A Quart of Ale± #114. On the craft journey with Dot Brew, Wicklow Wolf, Rye River, Abbot's Ale House, and Whiplash

A Quart of Ale± #114

On the craft journey with Dot Brew, Wicklow Wolf and Whiplash, Rye River and Abbot's Ale House.

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Dot Brew Loose Session IPA 3.5%, 440 ml can Bradleys

Dot are happy with this one:  ”A perfect all year round thirst quencher.” Think I could go along with that.

A light orange colour with a fleeting white head. Citrus-y aromas, notes of pine there too. And the bold hoppy stuff marches on through the palate. Low ABV yet mid to full bodied with high refreshment values. One to look out for when organising a session.

Dot indicate there’s a place for Loose Session as a “new core”. “Full thundering hits of fresh stone fruit, built with flaked & malted oats / low rider yeast whirlpool & dry hop additions of Idaho7 & Centennial.”

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Dot Go Go IPA 6.0% ABV, 440 ml can Bradleys

Closer to orange than lemon is the colour of this Dot Brew IPA. It is of course hazy and is classed by some, though not the brewery (at least not on their limited social media info), as a New England IPA.

Used my usual finger in the (short-lived) foam to test for flavour, and citrus was the first to show. But there’s more as we progress to actual drinking including mango and other sweet fruits. The reinforcements lift the Go Go from a middle of the road beer and it chugs amiably, if not over impressively, but never really threatening the leaders of the IPA pack.

Geek Bits:

Hops: Mosaic, Citra and Centennial (all USA)

Suitable for vegans.

Ingredients included malted and flaked oats.

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Wicklow Wolf West Side Story West Coast Kveik IPA 6.6%, 440 ml can Bradleys

Wicklow Wolf seem to be on quite a run this year and this West Coast IPA, featuring the popular Kveik yeast, is another quality beer.

Colour is an amber/orange, hazy of course. Aromas on the dank side, citrus and pine. Strata is one of the hops used and has been described as described as “Passion fruit meets pot.” So maybe I’m on the money with dank.

And that dank quality is found on the palate also, along with citrus-y traits and floral notes. It is bitter but not overly so, as any extremes are smoothed down by the dank influence. 

The other hops used by the way are Idaho7 and Talus and malts are listed as Golden Promise, Pilsner and Cara Clair.

American Ale Yeast and the British Brett may be tops of the pops in yeast but Kveik is coming up fast, another illustration that “brewers and beer drinkers owe everything to these single-celled fungi”, that quote from Craft Beer for the Geeks. Kveik is getting popular here: Eights Degrees, Metalman, and Wicklow Brewery have been among its users in recent times.

The endangered species brews (this is #29) are a series of small batch, limited edition crafted beers from Wicklow Wolf. "These beers are so rare that only a lucky few will get to experience them in the wild before they become extinct.”

By the way, Wicklow Wolf have been in touch about their taproom news. "We've just added a whole new list of tour dates for the rest of the Summer! Book in for your tour and beer tasting now. We're delighted to now offer flights of beer at the taproom, the perfect accompaniment to a pizza from our friends in the firehouse!" 

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Whiplash Alma Witbier 5.0%, 440 ml can Bradleys

Bright fresh lemon peel, tangerine, white wine, limes, white pepper and a hint of clove dominate the initial aroma while the body and flavour is airy, silky, fluffy, gently sweet and reassuringly citrus forward.

A Belgian style beer from Whiplash, a Witbier. Amarillo is the main hop and it is used in the dry hop while the other two,   Nelson Sauvin (gooseberry, Grape, passion fruit) and Moteuka (tropical, lime, lemon), both from New Zealand, are small additions to the brew at the whirlpool stage.  Just before finishing they add fresh lemon zest to the tank, “electrifying the whole affair and transforming this Wit into something extremely special.”

Colour is a light orange, hazy for sure. Aromas are zesty as is the first impression on the palate. The lovely and lively lemony zestiness continues strongly on the palate, with peach and pine there also. 

Whiplash say they “always approach our Belgian style beers in a less than traditional way” and the divergence continues throughout, though you may find little hints of clove in the aromas and at the end. Something different, something special as they say themselves. 

Geek Bits

ABV 5.0%

440ml Cans & draught

Artwork by @sophie_devere

Pilsner Malt

Wheat Malt

Amarillo

Lemon Zest

WLP550 (yeast)

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News from Cork's Abbot's ale house

@HouseAbbot

Event Alert!! We are proud to welcome our old friends Rye River for a tap takeover weekend!! This event will take place all weekend long from Thursday 11th August - Saturday 13th. There will be 9 taps pouring ! And free giveaways too!

Hackney's Five Points Brewing Comes To Cork. From one marsh to another.

Hackney's Five Points Brewing Comes To Cork.

From one marsh to another.

From one marsh to another, Five Points beers should be a good fit in Cork. The independent brewery is based in the heart of Hackney (East London), situated in a Victorian Railway arch and takes its name from an adjacent five-way junction. The beers, as we found out at a very enjoyable tasting in the Abbot’s Ale House, a craft mecca, last week, are full of flavour and aroma; all are unfiltered and unpasteurised for a better taste.

Five Points, founded five years back, launched in Ireland on the first of the month and Accredited Beer Sommelier Francesca Slattery, Ireland Account Manager, was in Abbot’s to guide us through a very interesting tasting indeed.

We started with the Pale. “We spent six months developing this, we had to get it right. It should be our backbone.” It is right and, with 60% of the sales (total of 2.1 million pints!), it is indeed the backbone of Five Points. It is a fresh, modern and aromatic Pale Ale (4.4%); easy drinking and perfect for any occasion. Hops are Amarillo and Citra and it comes in cask, keg, bottle and can.

The next beer, XPA, was actually brewed for an occasion, a local music festival. Citra and the Australian Galaxy are the hops. Francesca (Chess for short!) said it was bitter upfront but with a sweeter finish, the Golden Naked Oats help give it a nice mouthfeel. At 4% ABV, it is extra drinkable too and proved so popular at the festival that it was kept on the list. Can and keg.

On then to a bottle - Five Points package in cask, keg, can and bottle - of Hook Island Red (6%). Anton of Abbot’s: “If red good, then rest of beers should be alright.” And it is good, surprising one or two with its quality. I reckon it would be even better with food. Chess: “Though red is not a big thing in the UK, I love this beer, the way the hops cut through the sweetness and the rye makes it spicy.”

Customers may like the rye but brewers don’t as it can clog up the system! Still Five Points loaded this with 20% rye. Six malts and three hops all added to the final result. Cask, keg and bottle.

Francesca finds a winner!

A well balanced, full bodied beer brewed with all-British barley and Golden Naked Oats, coupled with Willamette hops from the USA, is how they describe Brick Field Brown. With earthy aromas and flavours of Demerara and hazelnuts, “it’s a hug in a glass”. Hops is Willamette, it is 5.4% and sold in cask and keg.

“India Pale Ale,” said Chess, “is an English thing.” But it took the US to revive it and that spurred the UK to renew their interest. White Shield and Bengal Lancer were mentioned as being iconic IPAs but we were happy to settle for the delicious Five Points version at Abbot’s. It is quite perfect so much so that you hardly notice its 7.1 ABV. Available in keg, bottle and can.

Then we had a final treat, the very last of the Derailed Porter at 5.6%. Chocolate and caramel with sufficient bitterness, this old style porter is delicious but Chess teased by telling us that it was even better in cask!

And so the tutored tasting came to a close but the evening was only starting as we moved downstairs for some serious tasting. Say no more!

Thanks to Anton (far right) of Abbot's for the pics.