At long last Aldi (again)

I have blogged Aldi's beer before firstly in 2013 and it wasn't pretty, then in 2014 I tried again and it was better, It's now three years later and the craft beer market has moved on significantly so I'm expecting a decent showing.       

Apologies - I normally take a photograph of the beers as soon as I bring them home but  this time I forgot, mea culpa.I do have one of the Balbec IPA, the others I got from the interweb.

JJ's Balbec IPA  6%   €2.99
This unusually monikered IPA comes from Kilmallock Co, Limerick. That's about all I know. Its a hazy golden colour in the glass. herself is getting grapefruit off it but my jaded palate isn't getting much in the way of fruit. Its the strongest in alcohol doesn't taste it. Like the Brown Bear it's better when warmed slightly from fridge temperature, and it's perfectly drinkable, but not one I'll be rushing to buy again.

Brown Bear of (Connemara)IPA  5.2%  €1.99
Another beer brewed by Station works, Newry; these guys must be busy. First thoughts - Its OK, Kinda nondescript, pleasant. Another IPA from Station Works. As it has warmed up slightly, its getting better, fuller, nice bitterness at the finish.  I like it. Definitely needs to be warmer, thats' the key for this one.

Aldi Wild Bill's IPA 5%  1.79
Brewed by Marstons Brewery under the Harper's Brewey Co banner
Darker and it tastes like it. A beefy full flavoured old fashioned IPA  with maybe a hint of spicy rye. Long bitter finish which I really like. Very unusual for a supermarket IPA and a steal at this price.

Aldi Perfect Storm Epic IPA 4.5%  2.19  (brewed by Williams Bros Brewery, Scotland)
Nice - well balanced, not much in the way of fruit but some attractive hoppiness and a nice full finish. Not classic flavours but Lots of taste for a 4.5%. Link

For my money the Brown Bear and the Wild Bill are great value at these price, and overall a good showing from Aldi, four IPAs, two very nice and two decently drinkable.

Next: Lidl!

McGargles IPAs (All of them) - **Updated**

Francis' Big Bangin IPA 7.1%
Cousin Rosie's Pale Ale 4.5%
Knock Knock Ned's IPA 6.5%

McGargles, eh? I quite liked them when they came out, especially the lager. By my reckoning (and after a two year absence) they have re-branded and (as I discovered tonight) they appear to have re-branded again (see below*).  From the picture I think that the Francis' Big Bangin IPA is the original branding, with the other two bearing the Mk2 branding. I bought these all in Dunnes but I've lost the receipt, so no idea how much they are.

Anyhoo, onto the IPAs. Let's do the honourable thing and start with the weakest first, Cousin Rosie's Pale Ale. It's...decent. Tastes like a lot of other Irish IPAs of medium (<5%) strength, not a huge amount of hops, decent mouthfeel and a piney, resiny finish. Perfectly fine overall, but I wouldn't pay premium craft beer prices for it; but it's a perfect supermarket pick-up.

Next up is the mid strength IPA -  Knock Knock Ned's IPA. Hmmmmm, it's definitely stronger, that much is obvious from first sip. The flavour profile is very similar though, quite bitter and resiney but not enough fruit to offset it, IMHO.

Lastly, in this batch, and certainly not least, at a torrefied 7.1%. is  Francis' Big Bangin IPA. This is much better, strong but with a hint of tropical fruit on the nose and a solid core of fruit to balance the pine. It really reminds me of Grafters IPA (also available from Dunnes), which I like. No surprises there as Rye River brews them both. I would say this is more like an American pale ale. Careful with this one, it goes down very easy.

**Updated**
Mk3 McGargles ales... 

Little Bangin IPA 3.8% - €3.00*
Double Bangin IPA 8% - €3.79*

Not sure what I was expecting with these two, the double IPA probably a big piney unsubtle beast, and the Little fella probably underwhelming and weak. Lets start with the Double Bangin' IPA. Wow, this is really good, a super balance of fruit and bitterness, without the overly sugary sweetness you sometime get with double IPAs. I'm even getting a hint of liquorice. I'll buy this again.

Lastly the Little Bangin IPA, limping in at a weedy 3.8%. I suspect this part of the current vogue for session IPAs, so let's see. Hmmmmm - probably should have started with this. Still, it's not bad. Light in flavour but what's there is tasty; a hint if citrus along with the standard bitterness. This isn't an IPA for the die-hard but I could see it being a nice drink for a warm summer's evening.

*Bought in Tesco

New Irish* IPAs - Part 2

All of the beers tasted below were purchased in O'Brien's, who have a pretty decent selection of craft beers, and apologies for the length of time it has taken to post this second post after my resurrection. I thought I had my full mojo back, but it appears it has not fully regrown, yet.


