Wishing Well

The old beer cupboard is becoming a bit low again so another order has been put into Drinkstore.ie to replenish supplies and get more ticks from the list. In the meantime, I see that Lighthouse Wines have now added a webstore that you might wish to check out. Finally it’s August Beer Club Belfast Thursday 7th (7pm at the Hudson, £10 in) featuring beers from To L – the dates have screwed me again so if you get along let me know how great it is…

Right, two more beers have been ticked off from “1001 Beers…”

 226. Traquair Jacobite Ale

Style: Scotch Ale. ABV: 8%. From: Drinkstore.ie

Description: Poured a translucent rolla-cola brown with a thin tan head that last about 2 seconds. Aroma of dried sticky fruits, spice, a little molasses/brown sugar, and boozy rum. The flavours match that: figs, prunes, cinnamon/aniseed, light chocolate, and treacle. Mid-bodied, relatively low carbonisation, and slightly sticky. The booze provides a warming rumminess throughout.

Thoughts: Definitely a beer more for Halloween that August. Still lovely though, but I have to admit I expected a wee bit more as it warmed up. A sipper that’s worth seeking out.

Score: 7.5

227. Dupont Avec Les Bons Voeux

Style: Saison (or a tripel depending on your taste). ABV: 9.5%. From: Drinkstore.ie

Description: This one was lovely peach colour, hazy (this may have been more to do with my bad pouring/settling than the beer itself) with a big fluffy white head. The aroma is unripe banana esters and a yeasty doughy funk. The first taste to hit is that banana, followed up by some pepper, then a lingering grassiness and lemon rind, and finally a rustic spiciness. Jesus this thing is 9.5%... unlike the Jacobite Ale you’d never guess the strength. Light but a fair amount of carbonisation.

Thoughts: Another clinker, great summer drinker but at 9.5% one to be wary of – definitely for sharing in the big bottle form. Overall I think the DuPont Saison is a easier drinking beer beer, but certainly would advise anyone to give this a whirl.

Score: 8

I didn't take any notes, but Mark & Spencer’s (well Oakham Ale's really) Citra is great value for money in their current 3 for £6 deal – great flavour for the price. The Dirty Duck also now has Schneider Tap 1 in bottles on sale as well as their rotating list of cask ales (I say rotating but mainly it’s a mix of Shepherd’s Neame and Hilden stuff – though their ale festival later this month is likely to bring a few more options forward and I hope to get down to check it out).

Cheers

Hey Blondie...

So it’s undoubtedly BBQ season, and actually having space to BBQ in has meant I’ve taken advantage of it a fair bit this year. With friends round I feel a bit self-conscious whipping out the note book and sticking my nose into a glass of beer and prattling on about honey and citrus and rum, or whatever… So I’ve sampled a few recently and not taken notes.

Of these I did enjoy Short’s Brewery Huma Lupa Licious (again donated by a kindly friend who brought it back from the states) which from memory was fresh as a daisy, grassy with citrus and pine, but not overdone. Of the rest, not much stands out (Delirium Red was decent, Trouble Brewing Sabotage drinkable if not overly exciting, etc).

However, even with friends there, I did take notes of the beers from the list:

224. La Trappe Blonde

Style: Belgian Blonde. ABV: 6.5%. From: Drinkstore.ie

Description: First off I love these big bottles with a cork and cage top. The beer poured a light golden colour with a lively white head. Big funky yeast aroma, along with wheat, spice, and some banana esters. There is something slightly German wheat beer about this, and the banana and wheat carry over into the flavour – but there is more funky yeast here than in the Germanic version. Quite light bodied and easy drinking for 6.5%.

Thoughts: It wasn’t the first beer I’d tasted that night so it might not have been the fairest test, but the beer was decent without ever really being exciting. Not something I’d rush to but if offered I certainly wouldn’t refuse. The dubble was better for me.

Score: 7

225. Oud Beersel Oude Geuze

Style: Lambic - Guese. ABV: 6%. From: Drinkstore.ie

Description: This one poured quite a strong yellow; it was cloudy with a big fluffy white head. A lemon blast kicks off the aroma, with the wild yeast doing its funky sour thing, and finally there’s a hint of something herbal at the end. Taste again starts out lemon, with a whack of lemon rind. There’s a hint of fizzy sweet sherbet, but it doesn’t overcome the overall tartness. Light bodied yet the fizz lends a creamy texture.

