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All Night Long Session Pale Ale

DSCF6622All Night Long Session Pale Ale

It mightn’t please the hard core craft beer drinkers, and I’m not sure about Lionel Ritchie fans either, but I can see this going down very nicely over the coming month, maybe longer if the Irish team qualify for the final stages of Euro16. Kicking in at 4.2%, this is a very tasty light refreshing beer with a pleasing hoppiness, although not too bitter and a nice fruitiness.As a session beer, it works very well. I like the retro (1990’s?) design too. This is available exclusively from Mulloys Liquor Stores and the result of a collaboration with Rascal Brewing. €2.75 for a 330ml can or 5 for €10.

Posted in: Beer, Beer & Whiskey

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No Joe Porter, O Brother Brewing, Wicklow.

<strong>No Joe Porter, O Brother Brewing, Wicklow.</strong>

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No Joe Porter, O Brother Brewing, Wicklow.

6.7%

First there was Joe. Joe Coffee was a single batch porter that didn’t hold back on the coffee content. Unlike some of their rivals you could really taste the coffee. Great if you like espresso, but not if you drink latté. No Joe is the same beer but without the coffee. ‘It was conceived as a coffee porter,’ says Barry O’Neill of O Brother; ‘local roaster Coffee Mojo ground and brewed 68 litres of fresh coffee on site, which was added to the porter. We were tasting the beer all the way along and thinking this is realty nice even without the coffee. So this time, we did it without. It’s the one I bring home in the winter, ‘admits Barry, ‘there is something warming about it. It is all sold now (all of their releases tend to be presold), but there is still plenty in the shops.’

As for O Brother, Barry says they are thriving; ‘We are out the door doing emergency bottling runs this week, trying to keep up with everything, the draft and bottles at the same time. We are going one and a quarter years, but it still feels like we are finding our feet; it will probably always be that way.’ For a porter No Joe still has plenty of body and alcohol (6.7%), with vanilla, chocolate and toasted malt with an attractive subtle bitter touch.

Posted in: Beer & Whiskey, Irish Times

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Galway Hooker Sixty Knots India Pale Ale

<strong> Galway Hooker Sixty Knots India Pale Ale</strong>

First published in the Irish Times online, Wednesday 23rd March, 2016
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Galway Hooker Sixty Knots India Pale Ale
6.5%

Galway Hooker was one of the first craft brewers in the country, set up in 2006 by cousins Ronan Brennan and Aidan Murphy. Murphy is very happy with the boom in new craft brewers. ‘It’s a funny kind of thing; the competition elevates the whole craft beer market so it is mostly positive. The more beers, the more momentum we all seem to get.’ Originally set up in Roscommon, they moved to a bigger new brewery in Oranmore two years ago. ‘It is certainly a lot more comfortable’ says Aidan.

Sixty Knots was launched about a year ago, and is now a permanent fixture, alongside the original Irish Pale Ale, Stout and Amber Ale. ‘Basically we were trying to produce a traditional India Pale Ale with high alcohol content and a high level of bitterness (it has 60 ibu). It is a little bit different from other Irish IPAs in that it has a combination of the punchy citrus of American hops combined with the earthy spiciness of European hops’. Sixty Knots certainly has a lively bitterness, but it is very nicely underpinned by pine resin and a broad maltiness.

Posted in: Beer & Whiskey, Irish Times

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Beer of the Week; Children of the Revolution

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First published in the Irish Times, Wednesday 16th March, 2016

Children of the Revolution India Pale Ale, Wicklow Wolf

The Craft Brewers of Ireland love an excuse to come up with a seasonal brew, preferably with a pun or two in the name. A combination of St. Patrick’s Day and the 1916 celebrations has provided plenty of scope.

Children of the Revolution ‘salutes the bravery and vision of our countrymen and countrywomen who made possible the Ireland we live in today’. I am not sure they had today’s Ireland in mind back in 1916, but the politicians had better watch out – as Marc Bolan sang in 1972 ‘you won’t fool the children of the revolution’. This is a medium-bodied (5.7%) pale ale with a really enticing aroma and flavour of mandarin orange alongside a nice citrus bite and a smooth hoppy finish. Nice beer. ‘We were lucky enough to get a smallish amount of Amarillo hops, so we thought ‘let’s do something special, lets dump it all in to the IPA,’ says Quincey Fennelly of Wicklow Wolf.

