Lough Gill Irish Abbey Belgian Blond: A Taste of Abbey Life
Blond or Blonde?
Looking to get away from IPAs for a spell? Why not try a
Showing posts with label Lough Gill Brewery. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Lough Gill Brewery. Show all posts
Thursday, November 14, 2024
Thursday, November 7, 2024
On the craft trail with a gluten-free double and a juicy ale. Wicklow Wolf, Lough Gill, Third Barrel.
On the craft trail with a gluten-free double and a juicy ale. Wicklow Wolf, Lough Gill, Third Barrel
Wicklow Wolf Arcadia GF Lager 4.3% ABV, 440 ml can https://wicklowwolf.com/shop/
“Slowly conditioned to ensure an exceptional taste”
Lovely gold/amber colour on this lager, with a soft white head. Great display of bubbles rising. Aromas are more malt than hop. Straightaway, you notice the refreshing edge, “great cutting in it”, as was said some decades back! But it has. Smooth also with a subtle balance of fruit and hop, a little sweetness and a hint of spice. Add in that crisp finish. What more could you want?
They say: We
Monday, September 2, 2024
A must-try for hop lovers. Lough Gill Rising Wind CGX IPA, Beer of the Week
Lough Gill Rising Wind CGX IPA, 6.2% ABV, 440 ml can, Bradleys
a must-try for hop lovers
There’s a new vista recently on the horizon and gaining the attention of craft beer producers. Lough Gill was among the first to use the Vista CGX hops with Rascal Brewing also using it in their excellent Empire Haze.
Both the Lough Gill and the
Saturday, October 1, 2022
Beer of the Year 2022. The September Long List
My Favourite Beers of the Year 2022
Best of September Long List
Helles/Pils/Lager:
Hope Limited Edition No. 27 Munich Helles; Third Barrel Counter Culture Modern Style Pils; Wicklow Wolf Toto Sorachi Italian Pils.
IPA:
Hope Limited Edition No. 28 Double Rye; Rye River Miami J; Rascals X Yeastie Boys Krush Groove; Bradleys with Dot Nice One; Blacks Mango & Mosaic.
Session:
Third Barrel Day Drinking Part Deux Citra Strata; Larkin’s Tiny Sesh IPA 4.0%, Stone Barrel Boom Session IPA 4.5% ABV; Post Card Ha’penny Bridge Pale Ale, 4.2 ABV.
Belgian Style Pale Ale:
Wide Street Sound by Design
Pale Ale:
Lough Gill Sligo Bay American; Hope American.
**********
Contenders to end of August
September?????
August:12 Acres Pale Ale
July: Wicklow Wolf Locavore Summer 2022 Foraged Elderflower Saison
June: Wicklow Wolf Mescan Wit or Without You Belgian Wit
May: Wicklow Wolf Locavore Spring 2022 Barrel Aged Farmhouse Ale
April: Whiplash True Love Waits Dry Hopped Pils
March: Lineman Schadenfreude Schwarzbier
February: Wicklow Wolf “Apex Cherry” Black Cherry Oatmeal Stout.
January: Whiplash Dry the Rain Double Decoction Dunkel
December: Lough Gill Mac Nutty Macadamia Nut
Sunday, July 3, 2022
Favourite Beer of the Year. Contenders 2022. And Brewdog Cork opening.
Favourite Beer of the Year
(Brewdog's Cork opening less than 3 weeks away - see below)
Confirmed to date
June: Wicklow Wolf Mescan Wit or Without You Belgian Wit
May: Wicklow Wolf Locavore Spring 2022 Barrel Aged Farmhouse Ale
April: Whiplash True Love Waits Dry Hopped Pils
March: Lineman Schadenfreude Schwarzbier
February: Wicklow Wolf “Apex Cherry” Black Cherry Oatmeal Stout.
