Everyone’s a winner at the Curry Night for Hope in The Grainstore

 Everyone’s a winner at the Curry Night for Hope in The Grainstore

All ready! The calm before the curry.

A couple of weeks back, I spotted a notice on social media about a Curry Night in the Grainstore at Ballymaloe. This could be different, I thought, and read on. A couple of things confirmed my first thoughts and hooked me in. One was that it was a fundraiser for Hope and the other was that Green Saffron’s Arun Kapil, the spice expert, was involved in the curry. Hard to resist the combination of a good cause and a good curry. Win win, I said, and booked my tickets.

Mol an oige! While she didn’t quite use that phrase, Hope’s Honorary Director Maureen Forrest (who set up the organisation in 1999), used it as a theme and praised the many young people who have helped Hope over the years. 

Hot in the kitchen. Arun's selfie
with Aoibheann and Liam in background.

Two of the current students, Aoibheann and Liam, had led this Curry Night Fundraiser and, with help, especially from Arun and Olive, put on quite an evening including cocktails and mocktails, the curry, dessert and lots of raffles sponsored by local businesses such as Frank Hederman, Cully & Sully, Green Saffron, Supervalu, Sage,  and others including Ballymaloe itself. I didn’t win any of the prizes but I still consider myself a winner such was the feel good factor.

Just to give you a taste after the event, here’s the menu:

Jolly Jaipur Cocktail or Mocktail with Smoked Salmon (marinated in Panch Phoran, Lime Juice and soft herbs) and Gol Gappas (chickpea, potato and tomato chaat). This was served upstairs, quite a “noisy” upstairs as the 100 plus diners gathered.

Curry, Dahl and Naan

Soon we all trooped downstairs, quite eagerly, to our tables. Orderly queues were organised as the main dish was served buffet style. And that was Chicken Korma, Red Lentil Dahl, Roast Cauliflower and potatoes in spices with rice, Raita and the best ever Naan! An excellent plateful.

Raffles were held during the interval and we finished with dessert at the table, another lovely dish of Mango Kulfi (ice-cream!), Garam Palmiers with rose and pistachio sprinkles. 

Students Liam and Aoibheann, well supported here by a generous East Cork community (acknowledged by Maureen Forrest) have been given the opportunity to raise funds for the Hope Foundation and travel to Kolkata, India, to visit the homes and hospital that Hope have set up in order to protect and educate children in poverty.

Since 2003, HOPE have been working with schools across Ireland through Development Education. “Engaging with students is one of the best ways to raise awareness of the work we do with street and slum children in Kolkata. Development Education is driven by the strong belief of ‘students helping students’, whereby learning and understanding the reality of poverty inspires young people to take action for change. We consider all students from primary, secondary and third levels who are involved with our work to be Ambassadors for HOPE; reaching out to young people far less fortunate and taking real steps to a better, more fair world.”

For more info contact HOPE’s Schools Coordinator – schools@hopefoundation.ie.

Cork Bars Score Well In National Awards as Blue Haven (double gold), Shelbourne, Franciscan Well, Bodega, Cask, Montenotte, bring home medals!

Cork Bars Score Well In National Awards

Shelbourne smiles.

as Blue Haven (double gold), Shelbourne, Franciscan Well, Bodega, Cask, Montenotte, bring home medals!

Dublin's Bar 1661 was named the Bar of the Year winner as a string of Cork bars did well in this week's Irish Bar of the Year Awards 

The winners of all categories were revealed at a gala awards ceremony on 22nd August in the Clayton Hotel Burlington Road, Dublin, hosted by Alan Shortt, where many more winners were recognised and celebrated on the night. Those looking to sample today’s on trend cocktails should look no further than The Tack Room at Adare Manor Co.Limerick which took home Cocktail Bar of the Year (sponsored by Beam Suntory) while those looking for a Late Bar / Nightclub Of the Year (Sponsored By Southern Comfort) can head to R.I.O.T Bar in Dublin.. For anyone looking for the perfect place to enjoy a glass of wine you can head to Piglet Wine Bar in Dublin who took home the award for Wine Bar of the Year.

