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.

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.