All beers were tasted with Herself on this occasion and she concurred with my opinions.

Fourpure American Pale Ale 5% abv 33cl €2.75
Yes! this is lovely. Definitely in the American style, it's slightly lighter at 5% then a big beeft APA but the core flavours are present and correct. Im getting some nice citrusy notes and the merest suggestion of tropical fruit. Personally I'd love to try this at 6%, but they have got the American Pale ale spot on, which is no mean feat and something very few Irish* breweries have done.
*For some reason I thought this was Irish, not sure why as a quick glance at the can and indeed their website, clearly shows they are London based. I had already written the above, so screw it.

Rascals Wunderbar IPA 6% abv 33cl €2.90
Hmmm, tasted straight after the fourpure this lacks complexity. Its strong and it has ample piney flavours but that's about it.

Jack Cody's Lazy Eye 6.3% abv 50cl €3.55
Dark and lightly carbonated. quite fruity in a red ale way. not a citrussy way. Tasty though, herself likes it.

Hope Handsome Jack  6.6% abv 33cl €2.90
By contrast this is quite bubbly and looks like a lager in the glass. That likeness is dispelled the moment the glass approaches the nose though, as there is a big whiff of tropical fruit.  On the palate the fruit is again dominant, but there's something missing, some tiny depth in the flavour. It's not lacking in alcohol, weighing in at a muscular 6.6%, but for me it's a near miss, just slightly too light for me. Although, as it warms up, it's clawing back the fullness, so what do I know. If you like your beers tropical this is one for you.

Wicklow Wolf IPA 6.3% abv 50cl €4.00
To be honest, this beer is a sure thing. I love it in bottles and and the rare occasion when I have had it on draft, I love it even more. There is no dominant flavour as such, just a very nicely balanced beer. There's some pine, some grapefruit and a lingering, full finish.

New* Irish IPAs - Part 1

I have just checked and the last time I posted was Feb 26th 2015, so its been exactly 2 years. I'm not sure why I stopped and indeed I'm not sure why I have started again. Maybe its because I am seeing a huge amount of Irish craft beers, everywhere. Not just in off-licences but in large Supermarkets and even in local Spar/Centra/Londis outlets. Frankly, I'd like to keep a record of what's good and what's not. So let's see what's out there...

Clearsky  - Rowlock India Pale Ale                        4.5% abv  50cl €3.92
Brehon Brewhouse  - Drumlin Irish Pale Ale         4.6% abv  50cl €4.19
ReelDeel Brewery  - Jack the Lad Irish pale Ale    4.5% abv  50cl €3.65

I got these in my local Centra in Sandyford Hall. Of late they have started stocking a decent amount of Irish craft beers, so I decided I'd pick four and taste them 

Rowlock India Pale Ale Link
This is bottle conditioned and appears a little cloudy in the glass. Don't really like this - there's a sharpness on the palate initally and some pine, but that's it. As herself put it there's no depth or finish in the flavour.


Drumlin Irish Pale Ale link
This is better than the Rowlock. Its darker too, a ruddy amber colour with a pleasantly large amount of foamy head. A classic Irish pale ale, some piney bitterness, a touch of fruit and some good body.

Looking at the website, it seems they have re-branded...

Jack the Lad Irish Pale Ale link
Nope, this has the same sharpness and lack of depth as the Rowlock. Don't like this at all. Down the sink.

Note: They also had the Journeyman IPA ,but when I got home I discovered that I had inadvertently bought their Journeyman IPL, which I think is a lager with the addition of some IPA hops. Anyhoo - it was pretty good.

**Update**
So I went back to the Centra to pick up the two IPAs that I missed lat time around. I'm expecting more from these as they are shade stronger at 5.2% each. Both appear to be from Station Works.

The Foxes Rock IPA 5.2%  50cl €3.26
Good, full flavour, some nice hoppiness. Billed as an "American Style" IPA this lives up to the heady boast as it is  indeed slightly sweet like a US IPA, but it also has the US's full fruity palate.

The Journeyman Master Cooper IPA 5.2%  50cl €2.99
This is brewed under licence by Station Works and I think this might be the same as the beer above. I'd have to taste them at the same time to be sure though.

A (Second) Visit to the Cellar

I finally made it back to The Cellar in Blackrock last weekend and picked up six more Irish beers  from their huge selection. I have to mind myself in there, I'd happily go in and drop a couple of hundred bills on beer easily. Luckily, I'm tight as a gnat's chuff...

Cotton Ball Kerry Lane Pale Ale 50cl 5% abv €4.25 link
Starting off - it's not bad. Cloudy amber in the glass with a fine white head. After a few minutes I'm beginning  like this more, maybe it has warmed up a touch but the finish is developing some nice complexity. There's not a lot of hops initially but  overall it's working for me. Not cheap though, at north of 4 notes for a bottle. For that money I'd want a bit more...