Blue Haven heading home with a hatful of medals!

The pressure wasn’t just on the judging panel, each shortlisted property was put forward for The Dingle Gin People’s Choice Award, which was voted for by the public. As the nation voted for their favourite pubs by province, The Dingle Gin People’s Choice Awards Saw Cafe En Seine in Dublin and Judge Roy Beans tops in Leinster. Dolans Limerick took both the regional and the overall title in Munster with An Pucan being awarded for Connacht/Ulster.

The Bar of the Year Awards and Licensing World were delighted to present the Tasting Village which showcased a variety of new and well established drinks, our guests enjoyed the opportunity to taste an array of local Irish and international brands.

2022 Winners Revealed

5 Star Hotel Bar of the Year Gold Winner - Prince of Wales Cocktail Bar at Ashford Castle Hotel Co.Mayo Silver Winner - Park Hotel Kenmare, Co.Kerry Bronze Winner -The Garden Bar,Killarney,Co.Kerry Sponsored by Schweppes Bar Food of the Year Gold Winner - The Blue Haven,Kinsale, Co.Cork Silver Winner - The Black Forge Inn, Dublin Bronze Winner - Blake's Corner Bar,Galway Best Bar to Watch the Match Gold Winner - The Stores at 33 South Main, Naas, Co.Kildare Silver Winner - Hamlets Bar, Kinsale, Co.Cork Bronze Winner - Buskers On The ball, Dublin Sponsored by Sky Bar Manager of the Year Jim Gordon, Revolution Craft Beer & Whiskey Bar, Waterford Best Designed Bar / Inside Space Gold Winner - McKendry's Bar at Galgorm Spa & Golf Resort, Co.Antrim Silver Winner-The Snug Skerries, Dublin Bronze Winner -The Stores at 33 South Main, Naas, Co.Kildare Sponsored by Malfy Best Live Entertainment Gold Winner - The Quays Bar and Music Hall,Galway Silver Winner- Dolans Limerick,Limerick Bronze Winner - J.M Reidy's, Killarney, Co.Kerry Best Newcomer Gold Winner - The Black Forge Inn, Dublin Silver Winner- Lennan’s Yard, Dublin Bronze Winner - Jackies, Dublin Sponsored by Istil 38 City Bar of the Year Gold Winner - 101 Limerick, Limerick Silver Winner- Left Bank, Kilkenny Bronze Winner - Old Town Whiskey Bar at Bodega, Cork Cocktail Bar of the Year Gold Winner - The Tack Room at Adare Manor, Limerick Silver Winner- Cask ,Cork Bronze Winner - BAR 1661, Dublin Sponsored by Beam Suntory Craft Bar of the Year Gold Winner - Franciscan Well Bar & Brewery, Cork Silver Winner- Lock 13 Brewpub, Kildare Craft Bar of the Year Bronze Winner - Mother Macs Public House, Limerick Sponsored by Hotel & Catering Review Dingle Distillery Whiskey Bar of the Year Gold Winner - The Shelbourne Bar, Cork Silver Winner- Revolution Craft Beer & Whiskey Bar, Waterford Bronze Winner - Park Hotel Kenmare, Kerry Sponsored by Dingle Distillery Dog Friendly Bar of the Year Gold Winner - Peadars Bar Moate, Westmeath Silver Winner- Street 66, Dublin Bronze Winner - Anti Social, Dublin Gastro Bar of the Year Gold Winner - JP Clarke's, Co.Clare Silver Winner- Hamlets Street Food & Gastro Garden, Kinsale,Co.Cork Bronze Winner - Oasis Bar & Restaurant, Donegal Gin Bar of the Year Gold Winner - Gin Library at Galgorm Spa & Golf Resort, Antrim Silver Winner- Andy’s Bar, Monaghan Bronze Winner - Hyde Bar Galway, Galway Hotel Bar of the Year Gold Winner - The Blue Haven, Cork Silver Winner- McKendry's Bar at Galgorm Spa & Golf Resort, Antrim Bronze Winner - Harvey's Bar & Terrace, Donegal Sponsored by The London Essence Co. Innovative Bar of the Year Gold Winner - BAR 1661, Dublin Innovative Bar of the Year Silver Winner- Rare 1784, Cork Innovative Bar of the Year Bronze Winner - Andy’s Bar, Monaghan Sponsored by Moutai Ireland Late Bar / Nightclub of the Year Gold Winner - R.I.O.T Bar, Dublin Silver Winner - The Front Door Pub, Galway Bronze Winner - Left Bank, Kilkenny Sponsored by Southern Comfort Local Bar of the Year Gold Winner - Brady's of Shankill, Dublin Silver Winner- An Poitin Stil, Dublin Bronze Winner -Tom Sheridan's Bar & Restaurant Galway, Galway Outside Space of the Year Gold Winner - Fitzgeralds Woodlands House Hotel, Limerick Silver Winner- Panorama Bistro & Terrace, Cork Bronze Winner - Lennan’s Yard, Dublin Outstanding Customer Service Award Gold Winner - The Black Forge Inn, Dublin Silver Winner- Vintage Cocktail Club, Dublin Bronze Winner - The Shelbourne Bar, Cork Restaurant Bar of the Year Gold Winner - Silken Thomas, Kildare Silver Winner- Railway Tavern, Donegal Bronze Winner - Annie Mays, Dublin Staff Personality of the Year Winner Liam Flynn, The Black Forge Inn, Dublin Sponsored by Paddy Whiskey Tourist Bar of the Year Gold Winner - Durty Nellys Bar and Restaurant, Co.Clare Silver Winner- Searsons of Baggot Street, Dublin Bronze Winner - The Locke Bar, Limerick Traditional Bar of the Year Gold Winner - Mother Macs Public House, Limerick Silver Winner- The Stags Head, Dublin Bronze Winner - John Kehoes, Dublin Sponsored by Mad March Hare Visitor Attraction of the Year Gold Winner - The Power House Bar at Roe & Co Distillery, Dublin Silver Winner- Franciscan Well Bar & Brewery, Cork Bronze Winner - Stillgarden Distillery, Dublin Sponsored by Excel Recruitment Wine Bar of the Year Gold Winner - Piglet Wine Bar, Dublin Silver Winner- Vikkis Cafe & Wine Bar, Cork Bronze Winner - House Limerick, Limerick Bar of the Year Winner BAR 1661 , Dublin Sponsored by Licensing World

