CorkBillyBeers #55. Craft with 9 White Deer, Kildare Brewing, Brewdog

CorkBillyBeers #55

Craft with 9 White Deer, Kildare Brewing, Brewdog

A red ale and two stouts for the darker nights.

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9 White Deer Stag Stout, 4.2% ABV, 500 ml bottle Bradleys

This gluten-free Stag Stout, from Ballyvourney’s 9 White Deer, weighs in at 4.2% ABV. It is a glossy black colour with a soft tan head. Aromas are rich and full of chocolate promise, which is fully delivered in the mouth. Here the chocolate and Madagascan vanilla play quite the most pleasing duet as the rich and smooth beer finds its way around. This is a must-try chocolate “block” from the West Cork Gaeltacht; it is distinctive and delicious. Smooth and creamy, all without any nitro!

We enjoyed this early in the year and the conclusion now is very much the same. 

Very Highly Recommended.

I first came across this black beauty in Blairs Inn (near Blarney) in the winter of 2017. Richard Blair, one of two brothers then running the gastro pub, told me of a satisfied customer of a few days earlier. A coeliac, the man hadn’t drunk stout, his favourite tipple, for twenty years but, having sampled the Stag, left Blair's Inn with tears of gratitude.

They say: Stag Stout is a medium-bodied traditional dry Irish stout at 4.2 % ABV. It is designed to appeal primarily to traditional stout drinks, who remember how creamy the pints used to be. The complex recipe we developed brings back to life characteristics that are long forgotten. However this stout is like no other, Stag Stout also happens to be gluten-free, the first of its kind anywhere in the world.

The combination of the medium body, low carbonation and low hop bitterness makes Stag Stout a dangerously drinkable stout that tastes every bit as gorgeous as it looks. The promise from 9 White Deer is that as you enjoy a pint of Stag Stout you will agree with them in their assertion that it is the “Smoothest Stout in Ireland”.  It certainly is a good one!

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Brewdog Black Heart Draught Stout, 4.1% ABV, 440 ml can Bradleys

As is their usual way, Brewdog demanded attention when they launched Black Heart Draught Stout. They would take on Guinness with this  “Classic stout, brewed in and for this century. Old dog, new tricks.”

Not too sure the old dog stands up to scrutiny (Brew Dog was founded as recently as 2007) and the “new trick” turns out to be the well-known nitrogen that they add to the Chocolate and extra dark crystal malts to give smooth layers of roasted, toasted coffee and cocoa, with a hint of caramel coming through. Besides, it is labelled as Draught Stout which it is obviously not.

It certainly looks the part, black as night with a creamy-looking off-white top that hangs around a bit. There is indeed the roasted coffee and coca and caramel coming through in the smoothness. But I feel that here, and in quite a few similar stouts, the nitrogen (listed on the label), while undoubtedly adding smoothness, shaves down some other characteristics. It is not quite as “Hoppy Bitter Malty” as they proclaim. I’d give it malty but the other two are very shy indeed.

They have identified Guinness and Dublin as the object of their attack. Perhaps Britain is short of good stouts but that is not the case here and there are quite a few excellent examples, especially in the south, like the Casey Brothers from Killarney Brewing, Tipperary’s Whitefield, Dungarvan Brewery, and a number in Cork like Elbow Lane, Mi Dazza, Lynch’s, West Cork’s Stout by Stout West and, especially, Stag. Brewdog do not seem to have a handle on the challenge here. Their Cork pub didn't last very long.

In fairness, Black Heart is a 21st-century decent effort. Then again all the beers we drink now are of the same century.

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Kildare Brewing Red Ale, 4% ABV, 440 ml can Bradleys

“The classic beer for the modern beer lover.” That’s the description of this red ale from Kildare Brewing, the first beer I've tasted from the Sallins micro-brewery.

Colour is a dark red with a soft off whiet head that sinks slowly. Aromas are malty and there’s a malty element too as it starts in the palate. Toffee and toast are also in the background along with fruity and flowery notes from the yeast and quite a streak of acidity too keeps it nicely balanced. A bit on the light side for a classic Irish Red but a good one, quite refreshing.

