Mays Beer Post

Its a cracking day out there and i've been stuck inside so I wandered up to Sweeneys Off Licence in Phibsboro to pick up some beers for June, only to realise I hadn't posted in May!

A salute to Polish Beers!
I was in Poland during May so I decided to do a special bit on the country's beers. I started early with Jboy and went through 3 of the better known ones here. This was actually a good idea as the tipple of choice over there was Vodka, and while it was excellent, its hard to write a review after 3 of them

Lech 5.2%
Lech is the first beer I'm trying and I have to say I'm quite impressed! It pours with a golden colour and a head that quickly dissipates. The first impression is crisp and mild honey tones. It finishes with a nice smoky flavour. I always thought Lech was going to be a very generic beer but this would make a good alternative to Heineken

Zywiec 5.6%
Zywiec is more golden in colour than Lech and far less carbonated. I can only describe the aroma as mealy. If I got this from a tap I would even suspect it was slightly off but I am reliably informed this is the way it should smell. Flavour wise it was more hoppy ad bitter than Lech and with a very dry finish

Tyskie 5.6%
Same as the other two Tyskie shows a classic golden colour but the flavour has a lot more bite. There was even a faint white wine smell that I was unable to shake. Quite Bitter

Bierhalle Pils 5.2%
This is the only beer that I actually properly tasted in Poland. The beer hall was in a shopping area in Lodz. They Brewed 3 of their own beers with more to come and even had waitresses dressed in the German beer hall style. Since i was with a group the beer came in a barrel that could be poured by the customer which was a nice touch!

The beer itself was slightly cloudy with a lovely light honey scent. The flavour relfected this with additional corriander and smoky tones.

Also Ran
After I came back I was pretty well behaved for the rest of the month, but I did try a few more:

Flying Dog Double Pale Ale
Flying Dog are going up in my opinion. They modelled themselves after the writings of Hunter S. Thompson and the artwork on the label is always psychadelic.
The double pale ale is a belgian style, with a very high alcohol content. It would be similar to Delerium Nocturnum in flavour. Amber in Colour and a wonderful berry smell. The flavour is a mixture of hops and Citrus. Definetly worth a look but one at a time!

Raging Bitch IPA
Another Flying Dog offering and an IPA to boot. I am on record as saying I don't like IPA's but after a good experience with this and Jagged Edge I am going to give this style another go. This one poured a lovel Amber colourand had a bitter but orangey finish. Quite dry as an after-taste.

Jagged Edge IPA
The final taste for May was Jagged Edge IPA. The Amber colour was once again in evidence but with a less pronounced bitter scent and flavour. The finish was citrusy and I find this style of Fruit flavoured finish makes an IPA more attractive.

Just a reminder to anyone who is reading the blog.

Deveneys in Dundrum is running its Beer Festival again this year in the Tripod. Tickets are on sale now so go buy them, its a great festival and a fantastic way to expand your knowledge!

Official Festival Site
Ruth Deveneys Beer Blog

April Beer Post - I know its actually May but most of these beers were drank in April.

I was in the porterhouse with some lads I went to college with last night. Against my better judgement I started tasting some beers and while I enjoyed the beers I am paying for it today. All of this reminded me that I haven't done a post in a while!
(I also believe they may be as well!)
Goose Island, India Pale Ale

As a rule I'm not a big fan of IPA's because of the bitter taste but this one was suprisingly tolerable!

I can't describe the colour because I didn't get a glass ( a mortal sin I know!) but the flavour was slightly caramel and orange rind with a mildly malty after taste. I'd definetly recommend this to other people who aren't fans of IPA. According to the beer advocate there are hints of pine but I didn't get these! At 5.9% its certain to give you that happy feeling!

Paulaner Salvator

I had never seen or heard of this till I saw it in the fridge in "against the grain" on Camden St. Clearly a dark beer rich in flavour, its actually a double bock ( stronger version of single bock which is itself a strong sweet malty beer). It loves up to its taste as a lovely malty finish deep. Strong bread like smell with a sweet slightly fruity finish. at 7.9% this was the strongest of the beers taht was tasted in Against the Grain

Triple Karmeliet

I tasted this at a Trappist beer night arrenged by the porterhouse north. I can't remember the name of the guy running the event but he had tremendous knowlegde of his subject.
Triple Karmeliet pour slightly cloudy into the glass with very little head. The aroma was immediately coriander with a hint of caramel and a vague nutty scent and the flavour was all of the above. The taste was a bit hoppy for my liking but certainly a beer to taste, almost like a desert wine. 8.4% gives it a good kick!

