On the craft trail with Dungarvan Brewery and Elbow Lane

On the craft trail with Dungarvan Brewery

Russel Garet
Elbow Lane brewer

and Elbow Lane

Elbow Lane Angel Stout 4.4% ABV, on draught in Goldie

Available in Market Lane restaurants in bottles (all), in draught (some)

A stout made for the restaurants' food!

Great to renew my acquaintance with Angel Stout at a recent dinner in Goldie Restaurant (Cork). 

Elbow Lane’s Angel Stout is one of the best, a superb combination of hops and malt, made with the Market Lane restaurant's food in mind. Both Goldie and Elbow, along with ORSO, Castle Café and Market Lane itself make up the five in the group.

My very first sip the other evening confirmed previous impressions as the roasted malt showed well in the flavour. The hops - Hercules Germany, Pilgrim UK and Willamette USA - go in early in the process, and their bittering qualities make for a lovely balance, a delicious pint and even better with the dishes that follow.

It has a distinct malt character and pronounced hop bitterness, typical of the style. Dark roasted malts contribute to the bittersweet chocolate notes, while a generous hop addition lends to a dry but smooth finish. This stout will suit robust dishes like steak, stews and curries. And I found it went very well with their Oyster Paté, a relatively new dish from renowned Head Chef Aiushling Moore.

Elbow Lane is one of the few Irish breweries that strictly adheres to the principles of the ancient German Purity Law, “Reinheitsgebot”, which means that only four ingredients are used: malted barley, hops, yeast and water. There are no additives and the fermentation of the beer is not artificially accelerated, nor is it filtered – so it is all totally natural. 

Dungarvan Mine Head American PA, 5.5% ABV

 one for your short list

The brewery had a plan as they developed Mine Head. It would be dry-hopped, a process of adding whole leaf hops into the fermenter. This gives more of a hop aroma to the beer and a fresh initial hit of the hop flavours. 

And, with the Cascade hop the only one used, that is exactly what happened.

Cascade, of course, goes hand in hand with the American Pale Ale. Here, you notice it straightaway with that initial hoppy hit in the aromas, rising from an amber body topped by a soft white head. That hoppy hit is easily confirmed by the old finger-in-the-head test - stick it in and suck it!

Then, it is citrus all the balanced way, with a teeny touch of marmalade sweetness later on and that bitter at the end but nothing over the top. A pleasant and harmonious beer indeed. Another one for your shortlist.

Food pairings suggested by Dungarvan are spicy Thai or Vietnamese food, or “keep it American with a burger! Works great with lighter fish or with earthy meats such as lamb or beef. Great with a creamy camembert-style cheese or a tart sheeps cheese. Best served lightly chilled, from 8-12°C”.

The name: Mine Head is a high headland west of Dungarvan; it and its lighthouse form a dramatic landmark on the Atlantic Coast.

Geek Bits - 

Style: American Pale Ale

ABV: 5.5%

Hops: Cascade

IBUs: 38

Féile Tom Crean in Kenmare 11th-13th April 2025

 

Vin vivant, a living wine, "full of taste". Château Moulin De Peyronin Bordeaux.

Château Moulin De Peyronin Bordeaux (AC) 2021, 12.5% ABV

Sourced from Matsons (Bandon, Grange and Youghal).

Widely available at €18.00 to €21.00

 

Vin vivant, living wine, "full of taste"

A smooth and supple wine from Bordeaux’s Chateau de Peyronin. The vineyard may be found in the Entre-Deux-Mers area, perhaps the most scenic of the entire Bordeaux vineyard. The aromatic wine is, as you’d expect, a blend (60% Merlot, 20% Malbec, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon), and it is organic.

It is highly aromatic, packed with sensations of cherry, raspberry and blueberry. The same fruit and spicy elements also enliven the palate. A nice touch of acidity helps to balance it, and the finish is dry and lengthy. It is well-structured and a terrific match for red meats and many cheeses (including Gubbeen!). Serve at 17 degrees. Silky and fruit-driven, it is a wine that is heartily recommended.

The Château itself is a historic property, a lovely example of traditional French architecture often associated with wine estates and vineyards. It is also a popular location for wine tourism, where the “happy owners” offer guided tours, tastings, and the opportunity to explore the beautiful surroundings.

Owners Véronique and Franck, who had met while students at the local Lycée Agricole de Libourne-Montagne, began their adventure at Château Moulin de Peyronin in 2006. The two 25-year-olds now had over 14 ha of vines on their hands.  It had been managed organically since 1975. They continued on that road and went on to convert the vineyard to Biodynamics during the year 2017.