Beer of the Year. My favourites so far.

Beer of the Year 2022

Rye River

My nine favourites to date.

Wicklow Wolf are having a great year, at least in my neck (of the woods). As you can see below, they feature at the top in four of the nine months so far (December '21 is counted). Whiplash have two number ones.  And that points up the fact that the more productive breweries are more likely to get the nod than those who have a great core range but who, for whatever reason (and I'm sure they have good ones), don't go in as much for seasonals and specials. I'll have started to try and balance that! Any ideas? Anyone! 

Confirmed to date

August:12 Acres Pale Ale

July: Wicklow Wolf Locavore Summer 2022 Foraged Elderflower Saison

June: Wicklow Wolf Mescan Wit or Without You Belgian Wit

May: Wicklow Wolf Locavore Spring 2022 Barrel Aged Farmhouse Ale

April: Whiplash True Love Waits Dry Hopped Pils

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

Best of August Short List

Pale Ale: 12 Acres Pale Ale

Aged Stout: Porterhouse Slvr Skin Barrel Aged Coffee Stout 13% ABV. 

Brown Ale: Lineman Big Calm 

Single Hop IPA: 8 Degrees Citra 

Oatmeal IPA: Galway Bay Goodbye Blue Monday

Kolsch: Rye River (collab.with Old Street) Die Hundstage Köter Kölsch

Belgian Stout: Wide Street Monksland 

Hopfenweisse: Wicklow Wolf Jeff Bezos

Cider: Cockagee Irish Keeved Cider 5% Simply outstanding

Pints in Bars:

The Maritime, Bantry: 9 White Deer Kölsch

The Lake, Killarney: Ale and Lager by Killarney Brewing Co.