Metalman IPA
Metalman has been causign a stir in the Irish craft brewing community over the last few months to the point where you have to dash to a pub when you hear its on tap to try and get a taste! Metalman are basedin Waterford and seem to release batches of their beers on draft only.
The colour is blonde but with a hint of red (i'm colour blind so don't trust this description) As with all IPA's its bitter but with a smoothness I have only seen matched by Goose Island above. The taste is caramel (again!) and honey, but the scent is more about the hops.

Trouble Or
The final beer I am blogging about is Trouble Or. I was lucky enough to taste this just after the keg was opened in the Bull and castle. Its brewed by Trouble Brewing, another addition to the growing army of Irish Craft Brewers.
I'm a bit stumped as to how to describe this. Their spiel is:
"A smooth, refreshing golden ale that is full-bodied and has a distinctive hop flavour.
Brewed using the best two-row Maris Otter pale malt interwoven with a complimentary selection of speciality malt for a robust taste. It is hopped with a combination of traditional English and modern American hops, to produce a beer with subtle fruit flavours and a crisp, lingering finish."

What I tasted was slightly different. I'd definetly agree with the malty falvour but it seemed uncarbonated to me. The colour was golden but slightly cloudy while the flavour was honey, like Fullers Honey Dew. The smell was of grain as well. I'm not certain if this is supposed to be the way it should taste or if it was too young or had not come out right, but I quite enjoyed it. I think the only way is to try it again :)

Good Friday

Just a quick post.
I'm sure these sentiments have been echoed in the media many times before but I just don't understand the logic now in prohibition on Good Friday. It temporarily shuts pubs till midnight, so people stock up in an off Licence the day before, or go out on the tear on the Thursday night instead.

The government should drop the ban for many reasons:

• It forces people with other religous views to comply with the Catholic churches laws.
• It fails to prevent people actually drinking on the day
• It prevents tourists from drinking on a good friday

The biggest reason though is that it attempts to enforce good behaviour. The people who feel strongly about not drinking as a mark of respect to their religion are still free to do so. In fact it should earn them a higher place in Heaven; if they can resist temptation then they really do understand the sacrifice.

Of course one problem is that most people manage to resist that temptation 5 or 6 days each week.
So telling them they can't drink and then closing off all of their options is basically nannying them.
As we we have all experienced in our own lives; when you are told that you have to do something it makes you more likely ro "rebel" and not do it. It might make more sense to force people to drink on the day, that way they might "rebel" positively and not drink!

March Beer Post

Sorry Folks
Haven't been many beer posts in a while. I have been drinking I just haven't been posting due to laziness!
So let me make it up to you!

Weissenofer Bonator
The find of the pack by far, beautfiul Brown colour, Caramel, chocolate and pine, smooth with no bitter after taste. 8.2% hit me pretty hard!

Helvick Gold
From the Dun Garvan Brewery, Unfortunately I don't have many notes on this one, cloudy in the glass with a slightly citrusy flavour, worth a look, not least because its Irish

Goose Island - Christmas Ale
Wonderful flavour in the best Winter beer tradition. Dark but not black in the glass, Strong flavour with rich caramel tones.

Youngs Double Chocolate Stout
I had expected this to have either a bitter black chocolate taste or a smooth creamy milk chocolate taste but I was wrong on both counts. The chocolate flavour is mild and a bit watery in the finish. If you're expecting a hot chocolate I wouldn't go for this. If you find something like that, let me know!

A Year of Beer

I'm changing phones at the moment so I decided to get all the photos off the old and I discovered a huge treasure trove of Beer photos, mostly beers that I opened planning to review, then drank a second one and forgot. Which means that I have to do it all over again :)

Bacon Beer - actually tastes and smells like bacon!

No memory of this one!

Always find Anchor steam too bitter and hoppy - Doesn't mean I don't keep trying!

Aventinus - 8.2% and German, Nuff said!