“Store cold, drink fresh and enjoy,” is what the brewery advises. I did and it is Highly Recommended.

Back in August, there were celebrations in Sallins when they won two National Bar Of The Year awards for the 'Best Visitors Attraction' and  'Best Craft Beer Bar' in Ireland.

“To say we are proud of our team is an understatement as these awards are testament to what we do day in and day out here at Kildare Brewing Co & Lock 13 Brewpub.

In particular we are honoured to have such a gentle giant leading our brewery tour experiences with @tadghcomerford_ & would recommend you book a brewery tour with us to see why it's an award-winning visitor attraction by visiting www.lock13.ie (every Sat & Sun).”

Good Food Ireland says the brewery’s Lock13 pub “serves up pub grub favourites made with local ingredients as well as a wonderful selection of craft beers made on-site by the Kildare Brewing Company”.

Must call there on my next visit to Kildare.

CorkBillyBeers #52. Craft with Whitefield, Lineman, Blacks, and Lomza

CorkBillyBeers #52

Recommended wines 2024

https://www.corkbilly.com/2023/12/happy-christmas-to-you-and-yours.html

Craft with Whitefield, Lineman, Blacks, and Lomza

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Whitefield Harvest Ale 5.8% ABV, 375 ml bottle Bradleys

Seasonal. Classic tastes to suit the seasons. Brewed in Tipperary.

“To celebrate each year’s harvest we brew a beer with a unique ingredient. This year we are using raspberries from Con Traas’s farm in Cahir in a blend of sour beer and weisss beer. The raspberries were added at the start of cold maceration to preserve their unique flavour.” 

Orange is the colour (opaque) here and the white head vanishes quickly. The longish cork is secured with the normal wire trap and takes some removing. Smell the beer and you get a sour whiff, no hint of the wheat beer as yet! No hint of the raspberries from the Apple Farm though I did detect a hint of crab apples. 

That refreshing sourness rushes through on the palate, a concentrated hit, some clove notes interspersed, that my palate welcomed,. Probably one of the rarest flavours I've ever tasted. But I'm not backing off. I'm ready for more, taking my time though, sipping small the more to enjoy the flavour and the refreshment.

Out on its own in more ways than one! Go for it. Very Highly Recommended.

Best before date is March 2025 (bought 10.10.23). Wonder if I got a few and kept them until ‘25! They could well be even better.

Whitefield is a small family-owned brewery dedicated to brewing authentic, traditional-style beers. “Our focus is on using the best available malt and hops from farmers and people we’ve actually met and visited. Beers are brewed using a traditional style German brewhouse, matured over many months and then we self-distribute all our beers to publicans and off licences we respect and trust. This we believe, allows us to provide you, the customer, with a genuinely authentic beer.” See our feature on the Tipperary brewer from earlier this year here. 

 

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Kilohertz or kilohops, KHZ is just buzzing, just the job for the Lineman himself.

Lineman KHZ IPA, 7% ABV, 440 ml can Bradleys

There’s this promise on the label: “With the bitterness to refresh and the fruitiness to satisfy your hop cravings..”

Lineman’s KHZ is back after a 2-year break, “one of our dankest and funkiest IPAs thanks to the lashings of Ekuanot and Azacca we give it.”

Colour is a light orange but a very hazy one whose white head holds on for a brief moment. Aromas tell of the dankness to come. And it comes in a power-packed rush, bitterness welling across the palate as a shoal of strong citrus flavours swirl about. The dry hopping has worked like a dream but this is no heavy metal performance. It is Booker T cool and smooth, knocking out a rhythm of fruity hop aromas. Jamming it up so you don't want it to end.

Very Highly Recommended. Kilohertz or kilohops, KHZ is just buzzing, just the job for the Lineman himself.

