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.
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.
