Dublin Beer Views

Devenney's of Dundrum have done it again The Christmas beer box, an ideal pressie for your beer nerd realtive. 12 specially selected beers, a snack (nuts etc) a branded glass (all nerds love branded glassware) and delivery of the wrapped box all in for €50. My darling wife ordered one up for me and it arrived mid December. I was NOT allowed go near it until Christmas day and whilst the kids dived into the wrapping paper, plastic, singing dolls and batteries, I eagerly unwrapped my box. I was very very happy with the contents. I'll blog each of the beers over the holiday period.

We've had a month of freezing temperatures and snow that has brought the country to a standstill. But snow is not without its uses !!!!

I know it says Lager on the label,m but forget that. Consider this a lighlty hopped Pils. Its about as moreish as beer gets. chewy mouthfeel, loads of yummy malt, and hop, not too much but enough to be fresh. I want to be in NYC with a pitcher of this. Available in the supermarkets, Tesco usually have a carry pack, 6 pack for €9.99. And well worth that.

Yes, thats right, Guinness Lager, no not Harp, its a black lager, on sale as a trial in Northern Ireland only. Its aimed at Guinness drinkers who are ashamed of a draft can whilst on the dancefloor apparently. More show than go. Thats how it tastes too, its ok, beats the usual "bud" but its too thin, too light, too , well icky. I drank all 4 like water, which is just about what it feels like. Not for me.

Now thats what I call hopped. I tried this last year and the hop was way way to acidic, it was raw lemon concentrate, it burned. This year it does not, I was advised to give it a second go and I'm delighted I did. The deal here is that the well established and respected Sierra Nevada, brewery, USA, take fresh hop, just picked and use it directly i the boil. No drying out, no use at your leisure. Thereby preserving ad utilising all that nature provides. It certainly works, ad this time its nicely balanced with good robust malt. Delivered in a large bottle, it makes for a pleasant evening. This was my treat to me, whilst the Mrs was at her Christmas doo with ladies.

Carlow Brewing take things even further. Brilliant. The best Stout on sale in Ireland. This, no debate, no doubt. The ultimate bottled stout. Have I made myself clear. On tap please boys, in every shop please.

Irish brewed. Deep red ale. Full of fruit, an intoxicating smell, its like dipping your head into an old sweet shop. At the very very top of my go to list.

Lovely porter. Straight off the shelf. Always of high quality. You cant go far wrong.

If you want a light drink with a fruit mixer, add some Bacardi or other rum (preferably) to some proper pineapple juice. A bottle of rum and cartons of juice will cost 20 quid, and last a month. Its not bad, but this stuff is pish.... yuck.

Snow beer. I bought this in late November, it snowed the next day and as I look out the window there is still patches of snow on the ground. The coldest December in Ireland, EVER . Sorry folks!!!! Its Erdinger so it will be good, its a Weiss, only less fruity undertones, less Banana. Easily drank, excellent.

I got duped, I judged the book by the cover. Pale Ale, yum, strong Pale Ale great. 4%.... strong??? Well it was malty and lightly hopped, wet, fresh, a tad sweet. Will I buy 6, doubt it.

It was November before I picked up any of the Paulaner Oktoberfest batch. It was quality as ever. Although not this years favorite. Anyway just needed to close that loop.

Christmas TV includes another show from Oz Clarke ad Hugh Dennis, this time traversing the UK and Ireland searching out "local" drinks for their one night only Pub. Its light hearted and fun, and it exposes the public to the wonder of the craft beer, wine, spirits available on their doorstop. A Scottish visit to a brewery that use "imported casks to add character to their Ale" could only have been and was a trip to Iniss&Gunn. yippee. I adore this stuff. I also remembered that I had recently tried two of their special batches, one made in Rum Casks, the other an IPA twist. The Rum was more-ish in the extreme, the IPA fresher but less exciting. I&G regular has a deep toffee taste, its pithy ale, but when you warm to it, the toffee shines through, all warm ad round. Sometimes I can take or leave hoppy stuff and just want warm malt, deep and chewy. Ad thats I&G. The Rum batch just kicks this on further with more complexity. Delicious.

Where to start? 18.2% ABV. Yep..... you read that right This porter, was brewed to be extreme and it is. When it was launched it was the strongest beer available commercially in the world, and it kicked off a "strength" war. I had this late one night, over about 4 hours, as it warmed, and had its fill of oxygen and as I sipped it developed into a stunning, deep flavorsome dark bee. However my first sips were difficult, the alcohol is burning. Whilst its heavily hopped to combat that, that heat and tang are hard on the pallet, it would be delicious to share, amongst 3, a dram, a night cap, on top of some heavy stout. I thoroughly enjoyed the experience, and thats it, it was an experience, not just a bottle of beer. Be warned, despite my 4 hours and snacks, I was a bit unsteady heading to bed, although I slept solidly :-) Tokyo, forms the basis of "Tactical Nuclear Penguin" which raised the game and outstipped a German rival. TNP is based on Tokyo, a batch is frozen 3...

Now for something different. The Zeitgeist brews from BrewDog are kind of, sub-brands, they come and go and bring something different to the mix, but you never really know whats likely to come out of the bottle. This was a hopped porter, dark, deep, bitter dark chocolate but a tad over carbonated for me. Maybe it was a bit young still. Its always fun to pick one up. Try, be brave.

The 3rd of the easily obtainable BrewDogs was 77 Lager. Its a lager, but with extra personality, its not designed to be served at zero degrees, hence eliminating any taste that might exist in your big brand pub "pint". It has actual taste, real flavour, more Pils than "brand_x-lite". This means Hop exists as a flavour, not just an ingredient. Tangier than Brooklyn Lager (see review to follow) This wasn't my favourite BresDog, its hard to go balls out with Lager, this didn't go far enough for me. 24 bottles in a box... nah, this yes though.

Properly tongue in cheek BrewDog are right in your face when it comes to advertising their beer. Have a read of the label of their Punked IPA. Many will be down right offended, if you are, stay well clear of the contents, because you may need hospital treatment or counsiling !!!!!!!!!!! If its got you wondering, or laughing out loud, delv on in. Its fabulous. Would I drink a half gallon of this watching the football, probably not. But at the end of a session, when lager melds into lemonade, this is a kick in the gut to wake you up. LOADS and LOADS of Hop, it zings along. Lovely.

As you may have noticed the picture of me at the top of this blog, depicts an excessively sociable chap holding 2 bottles of beer, it was not yet 5AM, but the beer was Brewdog. I'd managed to twist the lad's arms into selling me a few bottles at the August Beer festival run by Ruth at Deveney's. It was one of my favourites on the night and remains so. Its a red ale, a dark almost "Irish Red Ale" but with added Brewdog kick in the form of a heap of Hop. Lovely. Its malty and tangy, very refreshing. Right up there in my go to list now, especially as Superquinn, Molloys and may other high street sellers now stock it. Its pictured here beside a Dogfish Head beer, DFH are a US brewer, and yet they have developed a very similar drink. Also a hopped brown ale.