Merry’s, Dungarvan: Wicklow Wolf Ale

The Shelbourne, Cork: Beamish

The Cotton Ball, Cork: Lynch’s Stout, Indian Summer

Mellet’s Emporium, Swinford: Reel Deel Jack the Lad, Mescan Seven Virtues Lager.

Keenan’s, Tarmonbarry, Co. Roscommon: White Hag Little Fawn; Kinnegar’s Scraggy Bay

Finín’s Midleton: Black’s KPA

Franciscan Well: Original 7 Weisse

Elbow Lane: Angel Stout

.

IRELAND’S ‘BEST BANANA’ RECIPE REVEALED

Aoife Flood

 IRELAND’S ‘BEST BANANA’ RECIPE REVEALED

 

Rathangan student overall winner in nationwide search to find best banana recipe

 

12-year old Aoife Flood, from Rathangan, has Ireland’s best banana recipe, having been chosen the overall winner in the recent nationwide search by banana importer Fyffes to find Ireland’s most imaginative meal-makers.

 

Leading the search, once again, was well-known television cook, Donal Skehan, whose previous collaborations with Fyffes led to the discovery of Ireland’s most creative banana bread bakers and banana dessert makers.

 

This year, Skehan broadened his search to find the most delicious dish, from first to final course, savoury or sweet, in which a banana is the key ingredient. Describing the quest, Skehan called it “a challenge to mums, dads and the younger generation to create an appetising recipe that will demonstrate the versatility of bananas as an ingredient, whether in meals that are cooked, baked, boiled, blended and everything in between.”

 

Youngest of three girls, Aoife is beginning secondary school at Ardscoil Rath Iomgháin. Having first developed her passion for baking at the start of the pandemic, she has now reached the stage where she is baking cakes to order.

 

In creating her prize-winning ‘banoffee cupcakes’, Aoife combined a delicious mixture of caramel drizzle and fresh bananas, topped off with chocolate flakes.

 

Congratulating Aoife on her success which she says ‘demonstrates the obvious dedication and enthusiasm she puts into her culinary creations’, Fyffes head of marketing, Emma Hunt-Duffy went on the praise all those who entered the competition, adding “it was particularly pleasing to see the incredible levels of skill and creativity amongst those who took part, not least the younger, next generation of home baking enthusiasts”.

 

Other category winners in the competition are: 10-year old Savanna Pascoe, from Rathnew (Best Junior Baker under 12 years); 14-year old Rachel Hanley from Lanesborough (Best Junior Baker aged 13 – 17); Cynthia Wong from Monasterevin (Best Breakfast); 14-year old Elliott Stokes from Caherconlish (Best Savoury); Kiera Stewart from Dripsey (Best Dessert); Harini Sonpal from Churchtown (Best Non Bake) and Alline Isense Dalpiaz from Cahersiveen (Best Vegan).

 

Further details of each category winner and their winning recipes can be viewed on www.facebook.com/FyffesIreland/

press release

 

Powers on the Double. One old, the other relatively new. Each a winner.

Powers on the Double. One old, the other relatively new. Each a winner.

Powers Gold Label Whiskey 40%

Not too sure when this Powers Gold Label, with the Three Swallows on the neck, was bottled. I recently “rescued” it from a small stash in a cool shed and, while the labels have a few bits missing, the liquid itself is fine. It is full-bodied and has the sweet spicy honeyed flavours. Spice, sweetness and oak and the malt of course all combine to make this whiskey a real pleasure.

The back label encourages you to enjoy it neat, with water or with your favourite mixer. “Power’s fuller flavour makes it ideal for Irish Coffee or Hot Whiskey.”

The front label tells us it has distinctive pot still character; was triple distilled, and matured in oak casks.

Back in 1791…the Power family founded their distillery in John’s Lane and so began the history of Ireland’s biggest selling whiskey.

