Irish Craft Beer Fest 2014

So this year, it was just me and Chester at the Irish Craft Beer Fest. The invitation had been extended to all of the FT boys but only five had confirmed. However, at the last minute, due to some shamefully egregious bad legs, our party ended up being but a twosome. 

Then there was a mix-up with the guest list, which was most excellently resolved (Thanks Ed!), So I curtailed my ticketing activities, sallied forth, and infiltrated the place of purveyance to negotiate the imbibing of some hoppy comestibles...

8 Degrees brewing Hurricane IPA 5.8% abv - Never had this is on draught, lovely as it is in bottles. A good way to start the evening and I sipped this as I wandered the hall, getting my bearings and waiting for Chester to hove into view. FYI I also sampled their Saison 7%, which I did not like at all, much too wheatbeer for me, but Chester loved it. Tasted the Alba Abú too but it was at the end of the evening, after many strong IPAs and I couldn't really taste it, sorry.

Stone Barrel Brewing Day Trippin American Pale Ale 5% abv - Hoppier, with more body than their previous IPA - Boom. Had a nice chat with the chap/brewer behind the counter. I hope they make this as a commercial offering.

Bo Bristle Imperial Red Ale 7% abv -Apparently the only Imperial Red Ale in Ireland - who'd a thunk it? It was a touch sweet but very moreish. A dangerous beer as it belies its abv.* 

O'Hara's Hop Heavy - Slightly Sweet but still tasty. Halfway between the regular IPA and the Double IPA.

Blacks of Kinsale Rocketship 6.5% abv - Really liked this, strong and hoppy. A turbocharged version of their standard IPA, which I like a lot and which won my Irish IPA Challenge. Chester tried the Black IPA and really liked it, which was nice.

OHara's Helles Lager 4.5% abv - I needed a break from all the strong ales so I plumped for a lager. Crisp and tasty, did the job.

Trouble Brewing Vietnow - very good, very hoppy. Like this a lot, even in my late evening beer haze.

Kinnegar Otway 4.2% - I decided to finish with something a bit milder, I didn't really care for this in bottles but it was perfectly pleasant, and what the doctor ordered at this late stage of the evening.

 *Recommended by Ed

Summer (I)PAs and Other Revelations

I'll be honest. I've been back from hols for 2 weeks (today) and I haven't yet mustered up the enthusiasm to tweet about beer, let alone do a blog post. Jet lag/Insomnia was a factor for the first couple of days and I've had a rotten cold for the last week or so, but those are not really a good enough excuses and so I don't have one, as such.

Anyhoo, I'm typing now so I may as well continue. When we arrived in Pittburgh PA, my brother had a fridge full of beer. Lots of Miller Lite (more of this anon) and quite a few of these Dogfish head 60 minute IPAs, nice. When we got to the Outer Banks NC, it was mostly lite beer, unf. I drank quite a few lite beers over there and most were awful; Coors Lite, Michelob Ultra, Busch Lite (ugh!). The Miller Lite was OK, surprisingly. Not great, but out of  can, cold, when thirsty, it's not bad. Not chock full of flavourm but it's an imperial IPA compared to the watery muck above

I also drank a lot of Sam Adams Summer Ale - it was the best thing on draught in the local (Karoake) bar. I will take the video of me drunkenly murdering "Friends in low places"  to my grave. Oh and Jameson! Lots of Jameson, everywhere we went they had these glasses (below), into which they would pour massive amounts of raw spirit.

Anyway, after weeks of cheap watery beer I needed some decent stuff so I popped into Molloy's on the Ballyogan road and grabbed a whole bunch of new (to me) beers. I'll be reviewing them over the next while so do check back...

Thornbridge Halcyon Imperial IPA 7.4% abv 50cl  €5.69 link
Very expensive and strong but didn't work for me. Plenty of hops but zero malt or balance.

Buxton Axe Edge India Pale Ale 6.8% abv 33cl  €3.79 link
Cloudy with a thick creamy head. Very well balanced, full flavour. citurs fruits verging onto the tropical

James Squire One Fifty Lashes  Pale Ale 4.2% abv 34.5cl  €2.79 link
No flavour whatsoever. Down the sink

Eviltwin Brewing Yang 10% abv 35.5cl €4.75 link
Haven't had this yet but found the Yin and it's a stout, who'd a thunk it? Supposed to mix both for a Black and Tan.

Tuatara Aoteoroa Pale Ale 5.8% abv 33cl €3.29 link
Yummy. American Pale Ale style and classic example of same. Will buy more.

Bath Ales Wild Hare Organic Pale Ale 5.0% abv 50cl €3.49 link
Pale gold, very white head, Crisp and clean - good summer drink.