Apparently someone took offence to the name of the beer, arguing it encouraged underage drinking. After an appearance on Joe Duffy, it went viral online. Quincey Fennelly says his phone hasn’t stopped ringing since. ‘We are all our mother’s children whatever age we are. I don’t think the name would persuade teenagers to pay €4 for a bottle instead of several cans of cheap larger.’ As the label says, the bitterness ends here!

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World’s End Chocolate Vanilla Imperial Stout, Blacks of Kinsale

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First published in the online Irish Times, Wednesday 9th March, 2016

World’s End Chocolate Vanilla Imperial Stout, Blacks of Kinsale

8.5%

Sam and Maud Black have been brewing since 2013, making them old hands as far as Irish craft brewing is concerned. We have been here before; Imperial Stout is not a session beer unless you want a very heavy session. It is typically 8-12% in volume with fairly full-on flavours of roasted malt, dark chocolate and sometimes loads of hops too.

Last December saw the first release of World’s End, but it will feature every year from now on. Sam Black recommends keeping a bottle of the 2015 for a year to try against the 2016. That may not be easy, as stocks have depleted rapidly; a few shops still have it though.

“Every craft brewer should have a good imperial stout”, says Black. “We made the Model T before, and this time we took it a step further”. World’s End is made using Fairtrade cacao husks and Madagascar vanilla pods. “It is very unusual to get the cacao husks; normally it is chocolate nibs or plain chocolate. We got ours from bean to bar producer Clonakilty Chocolate. It has only ever been done once before as far as I can see, but we gave it a go and it worked very well. To be honest it was a shot in the dark as to whether it would give any flavour, but it came out great. The vanilla rounds it out and sweetens the flavour slightly giving the perception of chocolate”

World’s End is full bodied and powerful with masses of roasted coffee and dark chocolate flavour. The vanilla does stop it getting too severe; think 85% dark chocolate. This is great beer, one to sip and savour slowly on a cold evening.

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Duxie Grapefruit Tea Pale Ale, Jack Cody’s Brewery

<strong>Duxie Grapefruit Tea Pale Ale, Jack Cody’s Brewery

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Geoff FitzPatrick of Jack Cody’s

Duxie Grapefruit Tea Pale Ale, Jack Cody’s Brewery
5%

First published in the online Irish Times on 24th February, 2016

Yes, you read it correctly. A beer that lists pink grapefruit , lime and earl grey tea as ingredients alongside the usual barley, hops, yeast and water. The label says drink in the sunshine, something that is currently in short supply, or with salads, smoked mackerel or Thai red curry. I had none of these to hand, but gave it a go anyway. It has aromas of candy and orange peel, and a light, refreshing, lightly bitter palate of fruit and candy again and some grapefruit. It also has the slight yet definite soapy perfume and flavour of earl grey tea. I liked it but could see how others wouldn’t.

Set up in Drogheda by Geoff FitzPatrick, Jack Cody’s has been going since the summer of 2014, making a good name for itself with Smiggy Amber Ale and Puck Pilsner. The brewery also has Hail Glorious Saint Patrick Extra Stout out for the coming national day.

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Stone Barrel Oatmeal & Coffee Stout

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The Rotation Series Episode 4 Oatmeal & Coffee Stout
Stone Barrel Brewing Company

6%
First published in the online Irish Times Wednesday 17th February, 2016

What do bankers do when they tire of taking our money? Make beer if Stone Barrel is anything to go by. Niall FitzGerald and Kevin McKinney had been friends for a long time. “We both worked in financial services in the glory days. We were low level though” stresses Kevin, “if we had been real bankers we have a really fancy brewery by now.” For the moment they brew in Craftworks, the brewing facility in Broombridge. However, they have now bought their own kit and hope to set up their own operation in the next eight to ten weeks.

“We were home brewers for a long time and like a lot of people, always wanted to have our own brewery.” Their first beer, Boom, was released in November 2013. “We made a conscious decision to develop one product and push it as much as possible. We are hugely proud of the result; it is our bread and butter.” The oatmeal and coffee is the fourth in their rotational series. “Whenever we have a bit of spare capacity we try a once off to keep us and the beer drinkers interested,” says Kevin.

