A treat for Autumn

Many months ago The Beer Mistress brought me home a bottle of O'Hara's Barrel Aged Barley Wine - it's a special edition and I got bottle 1,068 of 1,700.

It's a 9.6% Barley Wine, aged for ninety days in an Irish Whiskey Oak Barrel. It looks like an English style Barley Wine, dark, almost opaque deep ruby in colour and the aroma is intense black fruits, plums and oak.

There is an obvious initial sweetness, tempered by the alcohol so it's never too cloying. On the tongue the light carbonation cuts through the heavy vanilla oak so the flavours don't get too much.

The complexity increases as the beer warms up, and the fruity flavours come to the fore. Blackcurrant, plums and the unmistakable sour cherries all play their part. The big vanilla oak remains, to be backed up by dark chocolate and rich toffee.

The sweetness and light carbonation lend themselves to a somewhat pleasant caramel mouthfeel, and that sourness tempts you to think of black treacle and maybe even the slightest hint of liquorice in the finish.

This is an excellent sipper, to be enjoyed of an autumn evening when the chills are just starting to settle in for the lengthening nights, the leaves are turning red and you can just start to smell smoke in the air.

Although this is a sweet beer, the sourness on the finish means it doesn't get too rich or syrupy, it is very easy to enjoy over a couple of hours or three.

I don't know if many, or any, bottles remain available, but I did think it was worth a review all the same. I enjoyed drinking this one over a Friday evening with a movie, easygoing and approachable, well done O'Hara's.

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.

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.

Apple-y Goodness

A while back I picked up a couple of bottles of Lefevre Pure French Cidre from Ger, the Irish part of the operation. I'd tasted this a few of months ago in the depths of winter at a tasting evening in The Hole In The Wall pub, and I've been keen for the Summer to roll around so this Cidre could do what all good ciders do, and banish the thirst built up by a hot sunny day in work.

The start of this Irish summer has been good to everyone, it's warm, the sun is out and the evenings are perfect for a sojourn to the garden to have a cool, refreshing drink. When you fizz open the bottle you are immediately greeted by the unmistakeable aroma of fresh green apples. Uncomplicated and inviting on an evening like this.

Pouring a light golden colour, and with a very sparkling fizz, you cannot help but be drawn to thoughts of heady orchards in Northwest France, of apple blossoms, of bees humming lazily and of sharing an evening with friends.

On the palate there is a slight tartness underlining the gentle sweetness of those pressed apples, you are getting other fruits too like early, nearly-still-green strawberry, the light, active bubbles add to the overall thirst-quenching character. This is exactly what you expect from this ancient style of thirst quencher.

Look out for this in most good off-licences, and also on tap in a select few bars around Dublin.

Cork Stout

Back in February I reviewed a Pale Ale from Cork pub and brewery Cotton Ball. At the time I wasn't able to get my hands on their Stout, and I've been waiting to try it for ages. I finally got some after a tasting night in McHugh's two shops a couple of weeks ago.

Lynch's Handcrafted Stout is a lovely example of the style. Roast Coffee is the order of the day here in this robust, pitch black tipple.

Pretty subtle on the nose, the first mouthful brings that dark bitterness right to the fore. Once you settle into it, the more subtle background flavours start to break through. Slight liquorice, a hint of sweet molasses just lingering in the finish enticing you back for more.

For all the love that hop-bombs have gotten, or yeasty Saisons being the latest popular style, it's great to see a stout that's not afraid to showcase those malts, and when that's balanced with a nice smoothness in the mouthfeel it's pretty much the best way to drink beer.

An excellent example of a really simple style that's difficult to master.

Radikale Hopster

On a recent trip to Ireland's second city of Cork I met Alain, the brewer from the latest addition to the ever growing Craft Beer selection being produced on this island, Radikale. He very generously presented me with a couple of bottles of his first brew - Hopster, a single hopped American Pale Ale - to sample.

Pouring a nice inviting deep amber, almost red, with a nice looking head that reduces rather quickly to thin lacing, the initial aroma is candy sugar, which suggests a cloying, malt forward red ale. This is not the case, the Chinook hops cut through the sweetness pretty well, giving some slight lemon and spices, enhanced by the light, prickly carbonation, allowing the flavours to meld and mingle on the tongue.

