time. So they didn't allow it to end, found excuse after excuse to keep it going and now make it all the time.

Sorachi

Next up was the Hammarby Syndrome, introduced to celebrate their opening of a brewery in Stockholm. It’s brewed from 35% of spelt, an ancient wheat-like grain that was once a mainstay of Scandinavian beers and this gives it a nutty flavour. He recommended it as a food beer, especially with roasts and steaks.

Time for the third beer, the Ghost Bottle Galahad based on their Brooklyn Local No. 1 and made “within the Belgian tradition”. This has been enhanced via the lees from a natural cider fermentation.”It is aged for one year on the lees and has lots of flavour that were not in the original, is cloudy and very dry though it seems sweet.”

Brooklyn is well known for its collaborations. “We were the first brewery to do collaborations but now we were doing it only with friends. Great to bounce around ideas.” We were now sipping his Wild Horse, a stout with quite a kick at 9.4%. He then told us the yeast was the famous, infamous if you’re a winemaker, Brettanomyces, Brett for short.

“Brett was the flavour of stout, back in the day.” You might spot the hay, the farmyard, the horse-sweat. Can't say I did even though the dogs were barking outside in the Ballymaloe farmyard and there were hungry sounds from a bird-nest or two high in the rafters. After all, this Drinks Theatre is in a tractor shed! More on the Wild Horse here.

The journey continued with K Is For Kriek. “This is the least beer-like beer. Kriek is the Belgian tradition of adding fruit. This was food back in the day. This though is a weirdo variation, no Belgian would recognise it as Kriek. We put ten kilos of cherries into each barrel.”

“This was brewed in 2013, spent five months in barrel and overall took one and a half years to make. It is 10.3%. Pair it with duck, goose, foie gras. This is an American interpretation of wheat, illustrates that what we do is something like a chef does when he imports an idea from another country.”

And speaking of ideas, he said nobody ever came up with a great idea over a Diet Coke. “The best ideas need a real drink. They say you live longer if you don't drink. Not really. It just seems longer!” Check the brewery’s notes on the big K here.

ABV has been rising all the time and the final beer packs 13.5%. Hand and Seal is a Barley-wine style, “..nice with Stilton, very strong and sweet, well balanced and will age - for up to forty years!” Once the preserve of nobles, the Brooklyn brewmaster decided it should be for the masses. Read the full story here.

If that was the last of the beers, it was not the last of the session, not with Garrett on the mike. “What we do is creative. This is a renaissance, a recovery from a harmful food system that wiped everything out. Go out and try things. Some of these beers cost less than a coffee.” He must have stayed in the Westbury recently; an Americano cost me €5.40 there last week.

“It is great that you in Ireland now have a burgeoning craft beer movement and your first pint should be from a local brewer. But I would like to be second on the list! As far as I know, you go around once - I’m going to have a good time!”

Dowcha Garrett!

See also:
Jancis Robinson on Wine's New Wave
Gin. The Garden Spirit (with Desmond Payne)
World Rediscovers Irish Whiskey (with Dave Broom)

Black’s Brewery of Kinsale. Up and Away on a Rocketship.

Black’s Brewery of Kinsale

Up and Away on a Rocketship
Or maybe a Model T

It was a “productive January” for Sam and Maudeline Black, the lively friendly couple behind the fast growing Black’s Brewery in Kinsale.

“It’s a good month to try things,” added Sam, when I called there at the weekend. And they've added a few to their already popular range, including the Model T Stout. Love the name. Henry Ford, maker of the Model T motor car, went on to sell 15 millions units. Reckon Sam and Maudeline would settle for 15m pints over the next few years!

It was one of the beers we tasted at their little bar in the brewery. The other was the Rocketship IPA. Sam has been surprised by the reaction to this one. “Not everyone likes it but those that do are fanatical followers.” He knows a bunch of fellows that will drink nothing else now!

I asked Sam what was his own personal favourite. A tough question, a bit like asking a parent if they have a favourite child. The baby of the family always gets the attention. Sam started loving the Kinsale Pale Ale, then drank the Session for a long time and then came that Rocketship. Now he’s singing the praises of Hi Viz. “This has extra hops and is the best we’ve made..very pleased with it”. 

He’s not the only one. The Hi Viz won a Silver Medal at the recent Alltech Brews & Food Festival. There was silver too for the Black IPA and a bronze for the Rocketship. 

You must be wondering now where you can find all these smashing beers from Kinsale. Well, in the space of just over two years the Blacks, who have given major attention to distribution,  now have a long lost of stockists.  You’ll see their products in lots of restaurants as well.