Clifford's Connacht Champion Irish Golden Ale  50cl 4% abv €3.99 link
Yummy. Pours with a thick white head and plenty of bubbles. Slightly sweet but there is a little tannic aftertaste that offsets it. It's got a lot of flavour for a 4% beer, and would make a good session ale, assuming that the sweetness doesn't become sickly. One for a sunny beer garden, methinks.

Brehon Brewhouse Stony Grey India Pale Ale 50cl 6% abv €4.25 link
Cloudy amber in the glass. Big and bold and yummy. Like it. 

Black Donkey Sheep Stealer Farmhouse Ale 50cl 5.6% abv €3.99 link
Nope. Tasted like a wheat beer to me.  (It's a saison - are the taste characteristics similar?). Either way I don't really care for it. Herself liked it, but she was weird taste; she married me after all.

Kelly's Mountain Revolution Red Ale 50cl 4.8% abv €3.79 link
Like this. Full flavoured with lots of caramel and a hint of fruit. I tried their Pale ale a while back but I don't recall if I liked it.

Jack Cody's Puck Pilsner 50cl 4.5% abv €3.69 link
Didn't care for it. Cloudy and dull and a bit resiny. Reminded me of Harviestoun Schiehallion craft lager, which I used to enjoy, but fell out of love with it all of a sudden, last time I tried it.

Craft Brewing Company - Irish Ale & Lager

I  ventured down to the Lidl in leafy Rathfarnham last week with the express purpose of sourcing some Crafty beer. I didn't get the stout but I did pick up a four pack of the ale (4.1%) and the lager (5%). The beers are made in Kilcock by The Rye River Brewing Company who also make McGargles, whose beers I quite like.

I can't find a link for the beer but this article has a good summary, even if I disagree with some of the conclusions.

Craft Brewing Company Irish Red Ale 33cl 4.1% abv  €5 for 4
Didn't really care for this. Found it a bit thin and sharp. The lack of bite may be a function of the abv, or lack thereof.

Craft Brewing Company Irish Lager 33cl 5% abv  €5 for 4
Full flavoured, little bit of hops, with a good finish and nice balance. I can taste the 5% and I likes it.  A steal at this price.  

My Evil Twin

I was buying wine in O'Briens in Carrickmines and I came across an evil (twin) offer - four for a tenner on the above Eviltwin beers - not bad at face value. So I picked up a couple of each.

EvilTwin Brewing Falco India Pale Ale 35.5cl 7% abv  €2.80 (reduced from €3.69)
Strong and hoppy with lots of pine/resin. This is not subtle, however and there are better US pale ales out there, so I don't think I'll be buying this again.

EvilTwin Brewing Hipster American Pale Ale 35.5cl 5.3% abv  €2.20 (reduced from €2.89)
Hipster - should have had this before the Falco as its weaker (in alcohol and flavour). It's not bad, easy drinking, I guess. Grassy with some fruity/floral notes also. Not much of a finish.

Zero for two. Ho hum...

 **Update**
I was in O'Briens again tonight, after a particularly torrid week of work I decided I wanted to buy some nice beers to sup on over the weekend. I picked up four White Hag IPAs and four 8Degrees Amber Ella, both of which I bleedin' love, and also the ale above. It's an Evil Twin 'Hop Flood' American Amber Ale and it weighs in at a whopping 7% abv. 

This was part of the original 4 for a tenner offer but I don't think it was available last time, so I grabbed one and had it earlier this evening; in a nutshell, it's a beast. Big and very hoppy. It's bitter at the finish but it has a bit of sweetness in the mix too - I don't think it's quite balanced enough but I liked it for its takes-no-prisoners strength and its...balls.

Irish IPAs - Poker School Blind Tasting

So it was my turn to host Poker, and I decided to mix it up by MCing a blind tasting of four Irish IPAs. I attempted to pick four similar Pale Ales, in terms of style, abv etc. This wasn't a selection of my favourites, btw. Of late I have been loving White Hag IPA, and Herself has been guzzling the classic Brewdog Punk IPA.

Anyhoo, after we had been playing for a couple of hours I brought out the beers, in unmarked plastic (?) cups to Alan, Josie, Brian and Paud. The scores are below, although I was obviously not tasting blind...

	Beer1	Beer2	Beer3	Beer4
Alan	6	5	6	9
Josie	7	5	6	7
Brian	8	6	7	6
Paud	7	5	6	8
YHB	7	6	7	5
Total	28	21	25	30

There were some interesting comments too..

