Irish Ale Challenge - Final

So it's come to this - The Irish Ale Challenge final. I honestly can't remember where I bought the beers below. The O'Haras and Dungarvan and fairly widely available in Off Licenses and Supermarkets, the other two, not so much.  For the uninitiated, here are links to SemiFinals1&2 and SemiFinals3&4

The finalists are as follows (l-r):
Independent Red Ale 50 cl 4.5% abv - €3.59 link
Kinnegar Devil's Backbone Amber Ale 50 cl 4.9% abv - €3.79 link
O'Hara's Irish Red 50cl 4.3% abv - €3.29 link 
Dungarvan Copper Coast Irish Red Ale 50cl 4.3% abv - €3.39 link


As usual, the format of the final is a blind tasting, with Herself being my own personal Debbie McGee for the evening. I'm hoping that the colours of the ales aren't too much of a giveaway - IIRC the Kinnegar is a noticeably amber colour and a couple of the others are a fairly full on brownish red. I genuinely have no favourite here and I hope it will be a good contest.

Here are the beers - looks like a game of two halves, Brian. Numbers one and two are dark as pitch whereas three and four have a distinctly amber hue.  Here are Your Humble Blogger's (and Herself's) tasting notes, verbatim.

#1
YHB - like it, good bitterness, nice maltiness and a long finish -
Herself - likes it but finds it a bit gentle
Guess - Independent

#2
YHB - OK - very pleasant, very smooth and quaffable. Improves after a few minutes of warming up
Herself - Likes
Guess - O'Haras

#3
YHB - Nice,  subtle flavour, smooth.
Herself - Loves this
Guess - Dungarvan

#4
YHB - Good, bit more zing to it than #3
Herself - Likes
Guess - Kinnegar
So it's between #1 and #2. As much as I enjoyed #3 and #4, I'm loving the full body and flavour of the darker ales, although both need to be poured with some vigour to generate a few bubbles.

This is a tough one. Both are well balanced with a decent malty spine; #1 has a hoppiness that's not present in #2, but #2 is incredibly smooth and shows more appealing character after about 30 minutes out of the fridge.

I'm going to give it to #1. The balance between the malt and the hops, the body and the finish just shades #2 smoothness. So now for the big reveal - What was the winner and how accurate was I with my guesses?

So the winner, by a nose, is Independent Red Ale followed by O'Haras Irish Red , with the two amber/copper ales in joint bronze (fittingly). On a related note, I got all four correct, which wasn't that difficult, once the colours were visible, only requiring two correct guesses, given that I had a fair idea which beer was which colour.

To be honest, all four are very tasty drops, with your own preference for darker fuller ales or (relatively) lighter amber ales driving your choices. That's it for me for a while. I'm off to the states for a well deserved holiday where I will attempt to sample as many of America's craft beers as possible.

I may, in my wisdom, do an Irish Golden Ale competition next - watch this space.

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

Irish Craft Ale Challenge - First Round (Part 2)

At the start of this exercise I had it in mind that I would pick four of the ales for the final, but I have five or six from the first batch of ten. I'm gonna have to limit it to eight in total and then run four semis to bring it down to an acceptable final of four. Anyhoo, on with the drinking - it's the cross I have to bear...

Brown Paper Bag Project Big Red 33cl 8.0% abv - €3.29
Pours a deep red, almost brown. With lots of head, thick and creamy. Sweet strong and tasty. The only beer so far with sediment and it's also the only beer of this strength in the field.

Galway Bay Bay Ale 50cl 4.4% abv - €3.29
Classic classic classic red ale. Perfectly fine, drinkable but nothing special.

8Degrees Sunburnt Irish Red 33cl 5.0% abv - €3.79
Deep amber, frothy head. A bit of caramel up front, light on the finish. Not bad but a bit expensive for what it is,

McGargles Granny Mary's Red Ale 4.4% abv - €2.00
Very dark red, small head, got better as it got warmer. Full flavour, nice rich finish.

Whitewater Clotworthy Dobbin 50 cl 5.0% abv - €2.99
Deep red, not bad, a little fruit, some bitterness. Decent All rounder

Hilden Halt Irish Red Ale 50 cl 6.1% abv - €3.49
Deep amber, thick head which dispersed quickly. Slightly sweet but with a sharp unpleasant aftertaste. Can't get over that aftertaste, down the sink with it.

Whitewater Belfast Ale 50 cl 4.5% abv - €2.99
Reddy brown with a thin but creamy head. Nice bitterness throughout, good mouthfeel, solid finish. It's not earth shattering but it's well balanced and reasonably priced. I like it. 

Kenmare Irish Red Ale 50 cl 4.3% abv - €3.70
Reddy brown with a decent head. Nice fruity nose and a good start, but there's no body and it has a thin finish. Not for me, this one.

That's it! Now the difficult task of picking the eight semi finalists. Back soon.

Beers from Marks & Sparks

I knew M&S did beers in the UK but for some reason I thought they didn't in the republic, for some reason. It was only after a chat with m'colleague Ed, who knows his beers, that I realised it was worth a look next time out.

It turned out there were a number of beers on offer, I ignored the dodgy fruit beers and assorted stouts and purchased the three at left. 

M&S Staffordshire IPA 50cl 5.5% abv - €3.09
Brewed by Marston's with whom I have a chequered relationship. I have had a bunch of their beers before but haven't been wowed by any of them. This ale didn't buck that trend. It was perfectly fine it poured a deep golden colour with a thin white head. Mildly hoppy with a little malty sweetness. I was underwhelmed but then the curry arrived and it worked very well with the strong spices. One to have with food I'll wager.
 
M&S Italian Lager 50cl 5.0% abv - €3.39
To give this its full title it's "Italian Lager brewed with Pure Mountain Water from the Italian Alps". My first thoughts were - wow this is expensive for a lager. €3.39 for 50ml or about €2.50 for a regular 33cl bottle; for that money I'd want something special in a lager. I guess there must be a market for Italian lager as I know plenty of folks who live on Perroni on draught, which I find a bit thin and insipid. (Moretti is my go-to Italian beer...)

This was quite pale golden in the glass with a decent head, helped by the robust carbonation. It was light and refreshing with some mild grassy flavours. A good beer for a hot day and will find favour with those who like Perroni and its ilk but probably not a beer I'd buy again.
 
M&S Czech Pilsner 50cl 5.0% abv - €2.49
Not much to say here. Drinkable, well balanced with a touch of hoppiness but a little wishy washy compared to my current fave Budvar. Would be interesting to blind taste it against Staropramen or maybe Pilsner Urquell; see if I am prejudging this beer.