Newcomer Ales

Since the start of 2015 we've seen a few new brewers pop up onto the Irish Craft Beer scene, so I'm going to take a look at some of them in this edition.

To start with, I've settled into a bottle of the very welcoming 12 Acres Pale Ale. Brewed in Co. Laois, where they malt their own barley, this is a lovely pale ale. I first came across it earlier in the year at an event put on by distributors Barry & Fitzwilliam, and on that day I thought it was the best beer out of the 40 or so on show. Perfectly balanced; with the subtly sweet caramel backbone, finished off with a light lemon citrus cleanser, without ever being too intense.

12 Acres Pale Ale is an easy drinker, a good companion for a lazy afternoon with the grass finally cut and the day beginning to wind down, Pouring on the darker side of Golden, and with a pillow-ey head that lasts down the glass, the light carbonation just eases you into a state of relaxation, but that little zing at the end does just enough to keep you interested.

I'll be back for more of this for sure, especially at 4.6% ABV, it's probably the best Irish Ale in the category.

Next up was the extremely new Wood Key Brewing's first offering, The Pilgrim Irish Red Ale. Wood Key are a bunch of five friends from Dublin who've decided to brew, and this red ale is their first foray into that world. A simple style of beer, there's not much room for innovation without encroaching on other styles, and then not really being an Irish Red anyway.

The darker malts are doing what they ought to be doing, and a little more - there's a little hint of bitter chocolate in the initial flavour, giving way to the bittering hops, which are doing enough to lift this beer away from being just another flat, dank red. This is a solid Irish Red, and based on that I await more from the guys, because doing the simple things right is the best way to start. Currently available in bottles, and there are two 30 Litre kegs out there too, one already tapped for the growler system in McHugh's Kilbarrack shop.

The launch of the beer took place at the Flavours of Fingal county show, and I took the opportunity to meet and chat with a couple of the lads on the Sunday afternoon. There was mention of a second beer on the way, but no time frames or any other information.