Beer 1 - "Flowers", "Fruity", "Pleasant"
Beer 2 - "Excrement", "Doesn't smell as good", "More Bitter. Less pleasant after taste"
Beer 3 - "Flowers", "Better than last one"
Beer 4 - "Mild taste of seamen" (sic), "Tastes like lager", "Sweetly interesting", "Bland"

So here are the beers revealed:

Beer 1: Black's Kinsale Pale Ale 5.0% abv
Beer 2: Trouble Brewing Sabotage India Pale Ale 5.5% abv
Beer 3: Galway Bay Full Sail IPA  5.8% abv
Beer 4: O'Hara's Irish Pale Ale 5.2% abv

The last comment is mine. After the bold flavours of beers 2 & 3, I found Beer 4 a bit lacking. And I really like O'Hara's, especially on draught, and although it did win, it would have fared better (with me) if it had come up before 2 &3. I liked the Black's IPA (as always) and the Galway Bay, which I tend to only drink when I am in Against The Grain but is pretty solid in bottles.

As for the Poker, I finished "up" on the night, courtesy of four bullets in the last hand, if you can't be good, be lucky.

New Irish Beers from Wicklow Wolf and Galway Hooker

I think I got these three in Molloy's on the Ballogan Road. I suspect the Wicked Wolf beers were around the €4 mark based on what I paid for the last two of their beers. No idea how much the Galway Hooker lager was, sorry.
 
Wicked Wolf American Amber  4.8% 50cl €??
 Didn't take notes so this from memory - don't remember much on the way of hops, but it was deliciously balanced and there were some tasty caramel notes. As with the IPA I would recommend it with a caveat on the price..
 
Wicked Wolf Locavore Blonde  4.8% 50cl €??
Love this. I have a chequered history with Blonde ales but this definiteley hit the spot. This is a seasonal brew described as "fresh hopped 2014 all Irish ingredient blonde ale". Lots of hops (for a blonde) and good body. Here's the blurb from the website - it's all true.

"This beer is made using all Irish ingredients. We start with a grain bill of 100% Irish Ale Malt from Malting Company of Ireland.  The beer is hopped using all of our own hops grown in Roundwood This years batch has a blend of Cascade, Perle, Nugget, and Prima Dona. The hops are added late in the boil to capture the subtle flavor and aromas from the hops. As this is a special harvest ale, the beer will never taste the same from year to year, as we plant newer varieties of hops and the harvest yields increase the brews will be unique every time."

Galway Hooker Irish Dark Lager  4.3% 50cl €??
I don't really care for the "classic" Galway  Hooker pale ale. It's a bit mild for me so I was pleasantly surprised to find that this was a very decent lager. Amber in the glass, good body/mouthfeel, decent head, bit of malt. I'll add this to the (quite) short list of good Irish craft lagers.

"New" Guinness porters

Guinness West Indies Porter 50cl 3.8% abv €3.29
Guinness Dublin Porter 50cl 6.0% abv €3.09

The only info I can find from Guinness/Diageo is here.  here's an excerpt - "Inspired by authentic recipes, whose origins lie in the historic GUINNESS’ brewers’ diaries from the late 1700s and early 1800s, the new beers will be available in selected pubs and retailers from mid-September."

I'm starting with the weaker of the two, which is normally the best way to go. It's either a feast or a famine here, the Dublin porter limps with an anemic 3.8%, while the West Indies porter swaggers in, sporting a muscular 6 percent.

Guinness Dublin Porter

Well it's not your regular Guinness, I notice as I pour. There's no distinctive boiling bubbles as it settles, but there is a thickish foamy head. Initially, its not doing it for me, it's a bit thin and slightly sharp. Not for me this one.

Guinness West Indies Porter
Better. More body, nice malt. Probably would try this again.

Beavertown Pale Ales

Another horizontal tasting, this time from Beavertown, who I thought were American (mostly from the can designs) but are actually from London, innit. I had the Neck Oil once, late at night and quite liked it, so I decide to try all three Pale Ales at once. All in cans and all from O'Briens - link

Neck Oil Session IPA 33cl 4.3% 45 IBU €3.49
There is an uncomfortable looking cloudy and pale colour in the glass but has some lovely citrus fruits on the nose. It's a tough one, making an IPA that's high on flavour but low on alcohol. By god, this pulls it off. Lots of grapefruit, a decently bitter finish; it obviously doesn't have the malty sweetness you get from the higher abv. Fits the definition of  session ale and would be great on a hot summer day.

Gamma Ray American Pale Ale 33cl 5.4% 55 IBU €3.89
A more golden colour in the glass, bit more body, nice touch of malt. Not bad at all, but pricey for 330m, IMNSHO.

8 Ball Rye IPA 33cl 6.2% 65 IBU €4.09
Red (natch) and cloudy in the glass, really liked this, a pinch of spice and a lovely long bitter finish.