Thoughts: Ah now this was good, not as tart and sour as some but it remained refreshing but drinkable though-out. Lovely.

Score: 8

Right, I'm off to another BBQ!

Cheers

Woody's Round-up

Having covered 3 new beers from the list in the last blog, I thought I’d take this opportunity to run quickly through a few other things I’ve sampled over the last few weeks.

First we have Duvel Triple Hop 2014 (Belgian Strong Ale, 9.5%, from @lighthousewines) which poured a cloudy but vibrant yellow, accompanied by a fluffy white head. Belgian yeast is the first smell to hit, but there a definite grassy/piny hop aroma. That spicy Belgian yeast plays a fair part in the taste too, but there’s more lemon here than in the original and more of the fresh cut grass from the aroma. Light bodied for the ABV. It was nice but I think I prefer the original. Score: 6.5.

 113 IPA from Slyfox (IPA, 7%, from @lighthousewines) provided more craft in a can. This one is amber, clear and comes with a small white head. Aroma is biscuit and caramel, with a hint of citrus in the background. Taste is quite malt forward for an IPA - caramel, biscuit malt, with a light pithy bitterness. Resin like mouthfeel. This was ok, I don’t mind a fair bit of malt in an IPA but this one was a little too sweet for me. Score: 5.5.

Anchor IPA (IPA, 6.5%, from @lighthousewines) also poured an amber colour, this time touching on red. Clear with an off-white head. Surprising fruit aroma – lots of berries and passionfruit. The berries carry across into the flavour, with some plums and prunes, it actually tastes quite boozy for 6.5% but not in a particularly bad way. Fizzy number this but quite creamy with it. I think all anchor beers have an identity – there something in the yeast or water that means you’d know it was brewed by Anchor no matter the style. This was solid, and a little different, without being great. Worth picking up though. Score: 7.

Sticking with berries, next was Founders Rübæus (Fruit beer, 5.7% from @lighthousewines). Red, clear, and no head. Tart raspberry aroma. Taste wise this reminds me a bit of red creamola foam! Raspberries, sherbet, and a little sourness to stop it being too sweet. Light but a little sticky. Decent though I’ve had better versions. Score: 6.5.

Pistonhead (Lager, 4.6%, from Tesco) was picked up to round out a deal in Tesco. Straw coloured with an off-white head. Grainy lager aroma. Flavour is grassy, with some grain and something slightly corn-like. Light and fizzy. Wouldn’t buy again. Score 4.5. Charles Wells /

Dogfishhead DNA (IPA, 4.6%, from Tesco) was part of the same deal. Copper coloured with an off-white head. Malt leads an aroma that’s pretty reminiscent of an old school English Bitter. Flavour again is malt led, some caramel too, and a decent bitterness. Mid bodied. This apparently has a reduction of Dogfishhead 60 Minute in it (thus the DNA of the title), and while the 60 minute has more of a malt profile than you might expect, I'm assuming the reduction here is at homoeopathic levels as it really doesn't come through. Don’t bother. Score: 4.

Last, but by no means least, was Stone Pale Ale (APA, 5.6%, from www.drinkstore.ie). A nice amber colour, clear, with a good off-white head. The aroma is quite malt forward, the plenty of toffee but there a grapefruit citrus here too. Taste again is quite malt forward, plenty of bitterness, astringent, green hops, grass, and grapefruit. It opened up and improved a lot as it warmed. Fizzy and resinous body. I’ve had the IPA before which I thought was better than this, but this was an enjoyable especially as it warmed up. Score: 7.

Cheers

Samichlaus is coming to town...

So I missed the @beerclubbelfast beer dinner on Wednesday and the @lighthousewines beer tasting on Thursday. Judging by Twitter both events seem to have gone well; it would be great if someone could comment or blog about either event to let me know what I missed! I hope to be able to go to both next time around.

