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The London connection
It was odd seeing some internet opprobrium being meted out to London brewer Partizan when they announced they had created a collaboration series of beers with the Guinness Open Gate Brewery. Craft...
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Needs must
Another random bottle of Italian grape ale courtesy of UnderDog. Mosto from Bella 'Mbriana is a whopping 9.5% ABV, the strongest of these I've found.Though an innocent golden colour it tastes every bit...
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Crooked goes straight
I've come to associate the Crooked Stave Artisan Beer Project with interesting and innovative sour constructions so I wasn't sure what to make of it producing a straight-up pils. It's called Von...
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You can't say Leeds without smiling
Work brought me to Leeds for a few short days a couple of weeks ago. Pubbing time was limited but I got a bit done; places both new and familiar from my last visit.First stop was Assembly Underground,...
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Man up!
Tesco has a new own-brand pilsner, Manislav. The packaging is rather sparse and Eastern-Bloc'y, though I guess it's Budvar they're aiming to gently knock off. It's not a rebrand from some lesser Czech...
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Sugar and sports
Erdinger does a great job marketing its alcohol-free weissbier as a sports drink in Germany. I wonder how they square that with having these fructose-laden brand extensions out there. It can't be much...
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My Fidelity
Fidelity 2019, the first of its name, took place in the Round Room of the Mansion House in Dublin last month. It was the first of its kind in Ireland too: an all-inclusive beer festival, in the manner...
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Finishing the round
This is part two of my circuit of the Mansion House Round Room where the Fidelity festival happened a few weeks ago. I started the last one on a pils brewed at White Frontier for Whiplash, and their...
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Faithful to the end
From Fidelity I went straight to UnderDog where they were pouring a few festival-adjacent beers, including Jackie O's Carrots & Sticks. Because a bourbon-aged Belgian-style golden ale at 13% ABV is...
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Cheeky takeaway
An accident of the new Ryanair booking policy meant I had a check-in bag on the home leg of my recent trip to Leeds. To use that, I paid a visit to The Little Leeds Beerhouse, a small unit on an upper...
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Random wood
The strong barrel aged beers from Founders have been around for ages, but other than the stouts I haven't paid them much mind. The wife ordered a Dankwood when it was on in Underdog a while back, so of...
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Tap tap tap in the taproom
Today's look at recent specials from Dublin's bar-breweries begins at Urban, where I was well overdue a visit.The occasion was the re-launch of their EPIC (that's its name) lemon verbena IPA, first...
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Third time's the charm
Just the one post from me for Hagstravaganza 2019. I was flying solo for this the White Hag Brewery festival's third outing in Ballymote, although that was offset a little by the extra hour of drinking...
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Hag stragglers
Following on from Monday's Hagstravaganza round-up, the beers which were at the festival but I didn't bother with on the day, for one reason or another.In the case of The White Hag's own Glás, that was...
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Anglo-Belgo a-go-go
Two beers gifted from English friends today, both from their native country though in Belgian styles.Myles gave me this bottle of Durham's Bede's Chalice tripel, presenting it with a warning to open...
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Here a DOT, there a DOT
It doesn't feel like there's been a rush of DOT beers recently (Big Grill Festival notwithstanding; I wasn't there) but I seem to have amassed a collection of tasting notes; enough to put a dedicated...
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Rack on
The Eight Degrees eighth anniversary series reached half way with number four: Purple Ball. It's a brut IPA dry-hopped with Hallertau Blanc; 6.3% ABV. These tend to be quite pale but this is a cheery...
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We'll leave it there
I'm off on my holliers shortly but before I go, here's a round-up of assorted Irish new-release beers. My last local beers for a while.We begin with a fresh double IPA from YellowBelly: Immoral...
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Summer of Sierra
Several times a year a whole tranche of new Sierra Nevada beers arrives unannounced. I can't hope to keep up, but here's a couple of recent new ones.Helles in the Tropics is a lager of course. My...
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Sunny side up
I picked this saison up in Brussels and lazily assumed it to be Belgian. And while it is a collaboration with Hedonis Ambachtsbier in East Flanders, it was brewed in Estonia by Tanker. Rye of Sun is...
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