New (Posh) Irish beers

 

Independent Brewing Whiskey Stout 50cl 7.0% abv €6.19 link
Liked this a lot but wouldn't drink more than one, as with all of these very strong stouts, they tend to be a touch sweet. Two marks against this stout, one - I didn't get any whiskey notes, two - it was bleedin' expensive at something north of six notes. 

CloughMore Granite Lager  50cl 4.5% abv €3.59 link
Apparently this come from Whitewater Brewery, about whom I have had mixed things to say over the last while. But this I liked. Crisp, clean and moreish.

9 White Deer Brewery Stag Ban  50cl 4.5% abv €4.29 link
It doesn't say on the bottle what style of beer this is and I guess it's a golden ale and for once I've found an Irish Golden Ale, that I really liked. This was crisp, light, refreshing and delicious. Slightly more of a summer drink but my real problem is that it's very dear for what it is. I can just about justify paying €4+ for a dynamite IPA, but I'd find it hard to pay that for a light ale, just my opinion though.

White Gypsy Yule Ól 50cl 6.0% abv €4.29 link
Oh yes, this is the ticket. A deep ruby colour in the glass. It's got a wonderful full, rich flavour of "toffee and coffee" per the label, and I'll go along with that. It's almost porter-like in it's rich chocolately-ness. I've had a few White Gypsy beers on draught and these guys know what they are doing. Shame about the label, it's skew-whiff.

Wicked Wolf IPA 50cl 6.3% abv €4.49
It's not bad, its got some nice fruity hops, a bunch of pine, but not a lot going on in the malt stakes. It's a bit of a hop bomb and it's certainly decent, especially as this appears to be a first effort from this new Bray based brewery. I like to buy Irish but there's better IPAs out there for the money (8 Degrees make quite a number.); €4.50 is a lot to pay for IPA that you don't absolutely love. 

Wicked Wolf American Brown Kentucky Common 50cl 4.8% abv €3.99  link
Well, this was a brown ale, I'm not a huge fan of brown ales, I find them a bit...meh. This was ok; there was a little sweetness, some maltiness and a touch of fruit but nothing that would bring me back for more. Sorry.

12th Abbey Altered Amber 50cl 4.2% abv €3.99 link
Dark red, light maybe a bit watery initially? Got better as it warmed up  - not bad, developed some nice taste. Decent overall especially as its only 4.2%. Not cheap tho'.

12th Abbey Irish Pale Ale 50cl 4.8% abv €3.99
It was late when I drank this and I didn't take many notes but I liked it. Bit of malt, bit of hops; not dissimilar to a number of other solid Irish IPAs and that's not a bad thing.

Last one from O'Briens, this time...
12 Acres Pale Ale 50cl 4.6% abv €3.79 link
My first beer from Laois, I think.
Ugh - nasty, bitter. Don't like this at all, down the sink.  I've come across this style/taste(?) of beer a lot recently (if it's a style and not a fault) in a number of ales and I just hate it, sorry. I suspect it could be me and if so I apologise to the numerous producers.
 

More Aldi Beers

Wychwood Brewery Bah Humbug 50cl 5.0% abv €2.49 link
Didn't like this at all. The cinnamon just didn't work for me and I found it sickly sweet and spicy. Down the sink.

O'Shea's Traditional Irish Ale 50cl 5.0% abv €1.99
I don't know why I'm surprised, but  this is pretty good. Rich in flavour with some nice caramel notes. It's supposably made by Carlow Brewing, who make O'Hara's. I'd have to taste it against O'Haras red but I reckon they're fairly similar, and I really like O'Haras red. Priced to move...

Bateman's Rosey Nosey 50cl 4.7% abv €2.49 link
Based on the label alone I wasn't hopeful but this is a decent red ale. Nice bit of malt, caramel and a hint of fruit. Not bad at all. 50c more than the O'Shea's though, and that's Irish.

Berliner Kindl Pils 50cl 4.8% abv €1.49
Very pale in the glass and a bit thin on the palate, I didn't really care for it. This might be OK on a hot day but I wouldn't buy this again even at this cheap price.

**Update**
So I was back in Aldi to buy more of their delicious Malbec and I noticed that there were some new O'Shea's beers (see above). I'll be reviewing them over the next few days.

O'Shea's Irish Pale Ale 50cl 4.3% abv €1.99
As I mentioned here, I read somewhere that the O'Shea's beers are made for Aldi with the difference on the IPA front is that the Aldi version is not dry hopped. I haven't had the OHara's for a while but there doesn't seem to be a huge difference, i.e. it's pretty good. And I'm sorry to always banging on about price but at €4 per litre, it's competitively priced. 