Powers was one of the first distilleries in the world to bottle its own whiskey. Quality was always to the fore and it was because of concerns that the “brand” was being damaged that led to the founder’s grandson deciding to bottle their own, rather than have it bottled exclusively by middlemen or publicans. And this was where the gold label started; it indicated that the whiskey inside was bottled by the distillery.

That, by the way, was in 1866, about 100 years before Jameson bottled. Powers were always innovative and their release of the miniature bottle, the “Baby Powers”, was a world first. Indeed, if I’m not mistaken, there is a collection of Baby Powers in the distillery on Midleton.

Powers '3 Swallow' Release 40% ABV

Colour has more gold than its older cousin. Honey, spice, citrus and some toast from the oak feature in the aromas. On the palate, bananas and exotic fruit flavours, along with spices, all figure in this smooth and easy-drinking whiskey. The spice continues all the way through to the smooth finish.

This release is regarded as a “value for money buy” in the single pot-still range. Aged predominantly in ex-Bourbon casks with a small amount in ex-Oloroso sherry barrels.

Powers themselves say Three Swallow Release is a modern expression of what the original Powers Whiskey tasted like "back in the days of our John’s Lane distillery. This quintessential style of whiskey, Single Pot Still is exclusive to Ireland, and is made from a mash of malted and unmalted barley, then triple distilled in traditional copper pot stills”.

So which is the best? This release, the modern expression, is undoubtedly the smoother of the two but, for me, the older bottle has that bit more character and gets the verdict, on points! To be honest, I wouldn't say no to either.

It is widely available and priced in the mid 40s. I didn’t buy a bottle but, as a member of their Hip Flask Club, I got mine filled with close to 180mls (6 ozs) at Bradley’s, North Main St, Cork.

CLISTE HOSPITALITY REOPENS THE VIADUCT INN, NOW A BRAND-NEW DINING DESTINATION – THE VIADUCT, CAFÉ, MARKET & RESTAURANT – ON SEPTEMBER 12TH

press release 

CLISTE HOSPITALITY REOPENS THE VIADUCT INN, NOW A BRAND-NEW DINING DESTINATION – THE VIADUCT, CAFÉ, MARKET & RESTAURANT – ON SEPTEMBER 12^TH

Cliste Hospitality are delighted to announce that their recent purchase, The Viaduct Inn, the well-known pub and restaurant on the Old Bandon Road, will reopen on September 12th as The Viaduct Café, Market and Restaurant, an exciting new food destination.

 

Creating 40 new jobs and currently recruiting for Chefs, Baristas, Supervisors and Serving team, The Viaduct is led for Cliste Hospitality by a husband-and-wife team — Executive Chef, Keith Colgan and General Manager, Gillian Colgan.

Just outside Bishopstown on the N71 main road to West Cork, The Viaduct is a substantial premises with views of the famous landmark after which it is named — the Chetwynd Viaduct, the Victorian railway viaduct that carried trains on its single line from Cork to West Cork until 1961.

“We are looking forward to welcoming our first guests through the doors of the new look Viaduct,” says Paul Fitzgerald, CEO of Cliste Hospitality. “An impressive property in an unbeatable location, a portal at the edge of Cork city along the main route to West Cork, Cliste Hospitality have invested a considerable sum in a complete redesign and refurbishment." 

"Our new dining destination The Viaduct Café, Market and Restaurant has a 30-seat café serving an all-day menu along with brunch specials, a restaurant seating 120 where diners can enjoy a lunchtime roast or choose from the à la carte menu in the evening, private dining space for 60, and a spacious outdoor BBQ and pergola area for a further 50, as well as a retail food and drink hall full of artisan products from East to West Cork with an emphasis on great local and Irish produce and menus changing seasonally that will become a must-visit both for the local Bishopstown and wider Cork population and also for commuters and visitors to West Cork.”

The Viaduct is run on behalf of Cliste Hospitality by Dublin-born Executive Chef Keith Colgan, and his wife and General Manager Gillian from Dungarvan, who met in culinary college in Killarney in 1995 and have worked together in a variety of different companies over the years. They join Cliste Hospitality and The Viaduct from Australia’s largest hotel group, The ALH Group, where they worked for five years. 