Château Fuissé Tête De Cuvée. A gem from the benchmark estate of Pouilly Fuissé

Château Fuissé Tête De Cuvée Pouilly Fuissé (AC) 2022, 13.5% ABV.

€41.95 O’Briens Wine

"From the benchmark estate of Pouilly Fuissé"

The colour is a limpid yellow with green tints. Lime and tropical fruits head up the aromatics. White fruit (lime again), faint almond notes, and a subtle minerality feature on the smooth and silky palate. Its time in oak (two-thirds of the wine is aged in oak, with 20% of that new oak) helps give it a rich and complex flavour profile. The great length confirms that you have one of the best Chardonnays in your glass.

An unmissable exceptional wine, say importers O’Briens: “Easily one of the most keenly priced fine Burgundies you can get your hands on today.”  O’Briens are not on their own here as the wine is widely and highly regarded: “This is a brilliant blend of the appellation” and “Classic, fresh and precise with pleasant density” are other plaudits.

The Pouilly-Fuissé appellation is known for producing some of the best white wines in the world. It is the home of the finest white wines of southern Burgundy's Maconnais district. They are produced exclusively from Chardonnay grapes grown locally. According to Wine-Searcher.com, the typical Pouilly-Fuissé wine is full-bodied, ripe and relatively elegant, with the best examples rivalling the finer wines of the Côte de Beaune. 

Ernest Hemingway was quite a fan of Burgundy, especially the Macon (where Château Fuissé is located). In  A Moveable Feast (1964), Scott Fitzgerald and Hemingway went on the tear: "We had a marvellous lunch from the hotel at Lyon, an excellent truffled roast chicken, delicious bread and white Mâcon wine and Scott was very happy when we drank the white Maconnais at each of our stops. At Mâcon I had bought four more bottles of excellent wine which I uncorked as we needed them.”

There are quite a few suggestions for food pairings on the Vin De Bourgogne website, including patés and terrines, Brie, sushi, chicken in cream sauce, grilled chicken breast, and veal in the sauce. The website is well worth visiting.

Bird's Eye View of Cork Harbour from Fota Wild Wildlife Park's New Attraction

Bird's Eye View of Cork Harbour from Fota Wild Wildlife Park's New Attraction

Photos taken 9th March 2025

From 13th March to 8th June, visitors will have the opportunity to experience the Panoramic Wheel, offering a never-before-seen aerial view of the park and its stunning surroundings. Based inside Fota Wildlife Park, this will be an optional, paid-for experience, with tickets for the Panoramic Wheel available at a separate ticketing booth from €5 per individual.

The Giraffe is no longer the tallest attraction at Fota.

Heron

Gibbon having a swing

Guinea Fowl

Ostrich

Pride

Rhino Munch

Splendid JN Wine Portfolio Tasting at the Hayfield Manor

 Splendid JN Wine Portfolio Tasting at the Hayfield Manor

Stéphan Heinrich

JN Wines, a family business now celebrating 47 years, presented a sterling selection of wines from around the world at Monday’s Portfolio Tasting at Hayfield Manor. The glassed venue in the garden was perfect for the occasion. The sun obliged and the glass “roof” was opened for a spell. In addition, aside from the self-pour tastings, JN was joined by Adrián Bujanda from Familia Martínez Bujanda (Rioja) and  Stéphan Heinrich (Languedoc).

Though Bujanda is Riojan-based, they did have a Verdejo, Finca Montepedrosso from Rueda. Having spent five months on fine lees, it was a little more complex than usual but had the usual fruit and acidity. 

Adrián Bujanda

Perhaps the highlight was tasting their Joven, Crianza and Reserva, all three 100% Tempranillo. The 2023 Joven has been raised in stainless, and it didn't see any oak, and, as always, I found it fresh and fruity and very engaging. The 2020 Crianza had spent 12 months in oak and was another excellent wine and "a customer favourite". The star here was the Reserva (2018), with its sweet species, mature fruit and long expressive finish; it was indeed one of the wines of the show.