O'Shea's Irish Stout 50cl 4.5% abv €1.99
Like it, good body, lots of flavour, maybe could be a bit creamier? Goes very well with Knappogue Castle 12 yo, which I got for Xmas, from a generous Kris Kindle.

O'Shea's Irish Golden Ale 50cl 4.1% abv €1.99
I'm not a huge fan of golden ales, for me they often fall between two stools, Lager and IPA, with not enough of either to work for this jaded palate, but this was quite delicious. It was a couple of weeks ago that I drank it (this blog update is way late), but I remember being very impressed. It was light and refreshing with a suggestion of hops that worked for me. If you likes your golden ales, I suspect you won't go wrong here.

8 Degrees: A Very Imperial Winter

Here's the link..all beers €3.09 from my friends at Baggot St Wines.

Belgian Dubbel 33cl 7.2% abv €3.09
Ah yes, it's that Belgian style of beer. I used to love it; Chimay, Duvel, Kwak etc., but for some reason I went completely off it; I found the fruity sweetness cloying,  I'm not sure what I was expecting here, to be honest. I got the Dubbel more for completeness sake, than out of a genuine desire for it. Having said that, now that I'm about half way through it, I think I'm enjoying it. Probably won't but it again but if you like this style of beer then why not buy Irish...

Double Irish Imperial IPA 33cl 9.0% abv €3.09
Another winner in the IPA dept. Strong (natch), hoppy and delicious. These guys can do no wrong at the moment. That's all I can say, if you like big IPAs, buy this. 

Russian Imperial Stout 33cl 9.0% abv €3.09
First off, Herself loved it. I have a curious relationship with Imperial Stouts. All the beer bloggers/purists/nerds bang on about them and I can see what the attraction is. Lots of alcohol and all that chocolate, coffee and whatnot. The problem for me, as a Dublin boy raised from the pram on Guinness, is that I don't like my stout sweet. So while I appreciate the quality, I'm just not convinced this style is for me, apart from an occasional dip in, like a few other things in my life...

More Random Xmas Beers from Molloys

More new beers that I picked up in Molloy's on the Ballyogan Road. They do have a smashing amount of craft and unusual beers.

Williams Bros   link
I drank the three beers below at the start of a very long and unprofitable poker game, it was early on in the evening so I was still modestly sober.

Caesar Augustus Lager /IPA Hybrid 50cl 4.1% €2.89 - reduced from €3.95
OK. Light and refreshing, more of a summer drink though. 

Seven Giraffes Extraordinary Ale 50cl 5.1% €2.89 - reduced from €3.95
Strange and awful; Josie drank it though.

Cock of The Walk Scottish Red Ale 50cl 4.3% €2.89 - reduced from €3.95
Liked this a lot. Solid, hearty red ale. Not sure I'd pay 4 quid for it though when there's a plethora of good Irish Red Ales for a bit less on sale. But one to try if you like your red ales.

The White Hag link
The White Hag Irish IPA 33cl 7.2% €2.99    
Coloured like an amber ale, at first sip it's clear that this is not an IPA for the faint hearted, although that should be obvious with an abv of 7.2%. Big, sweet and hoppy. It's not dissimilar to the Modus Hoperandi below. Styled like those  American IPAs I love, it's maybe not quite as balanced as them though.

The White Hag Irish Oktoberfest Brew 33cl 6.2% €2.99
Nice. A reddish, strong, fruity ale. It's a Samhain ale, for those Celts among you. Not quite sure why it's called Oktberfest, but I'll bite. These guys (from Sligo) are two for two so I'm delighted to find another Irish Brewery that delivers consistent quality. I've had some shocking Irish beers of late, I'm sorry to say.

Miscellaneous 
Modus Hoperandi India Pale Ale 35cl 6.8% €3.69 link 
Amber, almost orange in the glass. Large head. Big and sweet and oh so good. My kind of IPA. Apparently you can get a six pack for about nine dollars in Chicago, blues.

Einstok Icelandic Pale Ale 33cl 5.6% €2.99 link 
Again, orangey in the glass. Pleasant but unremarkable. This is that mild style of Pale Ale that doesn't have masses of hops but is perfectly drinkable nonetheless. Probably won't buy it again though; not my bag, baby.
    
BrewDog This. is. Lager.  33cl 4.7% €2.89 link
This.is....Meh.

8 Degrees Pale Ales

I have a curious relationship with 8 Degrees Pale ales.  I never really loved their core Pale Ale - Howling Gale, which I found a bit bland and not dissimilar to a bunch of other Irish Pale Ales, which are fine but nothing to get excited about. However, whenever they tried something different; the "Hop Off" IPAs - Cyclone and Hurricane, Amber Ella, Vic's Secret, Simcoe Rye Ale etc. the results are all marvelous. All were touted as being seasonal or one-offs. What I couldn't undertand was why they wouldn't make one of the IPAs, at least, part of the core range.