 

With offices in Cork and Dublin, Cliste Hospitality is one of the largest operators of hotels in the Republic of Ireland, with the talent at Cliste Hospitality made up of some the best-known names in the industry, all hospitality specialists with impressive track records.

 

“Our training and career development options at Cliste Hospitality and our exceptional HR infrastructure guarantee every staff member ongoing opportunity to progress and grow in the wider organisation,” says Paul Fitzgerald, CEO of Cliste Hospitality. “The Viaduct will be a great springboard for new hospitality professionals, and we are keen to hear from and meet interested candidates regarding the opportunity to join our young and growing community.” 

 

The Viaduct Café will open daily from 7am to 5pm, with the retail Viaduct Market open from 7am to 7pm and the Viaduct Restaurant from 5pm with last orders at 9pm.

 

For more information visit www.theviaduct.ie

 

DRIPSEY MUM IS IRELAND’S ‘BEST DESSERT’ CATEGORY WINNER IN SEARCH TO FIND NATION’S BEST BANANA RECIPES

DRIPSEY MUM IS IRELAND’S ‘BEST DESSERT’ CATEGORY WINNER IN SEARCH TO FIND NATION'S BEST BANANA RECIPES

 

Kiera Stewart, from Dripsey, has been chosen a top winner in the recent nationwide search by banana importer Fyffes to find Ireland’s most imaginative meal-makers.

 

In topping the ‘best dessert’ category, Kiera fought off stiff competition from the large volume of competitors who responded to the invitation fronted by well-known television cook, Donal Skehan – whose previous collaborations with Fyffes led to the discovery of Ireland’s most creative banana bread bakers and banana dessert makers.

 

This year, Skehan broadened his search to find the most delicious dish, from first to final course, savoury or sweet, in which a banana is the key ingredient. Describing the quest, Skehan called it “a challenge to mums, dads and the younger generation to create an appetising recipe that will demonstrate the versatility of bananas as an ingredient, whether in meals that are cooked, baked, boiled, blended and everything in between.”

 

Recently a mother for the first time, Kiera has developed her passion for baking by setting up her own home baking business from which she supplies local coffee shops with a full range of tasty delights.

 

In creating her prize-winning ‘banana cinnamon bundt cake’, Kiera packed her recipe with walnuts and finished it with a delicious cream cheese topping.

 

Congratulating Kiera on her success which she says ‘demonstrates the obvious dedication and enthusiasm she puts into her culinary creations’, Fyffes head of marketing, Emma Hunt-Duffy went on the praise all those who entered the competition, adding “it was particularly pleasing to see the incredible levels of skill and creativity amongst those who took part, not least the younger, next generation of home baking enthusiasts”.

 

Other category winners in the competition are: 10-year old Savanna Pascoe, from Rathnew (Best Junior Baker under 12 years); 14-year old Rachel Hanley from Lanesborough (Best Junior Baker aged 13 – 17); Cynthia Wong from Monasterevin (Best Breakfast); 14-year old Elliott Stokes from Caherconlish (Best Savoury); Harini Sonpal from Churchtown (Best Non Bake); Alline Isense Dalpiaz from Cahersiveen (Best Vegan) and 12-year old Aoife Flood, from Rathangan, (Overall Winner).

 

Further details of each category winner and their winning recipes can be viewed on www.facebook.com/FyffesIreland/

 

Press release

A Quart of Ale± #120. On the craft journey with Lineman, Wide Street and a Treaty City double.

 A Quart of Ale± #120

On the craft journey with Lineman, Wide Street and a Treaty City double

*********

Lineman Big Calm Brown Ale 6.0%, 440ml can Yards & Crafts

 

“Big Calm is our kind of brown ale,” declared Lineman when they launched the beer late last year. "…We wanted to brew a brown ale that showcased the flavours of chocolate and caramel malts at their best.”