That sweet spiciness sticks around the palate for a while, giving way to some chewy toffee richness offset by the final flourish of the hops, just enough to cleanse ready for the next mouthful. This is an interesting take on the Single Hopped idea, which certainly has it's constraints as far as layering flavours is concerned - however there is enough going on here to make you want to drink a couple more. I wouldn't leave it hanging around though, as it started to warm up a little the malt naturally came more to the forefront, and it did begin to overpower the flavour a little bit. At 5.2% though,this is probably not much of a problem.

I enjoyed making my way through this beer, I particularly liked the way the almost playful, cotton candy sweet aroma was present throughout, and I certainly look forward to more offerings from the hand of this Belgian brewer who has somehow found himself brewing beer in Cork.

Drogheda's Finest

I paid a visit to the recently refurbished Kelly's Off Licence in Clontarf (Formerly Kelly's Wine Cellar), where the selection of craft beer and cider has greatly increased in recent times. Being relatively local to the area, I like to support businesses close to me, and if they are providing a great selection then I actively encourage that by making a purchase when dropping in.

On the night I visited there was a tasting of Lefevre Cidre, a French apple cider which is pretty nice. Probably one for later into the BBQ Season though.

I picked up three different beers from Jack Cody's, a recent addition to the Irish Craft Beer scene, based in Drogheda, Co Louth. A Cream Porter, an Amber Ale and an Pale Ale.

I'd be tasting these over the course of a couple of evenings and Blackjack Drogheda Cream Porter was first up. Cream Porter seems to be the less well known cousin of Milk Stout, but it shouldn't be on this evidence. Jack Cody's have created a porter that is dry with burnt malt at the start, but finishes off smooth and lightly sweet, but definitely more-ish.

When it comes to the stout/porter end of things, my preference is for big upfront roast, burnt and almost ashtray flavours from the deep black malts that are found in abundance here, however this is exquisitely balanced by the introduction of lactose which serves to round out and just save the ash flavours from becoming completely overbearing. What happens next is that the sweet Chantilly Cream pops in for a quick hello just as the porter passes the back of the tongue, just to let you know it's there and that it's not just on the label for show.

The second and subsequent mouthfuls mix the charred flavours into the sweet milky notes to give a much more complex experience than this porter presents at first.

This is a lovely balanced and complex porter, and at 4.6% is properly sessionable.

Next up was Smiggy Amber Ale. Pouring a very inviting deep amber, and with a pretty good hop aroma this looks and smells like a very nice beer. I think Amber Ales are what Irish Reds wish they could be. Flavoursome with a balance more toward the caramel malt than the hops, but without losing the hops completely. That balance is struck close to perfect here.There's no mouth-puckering hop bitterness, but the hops do still make their presence felt - meaning that the malt profile is given a chance to do some work. There's nothing overbearing here, and that follows through with the aftertaste - it disappears quite quickly, meaning that this beer has the potential to be paired with a lot of foods, indeed the label recommends it to be paired with BBQ Meats, Fish or Cheese. So, a bit of everything then. 

Because it doesn't overpower the palate and it's sitting at 4.8% abv, this means that you can enjoy a few of these at a social get together, over food. It also has an almost lager-like mouthfeel, the carbonation is quite high, with a small lacey head lasting down the glass

I would consider this a triumph of the style, and would defnitely recommend it to anyone looking to start off on a craft beer journey - or someone feeling a bit jaded with strong hop-bombs. Smiggy delivers enough flavour as to be respectable, but is approachable enough as to not scare off people new to craft beers.

Finally I cracked open the intriguing Duxie. A Grapefruit Tea Pale Ale. Full disclosure here, I love tea about as much as I love beer, I've probably as many loose leaf teas in my house as I have styles of beer, so to see a beer with tea on the ingredients bill.Grapefruit and lime are also listed, along with the trusty Earl Grey himself. Grapefruit, lime and general citrussy flavours are to be, of course, found wherever American Hops lay their head, however I couldn't get the unmistakable aroma of those flavours as I opened and poured the beer. It looks a nice colour and the head was maintained down the glass - and the beer has a really great mouthfeel.

Flavourwise, I wasn't getting the lime, but was definitely getting Grapefruit, both that sweetness and pithy bitterness in the finish. I can also see this being one for the warm weather.

Overall, I definitely enjoyed the Cream Porter the most, and the Grapefruit Tea Pale Ale does have character, while the Amber is an improvement on so many boring Red Ales.

Good work Jack Cody's!