Since then, it appears that Amber Ella and Hurricane have been added to the rotation, hurray! Recently the Full Irish has also arrived on the scene. Hopefully they'll keep making it, as the first time I tried it I really liked it. In my mind I couldn't distinguish what made it different to the Hurricane, so I decide to buy both and compare. While I was at it I figured I'd throw in the Howling Gale, and see how it held up against it's hoppier brethren.

With Herself away in warmer climes I enlisted the help of BigBog to provide some unbiased opinion. After a couple of Grolschs to warm us up we moved onto pale ales with a Bo Bristle IPA. For some reason I didn't include this in my Irish Pale Ale challenge. Anyhoo, it was perfectly pleasant, a little light for my taste but fine and well balanced. Next up the contenders 8 Degrees...

BB was tasting blind, I was not. Here are our tasting notes, verbatim.

Howling Gale Pale Ale  33cl 5% abv  €2.25
BB: Generic. Not as distinctive as BB. Grows on you. Smells like cheese.
W: Not bad, better than expected, but yes generic. Maybe a bit soapy?

The Full Irish Single Malt IPA 33cl 6% abv  €2.75
BB: Citrsussy. Quite nice. Dry finish.
W: Yummy yummy. Grapefruit, mango and malty sweetness, full flavour, very well balanced.


Hurricane IPA 33cl 5.8% abv  €2.75
BB: Harsher than #2. Like whiskey that is not as matured.
W: Lovely, but flavour is not as full or rounded as Full Irish.

So there it is, the Howling Gale is OK, the Hurricane is very tasty but the Full Irish is just fabulous. I hope this ale becomes part of the core range.

**Update - has The Full Irish again a week later  and was surprised just how much tropical fruit is going on. Lots is the answer, lots.

Random German Beers (from Ballyogan)

Doing some shopping in Dunnes in Ballogan I noticed some new cheap lager, and  I'm always on the lookout for good cheap lager. There were three beers from Eichbaum, a Pilsener, a Weissbier (I ignored that one) and the last of the three was a huge (950ml) of "Premium" beer, which I just had to buy.. 

Eichbaum Pilsener 50cl 4.8% abv  €1.50

Best way to describe this is probably "solid". Nice balanced taste, good mouthfeel and a decent finish. Good value as priced and  I'll be buying more.

Eichbaum PremiumBier 95cl 5.5% abv €3.50  
Didn't really care for this. The extra strength and "premium-ness" translates into a slightly unpleasant heat and a touch bitterness at the back of the palate. Don't like.

I was in Molloys looking for new Irish beers and IPAs and I cam across these two premium looking German types so I decide to take a punt on them. Link 

Stortebeker Atlantik-Ale 50cl 5.1% abv €3.75
When I bought this I had no idea what kind of "ale" this was. It came out a very pale if slightly cloudy lager like colour, so I guess it's probably a pale (or golden) ale. First things first, its got loads of lovely tropical fruit, loads. Not a huge finish but there's a little hoppines to counterbalance the fruit. If you like the tropical fruit thing then this a lovely example.

Stortebeker Pilsener-Bier 50cl 4.9% abv €3.25
Quite pale in the glass with a pretty thick white head with a slightly grassy aroma. I like it. It has a crisp and clean flavour. It's very well balanced with a hint of hops at the finish. It's a pretty solid Pilsener, problem is it's not cheap at €3.25 a bottle. Is it significantly nicer than other decent euro lagers e.g. Veltins, Spaten, Pilsner Urquell, Krombacher etc? You be the judge.

More New Irish Beers & Some Bonus Tesco "Craft" beers

Pokertree Red Earl Ruby Ale 5.5% abv €3.95
Didn't like this at all, while it had some caramel and fruit at the start, the overpowering flavour was a sharp, unpleasant bitterness. Down the sink.

St Mel's Helles Lager  (Bottle Conditioned and dry Hopped) 5% abv €3.99
Ugh. Awful nasty bitter, same as their Pale Ale. There's something wrong with their beers OR my taste buds but both were undrinkable vile, sorry.

West Mayo Brewery Clew Bay Sunset Red Ale 4% abv €3.95
Dropped this on the way to the fridge so only got half a bottle -lots of caramel and sweetness, bit light tho, need more depth of flavour, alcohol or something.

Note: I'll be reviewing the 8 degrees in a separate post

Colgan's IPA 6.0% abv (4 for €6-50)
Amber red in the glass with a thin head. First impressions - light on the hops, heavy on the sweetness. Unf. it's not the deep malty sweetness that I like, it's a tiny bit cloying and syrupy. I had high hopes for this, especially when I saw the big "ALC. 6%" on the bottle. Sorry, this one ain't for me - and I bought four of them!