Stéphan Heinrich told me that Maison Ventenac is just 8 kilometres from Carcassone, familiar to many Cork travellers. Their labels are unusually simple but quite eye-catching. I started with the Steph (short for Stephanie!), a cracking 2023 Merlot 

But there was better to come as both the Réserve de Jeanne (2021) and the Dissidents’ L’Idiot were top-class. The Jeanne blends 60% Cabernet Franc and 40% Syrah. It is not typical of the region, but the freshness of the Cabernet and the flavour and pepper notes of the Syrah make for an excellent result and push it to the top of the tasting ranks at the Hayfield. L’Idiot, 100% Merlot, is a beautiful juice, fruity and boasting a great minerality. Another for the shortlist!

One of the best!

All the other tables were classed under variety, and there were no country sections. Quite a few to go through, but one country that caught my eye, or should I say, taste buds, was South Africa. There was a very good Rustenberg Chardonnay from Stellenbosch, a high-scoring Cabernet Sauvignon (2022), while the red blend from Rustenberg (John X Merriman) and Newton Johnson’s Full Stop Rock was also top-class. Do we underrate South African wines in Ireland?

Just before Christmas, I exchanged season greetings online with Ramsi Ghosin of Massaya, who is based in the Bekaa Valley. “I'm hoping, with fingers crossed as they say, ‘that the dynamic of peace will finally prevail in Lebanon’”. 

A top red!

In his newsletter, he wrote: “..wine in Lebanon has experienced a tremendous renaissance. When we started Massaya in 1998, there were only four wine producers. Today, our number exceeds 60. So how can we explain the contradiction between the growth of Lebanese wine and the turmoil we have simultaneously faced?”

And I was hoping for peace also as I sipped their marvellous Le Columbier 2021 at the Hayfield, even though part of my reason was a little on the selfish side. We need more wines like this blend, which has equal amounts of Cinsault, Grenache and Tempranillo. It has good fruit and spice and a finish that lingers.

Enjoyed this Merlot from
Maison Ventenac

.

My Shopping List

Top whites

Au Bon Climat White Blend 2021

Neudorf Rosie’s Black Chardonnay 2019

Coustarret AOC Jurancon Sec Contrastes

Beauregard Saint Véran Classic 2022

Dom. Gueguen Chablis 2023

Dom. Bott-Geyl Les Elements Riseling 2022

Wine & Soul Manoella 2023

Top reds

Ventenac Réserve de Jeanne 2021

Sophenia Malbec 2021

Newton Johnson Full Stop Rock 2020

Ventenac ‘Les Dissidents’ L’Idiot 2023

Bujanda Rioja Reserva 2018

Massaya Le Columbier 2021

Rustenberg John X Merriman 2022

On the craft trail with Kinnegar and The White Hag

On the craft trail with Kinnegar 

and The White Hag

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The White Hag Little Fawn IPA 4.2% ABV, 400 ml can Bradleys

White Hag certainly hit the mark. Again!

I have encountered Little Fawn quite a bit over the last few years in pubs and restaurants across the country, and I am always glad to see it. I appreciate any White Hag beer available in a pub or restaurant. Its widespread availability affirms its status as a classic Indian Pale Ale, and its lower-than-usual ABV makes it an excellent go-to session beer.

 

Little Fawn has a sessionable ABV of 4.2% and features grapefruit aromas balanced with 100% Irish malt. It is clean and fruity, thanks to the Mosaic hops, but not overly hoppy due to its mild lingering finish. As they describe it, it’s “an easy-to-drink American-style session IPA” that is a great option to start with at any time.

 

The White Hag is rightly proud of its modern independent craft brewery located in Sligo, along Ireland’s Wild Atlantic Way. They state, “We brew innovative and groundbreaking beers, inspired by ancient and classic styles.”

 

With Little Fawn, they certainly hit the mark—it’s an easy-to-drink American-style session IPA, brewed with 100% Irish malt for a pale, very clean base.

Kinnegar Black Bucket Black Rye IPA, 6.5% ABV, 440 ml can, O’Briens

A twist on the traditional IPA style

This beer is Kinnegar's twist on the traditional IPA style. It balances dark maltiness and hoppy bitterness, resulting in a unique blend and an attractive IPA.

 

On first glance, you think you’ve got a stout in the glass, but a closer inspection will reveal quite a lot of brown under the coffee-coloured head. On the palate, the fresh American hop flavours are balanced by the sweet roasted malt, and there’s a spicy hint of rye.

A Gold Medal at the World Beer Cup 2022, it is one of Kinnegar's impressive core beers. The company call it “the bigger, darker brother to our Rustbucket Rye.” This full-bodied and complex black beer, with its distinctive, rich flavour profile,  is available all year round. The Rustbucket, by the way, is an “old reliable”, well into its second decade now.