#113: Beer in Sneem

In my last two posts, I blogged about beers I brought with me to Sneem, expecting a total absence of craft beer, or even good 'premium' stuff. Typically, I'd expect to find Guinness, Murphy's, Heineken and Budweiser, with trendier places dispensing Coors Light and Miller, probably in bottles. Of course, I wouldn't at all expect to find anything in an off-licence. As such, it seemed essential that I bring a couple of quality brews to stave off the macro blues.

How delightfully wrong I was.

D. O'Shea's pub in the town serves Rebel Red and Friar Weisse on tap, along with the major brands listed above. Also of note to me was the Staropramen tap - I certainly wasn't expecting that. Riney's, also in the town, is a bar/general store/off-licence that I discovered to be selling beers from St. Austell, Fullers, Belhaven, Courage and Shipyard among others (I just can't remember the full range), including Kriek Boon. Yes, let it be known that one can purchase a Lambic in Sneem. Eager to exploit the choice, I brought a Courage Russian Imperial Stout.

I apologize for sounding so patronizingly shocked at the choice of beer in the town, perhaps it's just the Cork City coming out in me...

Anyway, I decided to try the Friar Weisse in O'Shea's, seeing as I hadn't had one in about two years. My palate has matured since then, and I highly doubt I gave this beer the respect it deserves the first time around. At first, the aroma is quite subdued with the cold, but with time and warmth it reveals the standard checklist 'weisse' items of bubblegum and clove, with the fruitiness characterized by citrus and hints of the expected banana. Nothing particularly unique going on here, but the taste makes up for that. Bubblegum sweetness appears again in light hints, along with the aforementioned citrus and banana, but things really come together with the Wit-like floral bitterness to the finish and the ever-present nutty undertone. I genuinely believe this is a German-syle Hefe with a difference, and that it would compete with it's Bavarian counterparts in a test of taste and drinking experience. 

As much as I love the Franciscan Well, I must confess that Rebel Red is the only of their beers that I regularly have. The others I've tried once each (until now) and never returned to. Perhaps this is because I tasted them so early in my craft beer education that I failed to appreciate them fully. Either way, I'll definitely be coming back to the Friar Weisse, and I'll endeavour to re-evaluate the other beers from my most local brewer in good time.

#112: Rochefort 6

For my second (and regrettably last) post from Sneem, I present the other beer I brought with me, the Rochefort 6. I'm a big fan of the 10 and 8 from this brewer, so I was excited to try this for the first time.

Rochefort 6 pours a dark hazy amber (despite how dark it looks in the photograph) which is pale by comparison to the other two in the group. The aroma is absolutely gorgeous, with sweet red berries dominating at first. It's borderline sour with the yeast moving around, but when it calms down the warm malt and dark fruit really open up. Unfortunately the taste doesn't quite match the standard of the aroma, with the malty, nutty toffee fading into a mildly fruity finish. The carbonation and alcohol lend a harshness to the finish that suggest to me that this beer might benefit from a little aging to mellow itself out. Surprising, considering the active carbonation and higher alcohol content of the other two beers are far form detrimental to their drinking experience.

I may have a particular bias towards the Rochefort 10 and 8, but even so, this beer doesn't really hit the mark for me. The aroma alone is enjoyable enough to make it worth a try, perhaps somebody else will fare better with the taste.

#111: Grottenbier

I'm enjoying a short stay in Sneem at the moment, and as is customary for my short trips away, I've brought a couple of bottles of nice beer with me, in case of beery emergencies.

The first of those is Grottenbier. This 6.5% St. Bernardus product is apparently aged in caves, and is the brainchild of Pierre Celis. Certainly there's an element or two of the 'Celis' to this beer. It pours a cloudy chestnut brown with a finger of pale, white eggshell head. The aroma is spicy, almost sour to begin with, but it soon mellows out to reveal clove and coriander sitting atop an otherwise malty body. The clove and coriander are better defined in the taste, and make up a generally spice orientated taste. Once again, this only really asserts itself in the beginning, before warming up to smooth toffee malts, until the finish kicks in with it's lasting floral bitterness. 