Rye River Brewing Solas Red 5.5% abv €1.89
Rye River are also responsible for the McGargles range of craft beers which some people have been VERY sniffy about. I don't have that problem and quite like all three of their beers with the lager being a personal favourite see this post. Not quite sure where this beer fits in the pantheon but here goes. First taste - not bad, mild. As its warming up its developing some subtle fruit and earthy notes. Not a huge flavour experience but a decent if unremarkable ale.

BONUS - Tesco Own Brand Craft Beers

Tesco California Common Steam Beer 4.7% abv €2.99
Brewed by Marston's. I don't know much about steam beers. These are brewed using lager yeast at higher then normal temperatures, which produces a sort of ale/lager hybrid. I found this a little light and watery but I liked the taste. I'm not sure how much more I'd buy of it at €3 a pop though.

Tesco Craft Lager 5.0% abv €2.99
Also brewed by Marston's, this is apparently "dry-hopped with Admiral and Boadicea", "refreshing citrus orange flavour". I have to say, after a few sips, I am finding it quite refreshing and it does have a tang of oranges off it. While it has some good mouthfeel I'm not sure I'd buy it at this time of year, feels more like a summer sunshine beer.

New Irish Beers!

I'm always happy to see new Irish breweries/beers and the three below represent two new breweries (to me) Brehon & St Mel's. The Kinnegar Black Rye IPA was on draught at the recent Craft Beer fest, but I declined to avail of it as I was feeling a bit full (and jarred).

Brehon Brewhouse Killany Red   50cl 4.5% abv €2.99 link
A darkish cloudy reddish brown in the glass, white persistent head. First taste is fruit followed by a light malty but lingering finish. I like it. It's only 4.5% but it tastes a bit bigger.

Kinnegar (Special)  Black Bucket Black Rye IPA 50cl 6.5% abv €3.99 link
Yummy. This was big and bold. Lots of hops, lots of toasty roasted malt and a nice hoppy lingering finish. I like the standard Rustbucket Rye Ale a lot (although it ain't cheap  €7-50 for a bottle in Kelly's Rosslare) and this

St Mel's Pale Ale 50cl 4.8% abv €3.99 link
Sorry - I don't like this, it's got that really sharp bitterness that I can't abide, and that I have found in a few beers, Dungarvan Comeragh Challenger for one. Down the sink.

Weird Beard Beers

I found a selection of beers from Weird Beers in Molloys on my last visit there, so I bought them all as an experiment, like. They are a London Brewery and seem to make a wide variety of ales. Link 

Five O'Clock Shadow - American IPA 33cl 7.0% abv €3.49
This is more like it. Big, bold, hoppy, malty. Like it a lot and will buy again

Hit The Lights  - Mixed Up IPA 50cl 5.9% abv €4.39
Hmmm. Crisp, light, not masses of hops. Orange flavours (like those effervescent vitamin tablets). A little bitterness at the finish. Maybe needs food. A summer ale I think. Expensive though as priced.

Fade To Black - Black IPA 33cl 6.3% abv €3.49
While this is nominally an IPA, it's not really. I've had a few black IPAs and while they have some nice coffee/chocolate and roasted notes, they are, at heart, hoppy IPAs. This is the opposite; a thick, rich, chunky porter with a little bit of hops at the margins. I shouldn't complain, because it is rather good. There is an extraordinary breadth of complex flavours on show here. I don't tend to drink much in the way of bottled stouts/porters but I will definitely buy this again.
**Update ** I bought it again and gave it to Herself and she loved it, a cracker.

Little Things That Kill 50cl 3.0% abv €3.99
A violently hoppy little beer. Smells nice. Its very fizzy - lots of big bubbles and a pale slightly cloudy hue in the glass. Reminds of Brewdog Dead Pony Club, low abv, no malt and lots of hops. I don't tend to like weak beers but this is a tasty session ale, I'd miss the malt though.

Mariana Trench - Transpacific Pale Ale 33cl 5.2% abv €3.29
First time around I had this with some hot chilli crisps and couldn't really taste it, so I decided to give it another try. so I liked it but didn't love it. It's well balanced, with some nice tropical fruits and a touch of malt, and its very drinkable. One for those who don't like their Pale Ales too big or hoppy, with perhaps a little subtlety.

Black Perle 50cl 3.8% abv €3.99
A Coffee Milk Stout. This is different; sweet, like milky mocha. Not sure I really like it though. It's a milk stout which is traditionally made with lactose to sweeten it. It resembles cold sugary coffee with a hint of vanilla. It is actually made with coffee - here's a blog post from the brewer on the history of this ale. Hmmmmm, worth a try for the experience but not one I'd buy again.