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