Kinnegar Otway European Pale Ale 4.2% abv 50cl €3.79 link
Good bitterness but not a lot of malt. A bit unbalanced. Maybe expected too much at this abv but not great balance

Trouble Brewing Agent Provocateur 6.2% abv 50cl  €3.99 link     (seasonal)
It's gone from the beer fridge but I don't remember drinking it. Am I an alcoholic? Probably.


Also, for no good reason here are some capsule reviews on beers from earlier this year that I never posted:

Rogue Brutal IPA 66cl 5.8% abv €7.79 link
Underwhelming. Not bad but for nearly eight notes I'd expect to have my socks (or something else) blown (off). Perfectly drinkable but not patch on their Yellow Snow IPA.

Independent Pale Ale 50cl 6.0% abv €3.99 link
Liked this a lot, cloudy amber in the glass, lots of tasty citrussy  hops at the back of the palate and a long lingering finish

Kenmare Irish Pale Ale 50cl 5.0% abv €3.70 link
Disappointing - not a huge amount of flavour.

Irish Ale Challenge - Final

So it's come to this - The Irish Ale Challenge final. I honestly can't remember where I bought the beers below. The O'Haras and Dungarvan and fairly widely available in Off Licenses and Supermarkets, the other two, not so much.  For the uninitiated, here are links to SemiFinals1&2 and SemiFinals3&4

The finalists are as follows (l-r):
Independent Red Ale 50 cl 4.5% abv - €3.59 link
Kinnegar Devil's Backbone Amber Ale 50 cl 4.9% abv - €3.79 link
O'Hara's Irish Red 50cl 4.3% abv - €3.29 link 
Dungarvan Copper Coast Irish Red Ale 50cl 4.3% abv - €3.39 link


As usual, the format of the final is a blind tasting, with Herself being my own personal Debbie McGee for the evening. I'm hoping that the colours of the ales aren't too much of a giveaway - IIRC the Kinnegar is a noticeably amber colour and a couple of the others are a fairly full on brownish red. I genuinely have no favourite here and I hope it will be a good contest.

Here are the beers - looks like a game of two halves, Brian. Numbers one and two are dark as pitch whereas three and four have a distinctly amber hue.  Here are Your Humble Blogger's (and Herself's) tasting notes, verbatim.

#1
YHB - like it, good bitterness, nice maltiness and a long finish -
Herself - likes it but finds it a bit gentle
Guess - Independent

#2
YHB - OK - very pleasant, very smooth and quaffable. Improves after a few minutes of warming up
Herself - Likes
Guess - O'Haras

#3
YHB - Nice,  subtle flavour, smooth.
Herself - Loves this
Guess - Dungarvan

#4
YHB - Good, bit more zing to it than #3
Herself - Likes
Guess - Kinnegar
So it's between #1 and #2. As much as I enjoyed #3 and #4, I'm loving the full body and flavour of the darker ales, although both need to be poured with some vigour to generate a few bubbles.

This is a tough one. Both are well balanced with a decent malty spine; #1 has a hoppiness that's not present in #2, but #2 is incredibly smooth and shows more appealing character after about 30 minutes out of the fridge.

I'm going to give it to #1. The balance between the malt and the hops, the body and the finish just shades #2 smoothness. So now for the big reveal - What was the winner and how accurate was I with my guesses?

So the winner, by a nose, is Independent Red Ale followed by O'Haras Irish Red , with the two amber/copper ales in joint bronze (fittingly). On a related note, I got all four correct, which wasn't that difficult, once the colours were visible, only requiring two correct guesses, given that I had a fair idea which beer was which colour.

To be honest, all four are very tasty drops, with your own preference for darker fuller ales or (relatively) lighter amber ales driving your choices. That's it for me for a while. I'm off to the states for a well deserved holiday where I will attempt to sample as many of America's craft beers as possible.

I may, in my wisdom, do an Irish Golden Ale competition next - watch this space.

Irish Ale Challenge - Semi Finals 3 & 4

Semi Final 3
Kinnegar Devil's Backbone Amber Ale 50 cl 4.9% abv - €3.79 link
Franciscan Well Rebel Red 33cl 4.3% abv - €2.99 link

Franciscan Well Rebel Red
Reddy Brown - thin white head. Nice, well balanced, but not a huge flavour, bit of malt and little fruit on the finish. Tonight this just isn't doing it for me, sorry.

Kinnegar Devil's Backbone Amber Ale
Amber red, off white head. Fruit on the nose, hints of caramel to taste with a little hoppy bitterness at the end. For once, in these Semi-finals, I am going for the lighter of the two ales.