Did they succeed? Let us check. Colour is brown, a dark one with a short-lived tan head. The aroma box may also be ticked: rich coffee, caramel too. 

And that same combo appears in Act 3, filling the stage of the palate with superb flavours. Some of these chocolate/caramel/coffee beers can be over-sweet. No danger of that here because of a streak of tartness that helps provides an excellent balance plus a lip-smacking finish. 

Suitable for vegans, they declare. Suitable for brown ale lovers, I reckon. All boxes checked then.

Wide Street Monksland Belgian Stout 5.2% ABV, 440 ml can Bradleys

This Belgian style stout from Wide Street pours black and tan (head), just like a stout should. The head doesn’t hang about but that shouldn’t really matter, its lack of staying power more a cosmetic issue rather than an indication of a lack of quality.

There’s a chocolate element to the fore in the aromatics. And you also meet it, with a sweet fruity touch (figs, raisin), on the palate; here you’ll come across a streak of acidity and there’s also a strong presence of roasted malt. 

A stout with a difference and one worth considering for your shortlist. For all that, there are quite few really excellent Irish stouts and, overall, I’m as strongly inclined as ever, to favour the home variety but fair dues to Wide Street for offering this interesting alternative that is well worth a try.

This is unfiltered, unpasteurised and can-conditioned and may  contain yeast sediment. Refrigerate, store upright and pour carefully. Primary fermented with a Trappist ale yeast for an alternative fermentation take on a stout containing no less than five different Belgian malts.

Treaty City Outcast Juicy IPA, 3.8%, 440ml can O’Brien’s Douglas

A cloudy session beer bursting with fruity notes. The massive hop additions during every stage..give rise to tropical fruit flavours and a citrusy aroma. That’s was the build-up from Treaty City, the brewers of this Limerick IPA.

Colour is a very pale orange, a hazy one. It has a “massive” all-American hop line-up of Idaho 7, El Dorado, and Columbus (also known as CTZ), so expect pine, tropical (pineapple), citrus, and a refreshing pungency in the mouth. That is more or less what you get with quite a bit of fruit on the palate before a dry finish. And that US hop trio certainly lend it a hefty hit, no doubting its hoppy credentials in either aromas or flavour. Overall, it is more than a satisfactory session beer.

Malts, put somewhat in the shade by the hops, are: Pale Ale, Munich, Oats, Wheat

Treaty City, the brew/pub is close to King John’s Castle, say: Treaty City Brewery started in a small two bedroomed apartment in East Vancouver, Canada. After a long night of general debauchery, plenty of merriment and many bottles of bland tasteless beer, we decided enough was enough. Something had to be done. Life was too short to drink bad beer. The next morning, while nursing a spectacular hangover we headed for the local homebrew store and purchased our very first brewing equipment….. 

Soon they were brewing at home and not too long after that they found the real home was calling and, back in the Treaty City, they carried on brewing!

Treaty City Harris Pale Ale, 5.0%, 440ml can O’Brien’s Douglas

Named after Limerick’s most famous film-star, this Pale Ale has a lovely golden amber colour with a soft white head. Aromas are mostly citrus, some floral notes and a modest touch of pine. And it proves itself hop-forward and impressively well-balanced on the palate and beyond. Again the citrus (grapefruit) features strongly in the mouth and so too does the malt. And the combination also provides a very satisfactory finish indeed.

Wrote that paragraph about a year ago when I tasted it first. And I see no reason to alter it after tasting it again. 

The Harris Pale Ale (suitable for vegans by the way) is one of the brewery’s first and is named after Richard Harris, swashbuckling on and off the screen and a man who appreciated a good drink. He performed in a huge variety of films over a number of decades including The Guns of Navarone (1961), The Field (1990) and Gladiator (2000).

The label tells us that the malts used are Pale Ale, Caramunich, Carapils. “A generous helping of Cascade hops gives this tawny colored ale a citrus/floral aroma and a grapefruit flavour with a hint of resin. A blend of the finest Pale and Caramel malts gives a complex malt character while keeping the hops in the forefront.”