Geek Bits

BB: 15.08.24. Bought 25.09.23 

ABV: 6.9%

Hops: Azzaca, Ekuanot, Centennial, Citra

Suitable for vegans

Format: 440 ml can

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Blacks KPA Kinsale Pale Ale, 5.0% ABV, 500 ml bottle Dunnes Stores

Can’t blame folks for blowing their own trumpet! “Our world-famous KPA is all about perfect balance and amazing drinkability.” I have been drinking this since 2014 and would gladly help with that trumpet.

You know the story. This is an American-style Pale Ale bursting with Cascade and Citra Hops. Tropical and citrus flavours are beautifully balanced with malt sweetness. Loved the way the flavours spread over the palate from the first sip and that dry clean lingering finish. Indeed, linger is the word. Take your time sipping, the better to enjoy every single drop.

The Magic of Malt and Hops

The delicate balance between malt and hops is what makes this pale ale so special. Some brewers go too heavy on the malt, but this recipe allows the hops—a mix of Centennial, Cascade, and Citra—to shine through with their grapefruit, lime, and other citrus flavours. The malt still plays its part, giving the beer a delicious mouthfeel and a crisp clean finish.

This is how Blacks themselves put it: Blacks escape the mundane of the mass market, producing beers with passion, personality and lots of hops. American-style Pale Ale bursting with Cascade and Citra Hops. Tropical and citrus flavours are beautifully balanced with malt sweetness.

Very Highly Recommended

Geek Bits

Style: Top Fermented
IBU: 60
Hops: Centennial, Cascade, Citra
Best before: BB: 12.06.24 (purchased 05.10.23)
Pair: Burgers, Steaks, BBQ Meats
Released: 2013
Available: Draft, Bottle 500ml, Cans

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Lomza Lager 5.7% ABV, 500 ml bottle Dunnes Stores

Spotted this Polish lager on the shelf and thought, thanks to my long-standing European spirit, that I’d give it a twirl.

Their recipe consists of nothing more than three carefully selected ingredients: water, barley malt and hops. It is distinguished by being non-pasteurised.

It certainly looks (with its gold colour and white head and millions of bubbles) like a lager. Smells like one also with its malt qualities prominent. The flavour is excellent and the beer is refreshing, a simple well-made lager.

“At Łomża we believe that simplicity is a great thing. In an increasingly complex world, we offer clarity - just the highest quality ingredients with nothing to hide. The only complicated thing about Łomża is our name.”

The Łomża brewery is one of the last remaining independent big-capacity breweries in Poland. “The decisions we make directly affect us and our business. We don’t compromise on quality. We stay true to ourselves and our aim to produce good quality, honest beer.”

Expiry date is next January. I didn't take too much notice of the non-pasteurised note even though it is flagged very clearly on the label until I photographed the bottle for this post.  The cans and bottles of pasteurised beers are run through a hot water spray that’s around 140 degrees to kill any bacteria and stop any yeast still in the beer from growing. Unpasteurised don’t get that treatment.

CorkBillyBeers #45. Craft with ales, pils & stout from Rye River, Ballykilcavan, Yellowbelly and Bavik

CorkBillyBeers #45

Craft with ales, pils & stout from Rye River, Ballykilcavan, Yellowbelly and Bavik.

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Rye River Nocturne Export Stout, 6.0% ABV, 500 ml bottle Pettitt’s SV Athy

In the dark of the night.. a nocturne worthy of an encore.

Rye River's Nocturne Export Stout is a midnight-hued duet of espresso and dark chocolate, with a hint of smoke that lingers like a tremble on the nose. The flavours are equally intense, with rich intense roast caramel gently blanketing the palate and extending into a lengthy finish. This is a stout that demands to be savoured, and it's sure to leave you wanting more.

This is one nocturne worthy of an encore. Highly Recommended.

Geek Bits

Malts - Carafa Special 2, Chocolate Malt, Munich 2 Malt, Pale Malt, Special W, Smoke Malt. 