The body's light but quite satisfying, and it's a very interesting beer. Affordable too, so I'd recommend it for sure.

Sneem is a gorgeous place, and though the weather doesn't quite do it justice at this time of year, the mist does give it a sort of ethereal beauty. Also, rumour has it there's a pub in this tiny town that sells Irish craft beer. 

Truly, a gift from the gods.

#110: St. Bernardus Christmas Ale

This is the penultimate winter seasonal beer in my collection (for now), and the very last Christmas beer. It's the one I had pictured in my mind when I first thought of trying a 'Christmas beer', and as such, the one I've been looking forward to most.

This is because it's brewed by Brouwerij St. Bernardus, one of my favourite brewers, responsible for the gorgeous Abt 12 and Prior 8 among others. I was hoping for (and kind of expecting) an Abt 12 with spice, and I wasn't very much disappointed.

St. Bernardus Christmas Ale pours as dark as the Quad of the range, with a big, long lasting, creamy off-white head. Dark fruit dominates the aroma, all the usual suspects of figs, plums, raisins and the like, with just a hint of green and red apple too. There's spice alright, but it's limited to clove as far as I can tell, with the rest of the beer's 'spicy' aroma more akin to Belgian yeast. The taste is perfect, as far as a Christmas beer goes. Clove is joined by vanilla, toffee and tiny hints of cinnamon as decorations to the already rich and powerful dark fruit tree. The 10% alcohol produces a lovely warming sensation, and I suspect is also responsible for the way in which the beer totally coats the inside of the mouth, allowing for a nice lingering aftertaste. It's a sweet beer, but sweet in strictly malt and fruit sense, as it totally avoids being a cloying sugarbomb like some other beers.

I enjoyed this much more than any of the other winter or Christmas beers so far, so I would certainly recommend it. I must also say, however, that I don't think I'd reach for this over an Abt 12. Which is important, seeing as the difference is quite minimal, despite being almost twice the price. Still though, worth a go if it's around in the New Year.

Speaking of which, being the last day of the year, you'll probably see a few Golden Pints doing the rounds on the beer blogosphere. When I started this blog in April, I was excited to compile a similar list, but like a football league table at Christmas, nothing is final, not yet. As such, I'll leave that sort of thing until I've actually been doing this for a year, in April. In the meantime, just Google the Golden Pint  and you'll find seemingly infinite results, or head on over to The Beer Nut to have a look at his.
No, not just because this blog gets name-dropped, but because 8 Degrees Ochtoberfest would also be my pick of the year.

Thanks for bearing with me through this often mind-numbingly repetitive process of 'reviewing' beers, and enjoy the New Year festivities, if that's what you're into.

#109: A Winter's Ale

This is the one of the last Christmas/Winter seasonal beers I have in my possession, and the third from Ireland, after the Yule Ól and Sanity Claus. I would have posted about this around a week ago, but I was having too much fun doing very little for Christmas.

8 Degrees Brewing's A Winter's Ale pours a hazy amber, much lighter than I expected, with a bubbly white head. At first sniff, it's not much different from a pumpkin ale, although I find it thankfully has more in common with the Sam Adams Harvest Pumpkin than the bland and artificial Pumpkinhead. Cool clove is ever-present, with spicy peel and zest notes taking the back seat. Clove is again present in the taste, although this time it's accompanied by a lovely dark fruit and sugary malt character. The finish has a low hop and spice flavour, reminding you of the beer's seasonality. 

It's very tasty, to be sure, but it never really takes off. This could be the lack of complexity or the lightness of the body, but I feel it doesn't really reach it's full, satisfying potential.

Again, the search goes on. 

#108: Ridgeway Christmas

The following three are all from Reidgeway Brewing in Oxfordshire, seeming made for export to the US market, yet somehow finding their way to our shores. The novelty factor is high in these parts. You have been warned.