To overcome my disappointment at missing out I decided to make a bit more progress through “1001 Beers...”:

221. Samichlaus

Style: Dopplebock. ABV: 14%(!). From: www.Drinkstore.ie

Description: Poured a colour I could only describe as “Maine Man” brown lemonade (that’ll confuse anyone reading this outside these shores!). There was no head at all, not even a fleeting one, though there was lots of obvious carbonisation. Big dark fruit aroma (plums, figs, etc.), along with sweetness and something vaguely lactic and diacetyl in the background. Flavour starts off with those dark fruits again; then it’s nutty, spicy and slightly malty with a whack of rum; and finally there's some toffee and caramel malt. The taste follows a sweet-bitter-sweet profile, with a vague hint of sourness at the very end. This is sticky and leaves a decent coating in the mouth – but remains fairly light with it despite the ABV.

Thoughts: Lovely stuff, I could see this going down a belter on an autumnal night. High alcohol, and plenty of booze in the taste, yet it’s still deceptively strong so one to watch out for. Certainly worth trying.

Score: 8.5

222. St Austell Proper Job

Style: IPA. ABV: 5.5%. From: www.Drinkstore.ie

Description: Poured a very light amber, perfectly clear with a small white head. I didn’t get much on the aroma at all but that might have been hayfever related. There’s plenty of flavour though – this packs a fruit punch, pineapple, mango, some grapefruit. There’s also some pale malt and a light graininess. Pretty light bodied and easy drinking.

Thoughts: Another good beer, and this one’s more of a summer drinker. A lot of “traditional” English IPAs tend to be on the malty and bitter side – this one went all out on tropical fruit and was not harmed by it at all. Would buy again if easier to get hold of.

Score: 7.5

223. Schneider & Brooklyner Mein Hopfen-Weisse

Style: Weizen Bock. ABV: 8.2%. From: The Vineyard

Description: Poured a cloudy mango colour with a big white wheat-beer head. Aroma of wheat but a hint of pithy orange and pineapple is there too – not much of the banana/clove esters wheat beers can do but there’s a little in the background. Taste again starts off with the wheat but quickly gives way to hoppy fruit – orange, maybe some mango. Creamy and quite full mouth feel. Hides the ABV very too well.

Thoughts: I have had this before a few times but didn't realise it was in the book. This is probably my favourite Schneider beer; it has a lovely wheat beer quality that’s really enhanced by the hoppy fruit. The Aventinus (though very different) is also a great beer but this wins for me on being more quaffable – but at 8.2% don’t quaff many!

Score: 8.5

Three crackers there - you shouldn't be disappointed by any of them. Right football and BBQs are calling.

Cheers 

De ranked in the top 220

Two beers away from another round number in my journey though "1001 Beers..." was enough encouragement to open a couple of bottles at the weekend:

219. De Ranke XX Bitter
Style: Belgian Ale (according to ratebeer) / Belgian IPA (beer advocate). ABV: 6.2% From: Drinkstore.ie.
Description: Mid-golden in colour, white head, and a slight haze. Floral hops lead the aroma, followed by Belgian yeast, bread, and something rustic and earthy. Taste kicks off sweet before giving way to some breadiness, floral hops, grapefruit, and some funky fruity yeast esters. Light-to-mid bodied, fizzy but creamy with it. 
Thoughts: Not quite what I was expecting (I try not to read about these before trying to as not to influence what I think it tastes like) but in a good way. Drinkable stuff this and certainly worth trying. 
Score: 7.5

220. De Ranke Guldenberg
Style: Belgian Strong Ale (RB) / Tripel (BA). ABV: 8.5% From: Drinkstore.ie.
Description: Poured a mango colour, hazy, with a tiny white head. Aroma starts with some funky Belgian yeast, but then its all soft stone fruit. Again the taste is surprisingly fruit led, peach, tangerine, nectarine, passion-fruit but a nice earthy malt/grain backbone. Hides the booze scarily well - I'd reckon this stuff is dangerous! Mouthfeel is light with good carbonisation.
Thoughts: Again this wasn't what I was expecting but again I was more than pleasantly surprised. This is really fruity, but not overly sweet - full on quaffable on a hot summer's day but with that ABV so well hidden this could get you in trouble. Great stuff.
Score: 8

I have tweaked the last post slightly, and still not sure it gets across quite what I was trying to say (this is why I do this for fun and nothing more - I'm crap at blogging!). Though I had a recent trip to Dublin that I think points to the future. I had about an hour in the city and got excellent beer and service at both The Norseman and Brew Dock - if you're in the city I can fully recommend both. 