Hops - Columbus

They say:  We love beer, so when we started out it was our plan to make great tasting beer that people loved. We've grown a lot since then, taking on more brewers and beer lovers, experimenting, tasting, talking, trying, failing, trying again, and succeeding.

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Ballykilcavan Millhouse Session IPA, 3.5% ABV, 440 ml can Pettitt’s SV Athy

Ballykilcavan promotes this as a light, refreshing session ale - “our favourite barbeque beer! Low in alcohol, but double dry hopped for maximum flavour.”

Colour is a light orange, very hazy indeed with a small-bubbled white head. Aroma is a forward citrus. It is double hopped so the hoppy influence has the edge on the palate, light and crisp with refreshing citrus and a piney backbone.

Ingredients are Water, Malted Barley, Wheat, Oats, Hops, and Yeast. The Barley and Water are sourced from their own farm where the family has been since 1639. The hops used, all from the USA, are Citra, Amarillo and Mosaic. The brewery says that the organic oats from the neighbouring farm, The Merry Mill, contribute to the “lovely balance”.

It is available in cans and kegs with an IBU of 48. Highly Recommended.

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Yellowbelly Citra Pale Ale (APA), 4.8% ABV, 440 ml can Bradleys

I hadn’t come across a Yellowbelly beer in a long while until I recently picked this up in Bradley’s of Cork. They had a few cans of this popular pale ale in stock but that was it as regards Yellowbelly and it is also the only beer on the brewer’s website shop.

It has been “dry hopped to the gills with Citra” and it shows immediately both in the aromas and on the palate. The other hop used is Huell Melon and the malts are Pilsner, Munich, Wheat.

Brewed with the finest German and Belgian malts, fermented with a super clean American ale yeast, the resulting beer should be enjoyed as fresh as possible to appreciate the grapefruit and pine aroma and clean finish.

Hazy yellow is the colour here, and a white head (size and length depending on how you pour, probably best if on draught). The mix of ingredients here is really well-judged resulting in a really well-balanced beer where the Citra hop takes centre stage.

Not too surprised that this American Pale Ale from the southeast is still around. They regard it as a flagship beer. Citra Pale Ale can be enjoyed year-round on draught or in can from your favourite bars, restaurants and off-licences. It was voted Best Beer in Ireland  in the 2019 Beoir Awards

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Bavik Super Pils, 5.2%, 330 ml can Bradleys

Highlighting its World Beer Awards Belgium Gold at the top of the label, Bavik continues in like vein: “..only one Pilsner remains uncompromised, brewed for quality and consistency. No adjustments. Never pasteurized. Slowly Brewed. Cold Maturation. Crystal clear. It’s Bavic Super Pils or nothing!”

Looks good though in the glass, a bright light gold  (it has been filtered until clear) with a soft white head. The aromas are hoppy, modestly so, nothing overpowering. Once it hits the palate, you feel the softness and appreciate the crisp character. Full-bodied for sure and deeply refreshing as the delicate and refreshing taste of hop bitters embellishes the beer at the finalé.

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This little red can, a retro style of theirs, certainly delivers. One for your shortlist.

They say: “Bavik Super Pils obtains its unique taste and aroma from its exceptional brewing process. Our pilsner has not been diluted, we only use aroma hops, guarantee a long and cold maturation process, and pasteurization is out of the question. Those four elements result in this unique pilsner. Never compromise on taste! Moreover, we brew Bavik Super Pils in perfectly hygienic conditions, so pasteurisation is not an option. This way Bavik Super Pils keeps its unique light hoppy taste. Win win!”

Unsurprisingly, this pils continues to scoop awards. Brewers De Brabandere have stuck to its traditional recipe for five generations and, as always, time and quality prove the most important factors in producing a good beer.

CorkBillyBeers #43. Craft with Wicklow Wolf, Galway Hooker, St Bernardus and Community Brew Project

CorkBillyBeers #43

Craft with Wicklow Wolf, Galway Hooker, St Bernardus and Community Brew Project.