First up is Santa's Butt. The label explains that the 'butt' in question is not the big fella's arse, but rather a volume of liquid, in this case beer. It's a porter and pours like one, being ruby red when held to the light. The nose has touches of coffee but is generally red berries and sugary sweetness all the way. This is emulated by the taste, with sweetness, fruitiness and malts dominating. It doesn't start to feel like a porter until the very end, when the coffee you thought you smelled finally comes back into play. Like Innis and Gunn's Winter Treacle Porter, it is driven by a sugary sweetness, but thankfully it never quite threatens to cloy like that particular beer. 

The name and label of this seasonal offering will prove a whole lot more memorable than the contents, while there's nothing really negative to say about the beer. It's tasty and drinkable, albeit instantly forgettable. And that's OK for a novelty beer.

Next we have Reindeer Droppings, an English amber ale, according to the label. It certainly pours amber, and supports just a tiny head, evidence of the light body that is only confirmed upon drinking. The aroma is mild to say the least, and is dominated by an unadventurous hoppiness. The taste delivers more of that bland hop quality, which is drowned out completely by the nutty finish. All of this happens on the back of a water-thin body, to create an experience infinitely less memorable than the already Santa's Butt.

Oh well.

Pickled Santa is the third of the lot, and the most appropriately Christmassy. This is mostly down to the use of spices (or spice flavourings) in the beer, adding to the novelty factor that I expect when I pay for such a beer. The aroma is not unlike the Shipyard Pumpkinhead I had a while back, with vaguely clove and cinnamon-like smells dominating from the off. The taste isn't much different, offering the same clove coolness alongside a sugary sweetness. It's not a very good beer, but to be fair, none of these are. To say it's the best of the bunch probably doesn't tell you much, but it's better than nothing.

Over the weekend I had the chance to pop out for a few drinks, and with this being such a rare occurrence of late, I made an effort to try something new.

First stop was, as usual, the Abbot's. I had a Barbar to start with, but followed it with an Augustijn on tap. An 8% tripel, it was sweet and grainy, with sugary malts blending well with lighter citrus notes. The pub soon became uncharacteristically cramped and loud so we left for the newest craft beer bar in Cork, the Porterhouse. This branch of the well-known Dublin crowd opened last week on Sheares Street, and I've been looking forward to checking it out. Instead of going for one of their own beers, I opted for one I should have tried a long time ago - Metalman Pale Ale. This is the brewer's flagship beer, and it's bloody gorgeous. It's very hoppy and fruity, though not as tropical as the summer seasonal Windjammer, and packs tons of refreshing flavour into every sip. Definitely one to enjoy again.

The three Ridgeways were the last of my Christmas beers*, and I'm bloody glad of it. It's high time I had something strong, dark, and Belgian, because to be honest, I can't think of anything other than a Dubbel or Quad to reach for over the big day.

Happy Christmas from the The Drunken Destrier.

*Christmas presents pending

#107: Crazy Time of Year

While Dungarvan's Coffee and Oatmeal Stout is a limited Winter brew, it's not a novelty Christmas beer. I think it's fair to say that this most certainly is.

I've had completely contrasting experiences with Whitewater Brewing in the past. First I was very impressed by their Clotworthy Dobbin (though I've yet to write about it), before things went a bit tits up with Belfast Lager. I'm interested to see how this one goes...

Sanity Claus pours a clear, light ruby red. It could easily pass for an Irish Red, in fact. The aroma really only comes alive when the beer warms up, producing lovely chocolate malt and liquorice notes. Interesting, and not at all what I expected. The taste is good too, with buttery fudge, woody malts and a nutty finish calling most of the shots, with hops providing a little bitterness and not much flavour. It's good, if a little low-key. I certainly wouldn't turn to this as a winter beer, let alone as my beer of choice for the big day itself.

The search goes on.