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.

The Scottish Play (Beer)

Some more beers that I picked in Molloys on the Ballyogan road. They have upped their game recently and now have a very very good range of craft beers. The three below were new to me and  were available for a bargain €9 price, sweet.

Drygate Galdeye IPA 50cl 5.5% abv €3.99* link
Like this. Full bodied with lots of malt. Not a huge amount of hops, so if that's your bag, look elsewhere, but it worked for me. Would I buy it ahead of my favourite American IPAs? Probably not but I'd still recommend it.

Williams Joker IPA 50cl 5.0% abv €3.99* link
For something with such a great name this IPA was a tad underwhelming, especially for something that trumpets "wickedly hoppy" on the bottle. There was nothing wrong with this ale but I found it desperately bland. Not a lot of hops, malt or much else, I'm afraid. It could be that I'm holding it to too high a standard, but that's the great thing about a blog - it's my nickel.

Drygate Bearface Lager 50cl 4.4% abv €3.99* link
Let's also review this lager based on the claims on the label. This says "heavy on the hops light on the tongue clean and crisp citrus hints lager...". Heavy on the hops - there certainly some hops, more than you get in a normal lager; Light on the tongue clean and crisp - yep, it's light , clean and quite crisp; citrus hints - yes, this too.  So far so good, but how does it all work in toto?
Well enough IMHO, a fine summer drink but I'd need a little more; more alcohol, more malt, more something, to round out the flavour. If you like those light Italian lagers thsi will probably work well for you...

**Update**
Just picked up the Drygate Outaspace (sic) Apple Ale 4.7% €3.99  link  and a Harviestoun The Ridge Pale Ale link 5.0% €2.69

The apple ale didn't work for me (or Herself btw), it was a bit of a curates egg to be honest. The Harviestoun was OK, a bit bland but drinkable. I used to love their Schiehallion but the last time I tried it I really didn't care for it, whaddya know?

Here are some other random capsule reviews that never made a post...

Rogue Brutal IPA 66cl €7.79 5.8% 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 50 cl 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. Definitely will buy this again, Their Red Ale is pretty damn good too.

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