Not too many guys get a home-brew starter kit as a Valentine's Day present. But that’s exactly what Clonakilty girl Maudeline presented to Sam some years back. “It was the best present ever,” said Sam and that started the road to the current Kinsale operation on Farm Lane.

I asked if they saw any trends on the near horizon. “There's always trends. Saison had its run. I think collaborations, between two breweries, will be the next one.” Already, there has been one between Cork’s Rising Sons and Beara Brewing in the US.

The busy Blacks are always looking ahead, always planning for their customers. And those customers come from a large range of ages and backgrounds. “All ages, male and female. And great to see young people now going for quality.” 

Rocketship and medal!

Great too to meet and chat with the enthusiastic Blacks. Delighted to be a customer. Spent the following 24 hours in Kinsale and had no bother finding their products. Local places to note for craft beer are Malt Lane in the town and Monks Lane in nearby Timoleague.

* Tours of the brewery will start soon. Keep an eye on the website and on their Facebook page for updates.

See also: My Kinsale Guide
Bastion, Kinsale's latest restaurant

Meeting the Wicklow Wolf Pack. Classy Ales and Porter

Meeting the Wicklow Wolf Pack

Classy Ales and Porter

The Wicklow Wolf is a new brewery based in the county where Ireland’s last wolf reputedly roamed, in ever decreasing circles chasing his tail. Now they're chasing his ale.

Wicklow Wolf American Amber Ale, 4.8%, Bradley’s, North Main St., Cork

The colour tells you this is an Amber ale. The label tells you it is made with water, malted barley, hops, yeast, and love! Your palate tells you it is very good: sweet caramel and tropical fruit tones, balanced by a tang of citrus hops. Mellow magic, made the Wicklow way.

Wicklow Wolf India Pale Ale, 6.3%, Bradley’s, North Main St., Cork

The wolf goes wild here, punching above his weight with a “powerful blend of Cascade and Simcoe hops, grapefruit, citrus, pine and passionfruit.” Above the normal ABV too but the overall result is a knockout win for the lovers of the hop.

Wicklow Wolf Black Perle Porter, 4.8%, Bradley’s, North Main St., Cork

This is the Wolf’s dark side, his Porter, richer than many stouts and just as tasty, full of “dark caramel, chocolate, coffee and toasted malt”. The Wolf has his way with the classic English porter here, melding the German Perle hop into the richness and yielding an intense complexity, character enough “to satisfy any dark beer drinker”. Glad to confirm the brewer’s claims! Now, let’s see him make a stout!

* The brewery also do two other beers, a Brown Cream Ale and a Fresh Hopped Blonde Ale. Keep up to date at their Facebook page.

Electric Start to Beery Good Night

Electric Start to Beery Good Night
Fish Bar Specials

Mackerel, Bisque and Plaice

You’ve got to hand it to the team at Electric. They got a great idea when deciding to turn the upstairs outside deck into an indoor fish bar. It’s one thing getting the spark but another thing altogether to turn it into a working reality. But that’s just what has happened here. It makes for a lovely visit every single time and I certainly enjoyed my hour or two here last Friday evening.

The menu keeps changing but the cooking and presentation is always good, often excellent, and you just got to love the informal service, smiles, chats and effortlessly efficiency. We sipped a gorgeous José Pariente Reuda Verdejo (used to be the house wine at El Bulli’s) as we studied the specials list.

We each started with a bowl of Lobster Bisque, served with rouille croutons. The bisque was of excellent quality, full of flavours and quite warming on a rather cool evening. By the way, the Fish Bar, despite all those riverside windows, is obviously well insulated (as you’d expect from the Electric team!) and was comfortably warm on the night.

Next we had three dishes to share, each at nine euro. Two were from the specials list: Steamed Mussels (with beer, chilli and lemongrass) and Tandoori marinated plaice fillets (with cucumber, tomato and mint raita). The third, from the regular list, was: Smoked Mackerel and Cherry Tomato Gratin (with Hegarty’s Cheddar, scallions, panko crumb).

Mussels are mussels, some will say, but this was a different treatment. Not that different but the sauce was enough to give a lovely little spicy lift, so much so that it was finished off with the spoon provided! There was some suggestion that the mackerel dish was a little on the salty side but it didn’t bother me as I loved both the textures and the flavours.

There was agreement about the Tandoori plaice fillets, all happy with this delicate and delicious plateful. The mild spice enhanced the fish and indeed, the raita, though excellent, was hardly needed.