I had a very tasty pint of 8 Degree's Amber Ella which was even better, fresher and more unctuous on draft than it was in the bottle. I'm a fan. Next was a quick sample of Rascal's Ginger Porter, I said previously I'm not a big fan of ginger in beer - this could bring me round quick smart. Coffee and chocolate flavours, with a nice soft body, finishing nicely with a full on whack of ginger spicyness. Would love to try this again and take proper notes. Finally (and about time too) I got a taste of Galway Bay's Of Foam and Fury. Holy shite this is how you make a double IPA - mango, passionfruit, and pineapple balanced with a great, balanced, bitterness and lovely malt. While there's booze here you'd never peg it at 8.5%. Beer of the year so far? I might need a proper bottle to put it to the test but it's right up there.

With this quality available so close by the local guys may need to up their game. If they could replicate any of these I'd be in a beery heaven.

For those who want to see / taste more of these Irish Beers, Brewbot/BelfastBeerClub's Tour takes in both Galway Bay and Rascals. If there are in spaces left your in for a treat!

Cheers    

Local beer for local people

(Note: this has been edited a bit as I wasn't happy with it - still not really sure it conveys what I'm trying to say but hopefully its closer!)

There's been a bit of discussion recently (on twitter and on Belfast Beer Blog) about the local brewing scene. In one of my early posts I highlighted how I believed the beer scene in NI had come on quite dramatically. Since then we have had the addition of even more local brewers (Farmageddon, Pokertree, Fulcrum, Sheelin, Cloughmore, etc.) and there even more to come soon (see here and here!). Added to the existing Whitewater, Hilden and McGrath’s it's clear the scene is expanding - though this interesting post from  Belfast Barman(ager) highlights the issue of actually getting people to drink the stuff! 

Though, even given these developments, there's been a bit of discussion about the quality of what’s been brewed locally. In its defence, there only been one beer produced locally that I have sinked (coming soon...), and almost all of the production is superior to the mega-brewers that dominate the pubs and off-licenses. However, to me some (but by no means all) of the discussion on quality has centred around - for want of a better term - how "adventurous"/exciting the beer is. Though I do think there are genuine concerns about how good some of the production is. (However, quality - like flavour - is a bit subjective, what I like, what I think is quality/flavoursome, may be different to your opinion and that makes this a tricky discussion.)   

With this in mind I looked forward to trying two new beers on the local scene - special "geeky" beers from Farmageddon at that:

 The first one I tried was the Cascadian Dark Ale (Style: Black IPA. ABV: 6.7%. From: Grange Wines). Poured deep ruby red / brown with a tan head that reall din't hang about. Aroma of burnt toast, pithy citrus and treacle sweetness. Taste-wise there's some molasses, toasted malt, brown sugar, orange, and grapefruit. Mid to full bodied, oily, and a decent bitter finish. This was really nice, a bit like their India Export Porter and then some. As good as anything I've had locally. Score: 7.5

Next up was Tomahawk S.M.A.S.H. (Style: IPA. ABV: 6.7%. From: Grange Wines). Poured a dark/burnt orange with a fine off-white head. Pithy orange aroma but that gives

way to something chemical. Again the taste starts off pithy and bitter, but if gives way to iodine, TCP, and something very astringent. Mid-bodied and sticky. While the antiseptic quality was rather muted to begin, as the beer warmed up it overwhelmed everything else to the point of being undrinkable. I assume they were aiming for something like North Peak's Diabolical IPA, it didn't work out though. It's fair to point out some people have loved this beer (according to twitter/untapped anyway). Maybe it's just me or maybe there some consistency issues. Score: 2 (mostly for the effort).

So in summary, one of these has probably overtaken Whitewater's HoppleHammer as my favourite local beer, the other was - quite frankly - a mess (if it was meant to taste like that at least). I applaud the effort if not the execution of the SMASH (though conceptually I'm not a huge fan of the single hop same malt base type beers - it kinda works for the likes of brewdog in the IPA is Dead series as an experiment or an educational thing, but frankly I couldn't care less if the beer is brewed with one particular hop or not, I just want it to taste good).

