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Three wee kiwis
New Zealand contract brewers Yeastie Boys returned their beers to Irish fridges last year after a period of absence. It gave me a chance to catch up with one I missed last time around, and try a couple...
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Life begins at...
Sierra Nevada celebrates 40 years in business this year, something that must be extra poignant given the rate at which first-wave American craft breweries are selling their credibility or just plain...
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Foil stickers
Something about the recent raft of releases from Oud Beersel have the feel of products made deliberately to be collectable, rather than designed for the optimum sensory experience. They all seem based...
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In a funk
"Farmhouse pilsner"? Is that a thing? Isn't pilsner intrinsically industrial? Anyway, here's Mill Pils from Wide Street. A lager with wild notions. I hoofed it vertically into a half litre glass but...
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Canned witch spread
They've been busy at The White Hag. Every time I thought I had a handle on their new releases, another popped into view. Here's the most recent four to come my way.Róc Helles shares a name with the...
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The mild month of May
"DARK MILD" goes the Twitter cacophony when any Irish brewery makes the mistake of asking what they should brew. Well, the one nearest my house has put it up to us keyboard warriors by brewing and...
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You picked a Weihen time to leave me, Lucille
A brewery as established as Weihenstephaner is no friend to the neophile beer drinker. I certainly don't associate it with a stream of new releases and special editions. But here were two I hadn't seen...
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Chancing it
A trilogy of beers today from Ireland's most eccentric brewery, Canvas of Tipperary.@Manicallyrun is a case in point, and not just from the name. "Not a lager" says the label, above its description as...
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For the lolz
If there are two nations famous worldwide for their sense of humour it's the Germans and the Norwegians. It's surprising, then, that there aren't more knockabout comedic collaborations from their...
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Thicc
Getting mouthfeel into otherwise light-bodied beers seem to be the urgent issue of the day among IPA brewers. Oats are often pressed into service; likewise lactose has offered a shortcut to achieve the...
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The Blues are calling
It's been a few weeks since any American beer has featured on these pages, so here's a selection from Oskar Blues that has been sitting in the drafts folder, patiently awaiting its turn.We'll start at...
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Bee what you want to bee
I'm not sure these even are beers. They don't claim to be. Beekon Batches self-describes its products as "honey refresher" and doesn't list ingredients. It is made in a brewery, however: the Pearse...
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Cross my can with silver
Three from London brewer Gipsy Hill today, all under the broad pale ale umbrella.First out is Bandit, gluten-free and a classically English 3.8% ABV. It doesn't look like a cask bitter, mind, or at...
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Rooski brewskis
Today's first beer is something of a Russian invasion of Germany: a "Helles Schankbier" from Carlsberg-owned Baltika in St. Petersburg, called Жигулевское (Zhigulyovskoye). I assume it's named after...
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Spaghetti lambic
Beershop Venezia is a sparsely stocked little boutique on a heavily trafficked street near the Rialto bridge in Venice. The wares are expensive and nothing really grabbed me from perusing the shelves....
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Surprise Vocation
My little local Tesco serves me well for the basics. Emergency Manislav and 4-for-€10 Leann Folláin and I consider my needs met. It was very surprising, then, to find a couple of high-end Yorkshire...
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Noli temere
A few cans from the Heaney Farmhouse Brewery have leaked down to the south in recent weeks. My only previous experience with the Bellaghy brewer was a positive one, back in November, on draught. Surely...
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Fruity little number
A familiar and reputable brand, a beer I'd never had before, and cheap: the tumblers fell into place as I picked this bottle of Rodenbach Fruitage off the shelf at Fresh in Smithfield. Mind you, I...
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Divide by three
I experienced the mild disappointment of "aww, I've already had it" when I set about writing a review of this can of Great Divide Denver Pale Ale. It showed up previously in this post back in 2011....
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Midsummer mixtape
Round-up time! Here's a small sample of what the Irish breweries have been throwing my way lately.There's another classically quirky Kinnegar can label on DL - Donegal Lager. The description is short...
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