At the counter of the Rising Sons

So it was a couple of happy punters that stepped out onto the Mall on the way to checking out some craft beer. First stop was the busy Rising Sons Brewpub on the Coal Quay. I’m afraid to say the average age jumped a fair bit when we entered the big lively space. We got a seat at the counter and ordered a tasting tray each, three small glasses of different beers for four euro.

They have a huge range of craft beers, and others, on draught, but I was interested in their own brews. The three that I got, from the six they produce a few feet away, were their seasonal Porter, the Steeple Hemp amber ale and the Mi Daza stout. The lady serving us gave us lots of helpful information on the beers.

Must say that I'm a fan of the Mi Daza which I’ve tasted in its various forms over the last year or two. Basically, it is a creamy old style Cork stout, “brewed with a traditional rich roasted flavour and hints of dark chocolate, imparted by a four malt extract and thrice hopped, leading to a unique taste and drinking experience”. One to stick with.

The just released seasonal Porter was our first sip and it went down well. It is somewhat lighter in body and flavour compared to the stout but a very pleasant drink indeed. The Steeple Hemp amber ale more or less ambushed the palate with the first sup. “Lots of hops” the lady said and she was right. It’s got a big body too and should be great with food. By the way, the palate soon got used to the hops.

Must go back soon and try their other beers, especially that Handsum IPA. Wonder does it live up to its name?

The Brewery Mezzanine at the Cotton Ball

Lots of good ale around nowadays and one of my favourites is the Kerry Lane Pale Ale available on draught at the Cotton Ball, our final halt of the evening. Started off here with their seasonal, the Indian Summer, which has enjoyed a long run this year. But I finished with the Kerry Lane and the pint just confirmed my already high opinion.

Actually, wouldn't it be great to see a tasting of the Kerry Lane, the Handsum and the Franciscan Well’s Chieftain in the one place? Are they all on tap in any one pub?

Beer, Whiskey and Music, Music! Brewer Shane revisits the Whiskey Well

Beer, Whiskey and Music, Music!

Brewer Shane revisits the Whiskey Well

Shane Long (left) and Dave Quinn.

The new Franciscan Well Jameson Aged Pale Ale was launched during a lively evening in the Oliver Plunkett, Cork. Tuesday night’s event saw the new beer make its bow in the presence of Jameson whiskey, good company, and music upstairs and downstairs.

You may not hear it much nowadays but back in the day, “a pint and a drop” was a regular order in Irish public houses. But that pint (it could have been any of the stouts) and that drop (unless specified, could have been Paddy, Powers or whatever bottle was already open).

This new pairing though “is a specific pairing” according to the Franciscan Well’s Shane Long who went on to say that the ale’s bitterness had to be “toned down to accommodate the whiskey. This is not any old whiskey and beer”.

“The first batch of the ale won an international award and this second batch is even better”, said Shane who also revealed that the beer went into casks at 4% abv and came out with a 6% rating, hence the smaller bottle size (33cl). By the way, the casks (which had been used twice for whiskey) are now back in the distillery and are filled again with whiskey. “Watch this space!” we were told. And do watch out too for the famous Jameson Stout from the Well as that will be available again before Christmas.

Dave Quinn, Irish Distillers Master of Whiskey Science, filled us on on some of the technical details of the collaboration between the distillery and the brewery and went to describe the well-known well-loved whiskey. “Jameson is a complex whiskey but smooth and easy to drink with fruit, spice and floral characteristics. It is not smokey.”

The new beer is described as having biscuit and malt notes “with a hint of gooseberry fruity tartness, balanced by citrusy hop bitterness, and a smooth whiskey oak finish”. It is excellent on its own.

The Pairing.

But it reaches another level when “paired” with the whiskey. Take a sip of the Jameson and enjoy! Then follow with a sip of beer and you’ll appreciate an enhanced experience. The bitter hops of the pale ale are in perfect balance with the sweetness of the whiskey. And the combination leads to a smooth mellow finish. Time maybe to revive the pint and drop. Perhaps a glass and a drop!

The fun continued with Master Cooper Ger Buckley from Irish Distillers dismantling and reassembling a whiskey cask in the impressive Frisky Irish Whiskey room of the Oliver Plunkett and we had our own band upstairs. As live music played, I tried some of the other Franciscan Well beers on offer, starting with Friar Weisse (an old favourite of mine) and moving on to the excellent Chieftain IPA.

And it wasn't all drink. We had some nibbles at the start but the bar’s chef then treated us to some more substantial examples of his kitchen’s skills later on. Very good (especially that absolutely delicious slow cooked Beef Cheek pie) and very much appreciated. Finished the beer downstairs entertained by terrific traditional musicians and some energetic dancers! A lively pub, music every night of the week, and one to re-visit!