Certainly these beers seem a bit more in the "adventurous" category, but all of the local producers get some sympathy from me on the "not adventurous enough" charge anyway. Let me explain why... I drink a fair bit of beer, I'm the person the local brewers should be be aiming their adventurous beer aimed at, and no doubt I'd drink it. However, it's pretty rare I'd drink the same beer regularly - even the cracking ones and sometimes especially the out there ones - I mean how many "Grand Cru Russian Imperial Stout brewed with Snowberry Honey, Anardana Seeds and finished in Appleton Estate Rum barrels" (courtesy of The Craft Beer Trends Predictor) can you drink...

The beers I do drink regularly tend to be solid, balanced, quaffable, easy, sensibly ABV's, and competitively priced.  Judging my by untapped timeline other people are similar (unless they aren't checking in their regular brews of course). For normal beer drinkers I'd guess this also applies - my non-geeky friend's want refreshing and session-able - they are open to trying something different, but not that different (and they won't pay big dough for something they're not sure they'll enjoy). Therefore, if I was a producer (and I don't even home brew by the way so what do I know) I'd look to build my base market and market share by producing quality beer capable of appealing to a fair chunk of the market before making a beer that may get critical recognition but is actually drunk by a tiny proportion. Then I'd work my way up to something a bit more fun!

Yes, I do think if someone brews a cracking "adventurous" beer it'll sell and sell well - but I'm guessing brewing such a beer ain't as easy as it is typing about one! 

This doesn't excuse the local guys/girls from trying new things and it doesn't excuse poor quality, I don't tend to drink anything produced in NI on a regular basis so I think there is some work to do in upping the general quality and flavour. What's being produced in the south should highlight the way - I'd love an NI version of Amber Ella or Rascals Ginger Porter, or (if we are really lucky) Of Foam and Fury but I don't think anyone is at that level yet (though I have high hopes for Boundary Brewing and Belfast Brewing). Dull beer and bad beer won't grow the scene and no-one is going to pay more money for something no better than the big guys make at 3/4 of the price. The guys/girls locally brewing have the challenge of growing the market (and their market share) at the same time as expanding the local taste buds. I think it'll take time but it is getting there, and if you're a local brewer reading this don't be afraid to test the market every now and then - you might be surprised!  

Right, I've prattled on long enough... I'm off the tick another beer.

Cheers

A good heart (is hard to find)

Firstly apologies for the Fergal Sharkey reference in the title, any pretence at being "cool" is now well and truly gone. 

World cup and this weather have meant plenty of beers being drunk but not much commitment to blogging about them... trying to make up for it now (but its still sunny outside, and the football is on, so this might be a tad half-hearted). The last post covered a couple of beers kindly donated to me via Michigan, well one of them was even on the list and is beer number 218 from "1001 Beers...".

 218. Bell's Two Hearted Ale
Style: IPA. ABV: 7% From: A generous friend state-side.
Description: Poured light amber and hazy. Off-white head. Aroma is big on perfume, pine, and floral hops. Taste follows that; lots of perfumey floral hops, piny, but there's not much malt to balance it out. Bitter. Mouth-feel is sticky and resinous. 
Thoughts: The description above reads like something I'd love, but actually it was all hops and not much else. Some malt or something might else might have helped to balance out the flavour a bit. It was grand but not something I'd rush to again. Though if your a real hop head this would probaly be right up your street - I'd guess people who love Jackhammer would also love this.Score: 6

The last beer from this little American selection was North Peak's Diabolical IPA (Style: IPA. ABV: 6.66%). This poured orange with lots of white head. Not much going on aroma wise, floral hops and some citrus but all quite subtle. Flavour is less subtle; again floral hops, astringent and bitter. Mid bodied with a nice resinous mouth-feel. Decent this as a big floral IPA, not as perfumey as the Two Hearted it carried a bit of a better balance - plenty of C  Hops (Columbus comes to mind) I'd guess. Good but not great. Score: 6.5

I haven't reviewed Brewdog's Punk IPA here before (as I first drunk it ages ago) and I won't do a full one now either, but just to say I'm really enjoying the cans of it currently available in various spots across NI (try these places on Belfast Beer Blog for starters) - I'm not sure if it's psychological or not but they seem to taste fresher and more tropical to me... If you see them try them and let me know what you think!

Right back to the footy, sun and beers.

Cheers