CorkBillyBeers #3. On the Craft journey, Underworld, with Roscommon's Black Donkey Brewery

CorkBillyBeers #3

Craft journey with Black Donkey Underworld Series

Richard Siberry, owner and brew-master at Roscommon’s Black Donkey, tells us “The Underworld series was born out of our quest for adventure, our sense of history, and our respect for tradition”.

“Before industrialisation, before lab techs in white coats took over the brewing industry, beer was fermented with whatever wild yeasts occurred in and around a brewery." 

Before we start on the trio of Underworld beers, just a brief word on yeast which is, as you know, an agent of fermentation. It converts sugar in the wort into alcohol. But it is much more than that. It also adds flavour (fruit notes, known as esters) and spicy and herbal notes (phenols) to the final beer.

Back to Richard: Work started on Halloween 2017 when we gathered samples of the air, flora and substrate from in and around Oweynagat cave, also known as the “Hellsmouth of Ireland”. …These samples were returned to IT Tallaght where they were isolated, purified and yeast strains identified. The resulting samples were then propagated, monitored, analysed and classified. Three successful strains returned home to Roscommon in early January 2018. 

See more on this quest here. 

Morrigan Strain 1 was the yeast eventually propagated for use, and named after the legendary warrior goddess who once inhabited the Oweynagat cave. It was harvested from a blackberry bush just above the cave’s tiny entrance. On March 8th 2018 the first pilot batch of beer was created and this new native Irish beer was called “Underworld”.

Ancient tales and stories of Queen Medb and the warrior Goddess Mórrígan inspired the beer label designs and the Underworld artwork. The Underworld logo was inspired by the entrance to Oweynagat cave. Each of the three beer represented by an animal connected to the legendary cave, with its accompanying backstory on the label. They were designed by Roscommon creative Dimple Design.

Quite an amazing venture by Richard Siberry and his team at Black Donkey and they certainly seem to have got the very best from Morgana 1, achieving a stunning harmony, across the range, of flavour and complexity from all ingredients without any single part dominating.

Not the only wild yeast used in Irish brewing. In 2019, Peter Curtin of the Roadside Tavern in Lisdoonvarna introduced me to Euphoria, a no-hop beer that used a wild yeast from. the locality. Link here. And then you have Galway Bay and Wide Street using the coolship method of harnessing local yeast.

Black Donkey Underworld Rua Amber Ale, 6.0% ABV, 500ml bottle BD Online

This Irish ale, available year round, is introduced by Black Donkey: Rich Irish and Belgian malts combine to deliver a full, rounded maltiness with notes of candy sugar and stone fruit, coupled with the spiciness of Morrigan 1, our unique wild Irish yeast.

Colour is an opaque copper/red with a tan head. Not a red ale according to Black Donkey but an amber ale.  With an Irish red you are expecting a full maltiness, an extra touch of sweetness. And that is what you get here, along with the spiciness of Morrigan 1.

But that sweetness hardly holds sway on the palate. Here you find a touch of toast, stone fruits and again that floating fog of spice from the Roscommon yeast, that unreal spirit of the cave that adds an unique ethereal quality to the ale, not otherworldly mind you, just an enhancement of this often dull world.

Put it like this. I don’t believe in ghosts or spirits but these beers take me beyond the normal, not to the paranormal, just to a better place for an hour or two and, if I have company to join in, then so much the better. And if one or two prefer to drink something else, choice is fine, after all that is what craft beer is all about.

And if someone else offers food? The Black Donkey suggest “It is great with hearty dishes; this brew also holds its own with the spiciest foods, Thai, Vietnamese, Mexican and Sichuan. Go ahead turn up the heat. It goes well with cheeses also such Cloonconra raw milk cheese, Dozio Barr Rua and other full flavour cheeses.” Traditionally, red (or amber) ale is one of the reliable food beers and this beauty is an exception only in its excellence.

And the label? “Like a red mist, a flock of birds poured from Oweynagat cave every Samhain, withering every plant they breathed on. The growing season was done and a lean winter lay ahead. Samhain first celebrated at Oweynagat, is today better known as Halloween. Those same red birds represent Underworld Rua; native Irish ale exclusively fermented with “Morrigan 1”, our wild Irish yeast.”

Black Donkey Underworld Allta, 4.6% ABV, 500ml bottle BD Online

Colour is a beautiful burnt gold with a soft white head. Aromas are hoppy, citrusy. Citrus too on the palate, notes of pine as well with a wisp of spice from the yeast. The malt and the hops, not to mention the yeast, are in harmony here, in a medium body. All the way to a satisfying refreshing finish. 

Hard to beat their own take: Our wild yeast, Morrigan 1, extends a tendril and embraces New World hops in balanced synchronicity. …. 

Pairs with pizza, grilled chicken and zesty salads. Coolattin and 15 Fields cheddars, along with other mature hard cheeses.

And the wolf on the label? “Her romantic notions spurned, the outraged goddess Morrigan unleashed her fury. Taking the form of a silver wolf she caused a cattle stampede, aimed squarely at the object of her unrequited desire, Cú Chulainn.”

Again available all year round.

Black Donkey Underworld Savage Farmhouse Ale, 5.6% ABV, 500ml bottle BD Online

Savage, a 5.6% ABV native Irish Saison style and another of the Underworld Series, also has a burnt gold colour and a soft foamy head. Moderately intense aromas of citrus, sweet notes too, with the yeast and malt also getting a look-in. Medium bodied on the palate, its is once again superbly balanced; though the malt gets an edge here, Savage is quite dry with rounded fruit flavours and always the yeast spices ghosting in the background. A complex refreshing beer then with the lip-smacking finish lingering.

Again they have excellent pairings for us: Supremely versatile at the table roast & grilled meat, game and seafood. Cheese? Yes please, Velvet Cloud, Cooleeney Farmhouse, Durrus and Gubbeen to start with.

Good news is that it is available all year round. In 2020, Underworld Savage won a gold medal at the international beer challenge awards.

“A legendary shapeshifter was the goddess Morrigan. After the warrior Cú Chulainn repeatedly rejected her advances, she assumed the form of a crow, and alighted on his shoulder as he lay dying on the battlefield. Together at last! That same crow represents Underworld Savage; native Irish ale fermented with “Morrigan 1”, our wild Irish yeast.”