Even though there aren't many Wetherspoon pubs in Ireland they still come in useful as places to grab a quick pint on the way to somewhere else. Two such in today's post.
I could have sworn I've had Ringwood Old Thumper before. It's certainly not a rare beer, available bottled in Ireland and frequently on cask in the UK at the pubs of its parent brewer, Marstons. But I couldn't find a review of it so here we are, tapping this out in a laptop in The Linen Weaver, Cork's JD Wetherspoon, ahead of the 2019 Easter Beer Festival at Franciscan Well. It's a 5.1% ABV strong ale, a dark red colour and thickly textured. The flavour is rich and fruity, bringing ripe strawberries, plump raisins and a marmalade bitterness. This picture is completed by a wholesome brown-bread base. While not an exciting beer, it's a very decent take on the style, offering plenty of flavour; balanced though leaning towards the malt. I'm sorry I left it this long.A month later and the O'Brien's Summer Drinks Festival took place at their Blanchardstown branch. I popped in to The Great Wood across the way since I was in the neighbourhood. The only unfamiliar beer they had on was Admiral, an English-hopped IPA from Acorn in Barnsley. It arrived a dark ochre colour and tasting every inch the old-school bitter. Strong tea and milk chocolate were the mainstays of the flavour, with no discernible hop aroma or flavour, just a harsh metallic bitterness. This made for quite tough drinking. While it was definitely well-kept and showed no off-flavours, it still felt flabby and tired. A throwback that's difficult to throw back.
I expect there'll be a lot more of these random drop-in cask ales featuring on this blog once the central Dublin branches of Wetherspoon open.