The label is not the easiest to read. “We had a mishap with the printers and the label came out a lot darker than we anticipated”, says Kevin. “But we needed to get the beer out there before Christmas so we went ahead. Label aside, this is a very nice beer, with plenty of dark roasted coffee and dark chocolate too, alongside some hoppy fruit. All of this darkness matched my mood, as I watched Ireland go under in Paris.

Posted in: Beer, Beer & Whiskey, Irish Times

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Wood Key Brewing, The Pilgrim Irish Red Ale

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Left to right : Hugh O’Brien, Andrew Bourke, Brian Murphy, Simon Browne of Wood Key

Wood Key Brewing, The Pilgrim Irish Red Ale
5.6%

Brian Murphy and Simon Browne work in McHugh’s Off-licence on the Kilbarrack Road. McHugh’s were one of the very first shops to champion real beer, initially from abroad, and then Ireland when craft brewing took off. Not surprisingly they have one of the finest selections around, and an avid group of customers. One day, the pair were approached by one such customer, Andrew Bourke, ‘He had just finished his MBA’, says Murphy, ‘and he fancied the idea of setting up his own business. He asked himself ‘what do I like?’ and Who knows about it?’. And so he came to us’.

‘That was two years ago’, says Murphy; ‘we started over and over again, experimenting. We decided to take a serious approach to a red Irish ale. Some craft brewers just put together something red and hoppy. We saw a market for a traditional red ale with a difference’. The result was The Pilgrim Irish Red Ale. ‘We have been going seven months now and are struggling to meet demand. We got amazing support from McHughs, the owner, the staff and the customers. They now have nationwide distribution and have been listed in O’Briens.

At the moment they contract brew at the Independent Brewery in Galway with one of the team going down on brew day. They released a second beer, Raven’s rye ale, just before Christmas, and that sold out very quickly. ‘We will release a new batch this week, a lower in alcohol to make it sessionable’. The Wood Key Red Ale is a very nicely crafted easy-drinking red ale that still has a plenty of character, with an appealing smoothness lifted by a light hoppy tang. A very good session beer.

From the Irish Times, 3rd February 2016

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Ginger Porter, Rascals Brewing Company

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Emma Devlin & Cathal O’Donoghue of Rascals Brewing

First published in The Irish Times, Wednesday 27th January, 2016

We all know that Enid Blyton’s Famous Five drank lashings and of ginger beer to wash down massive quantities of sandwiches on their many intrepid expeditions into the countryside. Except they didn’t; apparently there is no such quote in any of the many Famous Five books. It didn’t stop The Comic Strip Presents….using it in their parody Five go Mad in Dorset. I’m not sure if Rascals Brewing Company had this in mind when they created a ginger porter, but then Julian, Dick, Anne and George were aged between eleven and thirteen and unlikely to indulge in underage drinking.

This was the first beer ever brewed by Emma Devlin and Cathal O’Donoghuee, the team that make up Rascals. They intend making it an annual winter seasonal, available until early March, or until it runs out. This year it is available in very smart tactile cans for the first time. The Rascals ginger porter is refreshing and very drinkable, medium-bodied with a nice kick of ginger on the finish

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Eight Degrees Mór Barley Wine

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Mike Magee, Head brewer at Eight Degrees

Barley wine is not a wine at all, but a beer. It has a long history, going back to Ancient Greece, although these would have tasted very different to the modern versions, as back then there were no hops around. The wine part is a reference to its alcoholic strength, as barley wine comes in at a strapping 8-13% alcohol, making it one of the strongest beers of all. There are two styles, English and American; English tends to be maltier and rounded in flavour, American intensely hoppy and bitter. Apparently they age very well, like a good wine. However, if you want to try ageing the Eight Degrees version, you will have to be quick off the mark; the brewery is down to its last few cases.

The name says it all; Eight Degrees Mór is big and bold, with masses of American hops. The nose is deceptive, with light notes of toffee. The palate is massive, with buckets of stone fruits, caramel and spicy bitter hops. The alcohol (10.2%) kicks in nicely; this is a well-balanced robust warming beer, perfect for these cold January evenings. €4.49 for a 33cl bottle from specialist off-licences.

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