Winner - Kinnegar Devil's Backbone Amber Ale



Semi Final 4
Dungarvan Copper Coast Irish Red Ale 50cl 4.3% abv - €3.39 link
Whitewater Belfast Ale 50 cl 4.5% abv - €2.99 link

Well I found Belfast Ale once but I can't find it again, so Dungarvan is the winner, by default.

Irish Ale Challenge - Semi Finals 1 & 2

Semi Final 1
O'Hara's Irish Red 50 cl 4.3% abv - €3.29 link
Porterhouse Red Ale 33 cl 4.2% abv - €2.10 link

This should be a close one, the O'Hara's put up a good show in the heat and the Porterhouse has long been a favourite of mine.

O'Hara's Irish Red
A more traditional red ale here with a deep red colour. Good Creamy head. Full rich flavour, with a hint of caramel and a pingh of fruit. 

Porterhouse Red
This seems so much milder and lighter tasted immediately after the Oharas, and it's fine but not the winner today. I think this ale needs to be sampled on draught, it just doesn't work quite as well in bottles.

Winner -  O'Hara's Irish Red

Semi Final 2
Independent Red Ale 50 cl 4.5% abv - €3.59
McGargles Granny Mary's Red Ale 4.4% abv - €2.00

I really liked the Independent first time out so I suspect the McGargles has its work cut out. BTW I have been reading some very sniffy things about McGargles on the intertubes and it appears that it is currently contract brewed in the UK. In which case I will have to disqualify it under the Boom rule, if it wins.

Independent Red Ale
Very dark red, small creamy head. Oh yes - great flavour, great mouthfeel. Complex lingering finish.

McGargles Granny Mary's Red Ale
Lighter, with more of an amber ale flavour profile. Nice
I like the McGargles but the Independent is a class above. It's probably the bookies favourite at the moment...

Winner -  Independent Red Ale

That's it - 4 down, 4 to go.

A Visit to the Cellar

I finally made in down to the Blackrock Cellar a couple of weeks ago and bought the beers above. It was quite struggle not to walk out a hundred euro lighter with a large box of beers. The selection is stupendous. I will be back when I'm feeling not quite so penurious.


Camden Pale Ale 33cl 4% abv €3.10
Straw coloured, lots of citrus fruit on the nose, not so much on the palate. Some bitterness but not much going on at the finish. No malt to speak of. Fine but a bit mild for my taste - lack of alcohol could be a factor. 

Fyne Ales Hurricane Jack  33cl 4.4%  abv €3.39
Unusual colour, kind of a washed-out watery lager hue. Crisp with some decent hops and a good finish. Probably not one to savour at the end of an evening with a single malt but perfect for a summers day. Not dissimilar to Black's Session (ale)... 

Red Hook Long Hammer IPA  35.5cl 6.2% abv  €2.75
I didn't care for this the last time I had it, I found it a bit ..meh. This time out, at the end of a long evening of grape, grain and whatnot I cracked this IPA. Nice full malty flavour and a decent amount of citrus. I liked it and it's reasonably priced compared to a lot of  the other 'Murican IPAs.

Camden USA Hells Unfiltered lager 33cl 4.6% abv €3.10
I remember writing a review of this as I drank it, but do you think I can find it now?  Not a chance. I suspect a wizard did it. I think it was...OK, drinkable but not memorable. Hmmm - sorry about that. I'll take better care next time...

Porterhouse Devils Half Acre 33cl 13.5% abv  €3.75
Didn't really care for this. Very strong (natch) and very sweet but not enough hoppiness and complexity to offset the sweetness.

Irish Ale Challenge - Semi Finalists

It has taken quite a while, but I've whittled the numbers down to eight.  I'm not going to go into detail on the whys and wherefores. The only contentious decision was to exclude the Brown Paper Brown Project Big Red. Availability-wise, I've only found it twice in several months, but mostly it's because of the apples and the oranges. It's delicious, but it's the odd man out in this company, so reluctantly, it's out. Sorry.

The remainder are all pretty good and I, for one, am fascinated to see where this goes.
I have paired them up, seemingly at random, into the following four semi-finals.

O'Hara's Irish Red 50 cl 4.3% abv - €3.29
Porterhouse Red Ale 33 cl 4.2% abv - €2.10

Independent Red Ale 50 cl 4.5% abv - €3.59 
McGargles Granny Mary's Red Ale 4.4% abv - €2.00 

Kinnegar Devil's backbone Amber Ale 50 cl 4.9% abv - €3.79
Franciscan Well Rebel Red 33cl 4.3% abv - €2.99

Dungarvan Copper Coast Irish Red Ale 50cl 4.3% abv - €3.39 
Whitewater Belfast Ale 50 cl 4.5% abv - €2.99

Here's how we got here by the way...
Part 1
Part 2