Baltika 8 - Russian wheat beer

Selection of beers from early on in the year - Duvel, Ola Dubh and Headless Dog are still favourites!

Blue Moon - Fantastic replacement for Hoegaarden creamy texture with distinctive orange rind and coriander aromas - I nearly drank a bar dry of it in Kildare

No memory of this one!

Brooklyn Pennant Ale - I expected more of this

Don't remember much flavour wise but I do remember being quite impressed by it

Chimay - Peres Trappistes no memory at all

Another Nice selection, The ODell and Dogfish heads are well worth a look, Hollows Ginger Ale is beautiful

Wasn't for me

Dark microbrewed Slovakian Beer- reviewed elsewhere in the blog

Delirium Tremens - A Belgian classic, strong % with the smooth finish, very distinctive bottle

Dogfish Head 90 minute Imperial Ale - reviewed in the blog

Dogfish Head Raison D'Etre - reviewed in the blog

Duvel 8.5% - Another classic, lovely flavour, was €1.89 a bottle in Tesco Ballybrack

Erdinger Alkoholfrei - The best 0% I've tasted (yet)

The tastiest Gluten Free beer I've tasted, perfect for a house party, bit expensive though

Fullers 1845 - Special brew by Fullers of whom I am a huge fan

Fullers Honey Dew, beautiful honey flavoured beer, would be perfect for a summers day

Fullers Discovery - No clear memory ofthis one

Fullers ESB - Another tasty offering from Fullers

Gluten free beer in Boston - I didn't drink any of these

Goose Island - Another of my favourite breweries

Goose Island Matilda - almost like a wine, caramel flavours

Goose Island Pere Jacques - Closer to the belgian style

Goose Island Sofie - Reviewd in the blog

Pint of the black stuff- poured by me (I'll never be a bar man)

Harviestoun Ola Dubh 12 - beautiful scottish dark beer matured in highland park whiskey casks

Harviestoun Ola Dubh 16 - reviewed in the blog

Headless Dog in Bull and Castle - Fantastic Belfast Beer, tasty and light

Hollows Ginger Beer - Slightly lighter than Crabbies

Don't think I tasted this, was going email the picture to George Hook

Anchor Steam Humming Ale - Reviewed in the blog

JW Dundees Honey Brown - beautiful honey finish, quite light - started me on my beer tasting hobby last year

Kirin Japanese beer - Can't remember too well

Hitachino Nest White  Ale - Coriander and orange, creamy finish

Kwak server in the proper glass in Belgium

La Biere Du Demon - 12% and strong, may have triggered an attack of Vertigo in Rome

Lat Trappe Dubbel - Belgian Abbey beer - no memory

Leffe Blonde - Classic Belgian drinking beer

Leffe Bruin - a dark beer perfect with food

Maredsous - same brewery as Duvel, also strong

Moosehead Pale Ale - good drinking beer from Canada Eh

Odell Barrel Pale Ale - No memory of the flavour

Odell Isolation Ale - reviewd in the blog

Curim Gold - Irish Brewery

O'Hara's Irish Pale Ale - Don't think I liked this one

No memory of this one at all

View of the craft beers brewed by the Porterhouse

Quillmes - Argentinian beer pleasant but not outstanding

Sam Adams Boston Lager - quite bitter wasn't one of my favourites

Sam Adams Old Fezziwig Ale - Fantastic beer will write a proper review when i find a bottle in Ireland

Sam Adams Utopias - Didn't drink this 25% and about $600 a bottle

Tasting Glass at the Sam Adams brewery

Sam Adams range and awards

Sam Adams 6 pack range

Sam Adams bottled range

Santa's Butt- dont remember this clearly - strong, very much a winter beer

Beer selection

No idea what so ever! Think I bought it because it was from Cornwall

Shiner - lovely Black Lager from Texas, very like Ola Dubh

Sierra Nevada Pale Ale - too bitter for me but quite popular

Speights - no memory

Crazy bottles of wine in a dodgy off licence in Rome

Crazy bottles of wine in a dodgy off licence in Rome

No idea but it looks like something from the Porterhouse

Westmalle Trappist Dubbel - No memory

1752 blond beer in bratislava, bitter but enjoyable, brewed by the pub itself

 

Yuengling Lager and Black & Tan, Hoppy American beer - Oldest continuously  operating brewery in the United states