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Wicklow Wolf Eden Session IPA, 3.8% ABV, 440 ml can Bradleys

Deliciously juicy, easy-drinking dry-hopped ale

The colour is hazy orange with a soft white head. Aromas of resin and grapefruit. Citrus is also prominent in the juicy palate where there’s quite a tropical presence as well, and again there’s a hint of pine. Well-balanced though all through with the malts having their say and the freshness of the hops combining in a satisfactory finalé.

Deliciously juicy, this easy-drinking dry-hopped ale, carrying just 3.8% ABV,  is a banker for a session, another winner from the Wicklow Wolf.

Very Highly Recommended.

 

They introduced it in 2019, saying: “An easy drinking Session IPA brewed with a shed load of the freshest El Dorado, Sabro & Chinook hops….We are obsessed with hops. Deliciously juicy, Eden is dry-hopped to give an abundance of tropical and stone fruits with a hint of piney bitterness. The malt bill provides a creamy & well-rounded balance. Malts: Pale, Oats, Cara Blond, Cara Clair

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Galway Hooker Irish Pale Ale, 4.3% ABV, 500 ml bottle Centra Victoria Cross

Established in 2006, Galway Hooker produced the original Irish Pale Ale – now the most popular style of craft beer in the country.

And this bottle is indeed marked “the Original”. Colour is a mid-gold, a bit on the hazy side but that doesn't prevent you from seeing the bubbles rising up to the soft white head. Aromas are a mix of citrus and floral. It is crisp and zingy and the flavours are deep on the palate with both malts (Caramel) and hops (Cascade) getting an influential look-in. Quite a refreshing beer with a dry finish.

Perfect, they say, with barbecued meats, seafood and mature farmhouse cheeses. Very Highly Recommended.

Hooker tells us it is created in small batches to make the perfect balance of slowly developed malt and Hops flavours. “The result is a tangy flavour to savour with a light citrus aroma. It combines European and American hops with Irish malt to produce a truly unique blend of old world subtlety and new world taste.”

“Our ethos is to brew natural, full-flavoured, high quality and preservative-free beers. The results are beers that have received numerous awards, including Gold Medals at the Irish Food Awards and the World Beer Awards”.

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St Bernardus Wit, 5.0% ABV, 330 ml can Bradleys

St.Bernardus Wit is a traditional unfiltered Belgian wheat beer produced in Watou. It was developed in collaboration with Pierre Celis, the legendary master brewer who was the driver of the resurgence of white beer in the 1960s.

It has a pale orange colour, quite hazy with a dense white head. The aromatics are quite complex though clove stands out for me. There follows a masterclass in balance in the mouth. The herbal notes (coriander), the spice (clove), the fruit (orange, lemon), the sweet malt and the creamy texture (from the wheat) all combine marvellously well with a superb result.

It is a very refreshing beer but quite versatile at the table (which almost goes without saying when you have a Belgian beer at hand). 

St Bernardus are enthusiastic: “This incredibly versatile beer can be paired with almost any recipe from anywhere in the world. Its most outstanding role is perhaps that of a refreshing contrast when served with creamy dishes - a risotto for example - or in combination with shellfish and white fish. Do you serve a slice of lemon with your fish? You can echo that or a lemon sauce or dressing with this beer with its strong hints of citrus.”

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Community Brew Project Fragments Red IPA, 6.5% ABV, 440 ml can Bradleys

How does the Brew Project* work?

“It's pretty simple... It's up to you to tell us what you'd like to see brewed by each of the breweries! We'll narrow the ideas down to a shortlist, and then vote. The beers with the most votes get brewed. We have four brilliant breweries taking part in the project: Ballykilcavan, Dead Centre, Hope and Dot Brew.”

This Red IPA is brewed by Hope. And, yes, it is reddish, pretty murky, with a cream head that slowly sinks. Hops used (“liberally”) are Citra and Amarillo and you do get a bit of citrus fruit in both aromas and flavours.  Not a great balance though and we parted ways before the end.

* More details of the project on the Craic Beer Community platform here.