Food
* The new beer is available across Cork’s Whiskey Way bars where the staff are trained to educate punters about beer and whiskey pairing. Those bars are: Canty’s, Counihan’s, Electric, Le Chateau, SoHo Bar, The Mutton Lane Inn, The Oliver Plunkett, The Oval, The Roundy and The Woodford.

Music.

Taste of the Week and A Toast to Humphrey J. Lynch

Taste of the Week
and A Toast to Humphrey J. Lynch

The Cotton Ball in Mayfield was purchased in the 1870's by Humphrey J. Lynch. Humphrey was born in 1841 in Ballyvourney, Co.Cork. He left for America at the age 15, working various jobs until the American civil war broke out. He was one of the first to enlist and last to be discharged.

He went in as private of the 4th U.S Artillery battery H, and came out a sergeant. Of 208 who enlisted when he did there were only three of the original ones left when the battery mustered out. After the war he worked for 14 years as a foreman of the picker room in Newburyport cotton mill. And that is where the name Cotton Ball came from.

Nowadays his great grandson, also Humphrey, is the brewer at the Cotton and produced this Indian Summer for the season. It is quite a lovely drink for these days - and more of them to come hopefully - a well judged mix of lager ingredients and an ale yeast and our Taste of the Week.

So lift your glass with me in a toast to Humphrey the soldier and once again to Humphrey the brewer!

Why Not Take the Dungarvan Brewery Tour!

Why Not Take the Dungarvan Brewery Tour!

Tours to the Dungarvan Brewing Company started last Friday, with Claire and Cormac doing the honours.  It is the first of what is billed as a summer series and you can get further info here.

It is well worth it. The tour caters both for the person with a casual interest in the process and for those with more technical interests. Cormac, who learned the “trade” through his home brewing, is the man for the technical stuff.

He took us through the various malts and hops that they use. Malted barley, for instance, is nothing more or less than barley "soaked in warm water". That is your basic ingredient but then there are various degrees of malting, right up to “roasted”, essentially burnt. This latter has a coffee taste and aroma - you do get to touch and taste it - and is used in their stouts, concluding my favourite Coffee and Oatmeal, a winter stout.

He explained the use of hops. Hops used early in the process is mainly for bitterness while it increases flavour when added in the later stages. Challenger is their basic hops but they also use the well known (and much in demand) Cascade with its more concentrated flavours (which means you use less of it).

The glamour side of the drinks business, demonstrated by brewer Cormac

Claire, one of two accredited Beer Sommeliers at the brewery (husband Tom is the other), then introduced us to the company's beers. What a great line-up they have!

Pale Ale fans are well catered for and Claire started with the Comeragh Challenger, a seasonal English Pale Ale. “Floral, light… easy-drinking..” she said. And so it proved.

The Cascade hops are used in Helvick Gold, a regular in the portfolio. This popular Irish Pale Ale is full bodied, generously hopped and “good with seafood”.

Next up was an American Pale Ale style called Mine Head, also featuring the Cascade hops. It has citrusy flavours and is not as bitter as an IPA and is great with food.

Perhaps the best known of the Dungarvan beers in restaurants is their Copper Coast Irish Red Ale. This will tell you that it is an excellent food beer. And Claire had the perfect match, producing the lovely organic Brewer’s Gold Cheese by the Little Milk Company. This locally produced cheese is washed a few times during production with Copper Coast!

Then on to the Blackrock Stout, a favourite since Dungarvan was founded four years back. Here the roasted malt was prominent and it went very well indeed with the dark chocolate that was handed around and quickly scoffed.

All the beers are traditionally brewed and bottled on-site in Dungarvan, and made using only four ingredients – barley, hops, yeast and water. No chemicals are added to the beers, they are unfiltered, unpasteurised and vegan-friendly. The core range consists of three beers – Black Rock Irish Stout, Copper Coast Irish Red Ale and Helvick Gold Irish Blonde Ale – which are complemented with a selection of seasonal and festival beers throughout the year.

It has been a terrific four years for the brewery and production has been boosted recently, a major factor being the pre-Christmas installation of a mechanical bottling plant (previously, it had all been done by hand!). Now that capacity has increased, so too can the volume and the export market is being explored with sales to Italy, the UK, Scandinavia, Germany and even further afield on the horizon.

The Brewery was the final stop in a "foodie" mini-tour to the east from Cork City. See a short account of the other stops here.

Cascade hops