Taking A Trip

Ever since the introduction of growlers to the market I've thought it would be a good idea for the off licences which are serving beer to get in a house beer, exclusive to them, to attract return business. Evidently the good people at McHugh's have been thinking along the same lines. They've gotten together with Kinnegar Brewery up in Donegal to bring us an American Style IPA, and they've called it Road Trip.

I'd high hopes for this beer, Kinnegar are one of my favourite breweries and of course McHugh's are an exceptional purveyor of all things crafty - it's a match made in beery heaven. Kinnegar have been particularly strong on their special releases, so this was exciting.

I headed to the Artane store to pick up a couple of bottles first of all - the bottles were sent to the shops about a week before the draught version for the growlers. The labels are unmistakable - bright neon green with some jaunty red and black lettering, really standing out in that trademark tall and slim Kinnegar bottle.

The beer itself pours a lovely dark golden hazy orange, with a loose white head, and the initial nose is a complex mixture of fruity orange and other citrus, but you also get the more herbal notes. And these are what dominate the flavour. Piney, resinous bitter hops are the order of the day, citrus pith cleansing away that almost chewy caramel maltiness in the body. This is a beer that stands up tall and demands to be noticed, just like it's label. The bottles had only been filled five or six days before my purchase, and so those hops were very, very fresh. Really very nice.

A week later I hit up the Kilbarrack store with my growler in hand to get some of the Road Trip on draught. I was expecting to drink it on the evening of purchase, however I ended up having to keep it for a week. This was the first real test of my McHugh's growler. I stuck it in the fridge the morning I was going to drink it. It properly popped open, which I was glad to hear, and it poured the same colour as the bottled version. The head was a little smaller.

The first thing I noticed was that the aroma was slightly sweeter lime and less of that piney resin - the hops have mellowed out a bit. In fact the growler beer is a more rounded experience, it doesn't catch you quite as much as the bottled version. The more delicate, fruity hops allow the lighter malt body to carry through a bit more in the finish.

Road Trip is a triumph in many ways; a "house beer" from an off licence that makes the trip worth it, another excellent beer from Kinnegar, and from chatting with the staff in Artane, the success of Road Trip will mean they'll look to do more collaborations, but for now I'd hope there's at least a second batch of this excellent IPA.

Well done to both McHugh's for taking the punt and to Kinnegar for taking it with them.