January: Whiplash Dry the Rain Double Decoction Dunkel
December: Lough Gill Mac Nutty Macadamia Nut
June Short List
Wit:Wicklow Wolf Mescan Wit or Without You Belgian Wit
Pale Ale:
Pale Ale:
Whitefield “Eastwood”
Third Barrel Some Dance To Remember
Gose:
Kinnegar Brewers at Play 23 Mango Gose
IPA:
West Coast IPA: Lineman Green Light;
Stout:
Stout:
Cotton Ball Lynch’s Stout 4.3%
Session:
Session:
Lough Gill Mo Chara Hazy Seisiún IPA 4.8%
May Short List
Barrel Aged: Wicklow Wolf Locavore Spring 2022 Barrel Aged Farmhouse Ale with Brettanomyces 11.9%
Amber Lager: Hope Limited Edition 26 Born To Be Free.
NZ IPA: Wicklow Wolf Far Far Away.
Rye Lager: Whiplash Melted Roggenbier.
DIPA: Rye River Dam Buster Double IPA
American Pale Ale: Otterbank Middle Lane American Pale Ale
Single Hop Pale Ale: O Brother You’ll Pay With Your Souls Single Hop (Simcoe) Pale Ale -
Vienna Lager: Wide Street Vienna Lager
Pale Ale: Whiplash Got To Keep On
IPA: Rye River Big Bangin’ IPA
American Wheat: Rye River Backwaters American Wheat
Brewdog's Cork opening, on Friday 22nd July, is less than 3 weeks away. "We’ll have Brewdog’s finest alongside of a selection Corks local craft." It will be interesting to see what Cork beers make to their list!
Tuesday, June 28, 2022
A Quart of Ale± #111 with Cotton Ball, Lough Gill and Athletic Brewing
A Quart of Ale± #111
On the craft journey with Cotton Ball, Lough Gill and Athletic Brewing
Cotton Ball Lynch’s Stout 4.3%, 500ml bottle O’Donovan’s
The Lynch’s Stout from the Cotton Ball brewery is an excellent one, flavour, smoothness and a long dry finish the striking characteristics.
You get the hints of your old toffee bar in the aromas, coffee there also, and on the palate; the flavours last, still a pleasure well after the swallow. The beer is available on draught at the bar and also in bottle.
 |
| Lynch's at The Cotton |
A day or two after finishing the bottles in bought in O'Donovan's, I headed up to the nearby Cotton Ball for a quart± from the tap. Excellent stout and excellent company.
Hand crafted from five malts and traditional flaked barley, moderately bittered and late hopped with US and New Zealand hops, they say: “This stout is as dark as our great grandfather Humphrey’s black humour and has a warm and mature flavour. With a phenomenal marriage of coffee roast, caramel lush, balanced by a clean bitterness exploding into a tangerine, mandarin aromatic delivery.`’
They reckon it’s a great accompaniment for hearty meat dishes, stews and steaks. But, with a shameless piece of name dropping, they say that the ultimate food pairing is "our Famous Cousins’ Clonakilty Black pudding"!
Lough Gill Mo Chara Hazy Seisiún IPA 4.8%, 440 ml can
Bradleys
This hazy IPA is a collaboration between Lough Gill and their friends at Mo Chara.
It is pale in colour, almost lemon, hazy for sure with a white head that soon sinks down to leave a circular trace. Citra and Mosaic are the hops so I’m expecting Citrus and Mango and that’s what I get both in the aromas and, after a little shyness, on the palate. It’s not a big tiger of a beer, more like a pussycat, gentle and compatible over a session I’d say.
Lough Gill indicate that the Norwegian Yeast called Kveik has been used here and that does help bring out fruiter notes and that is the case here with exotic notes including Mango, Pineapple, Papaya, Tangerine and Passion Fruit. Quite a pleasant posse of flavours indeed.
Dundalk based Mo Chara are craft beer supporters, big time. “With 24 taps of craft beer, wines & cocktails, we have one of the biggest selections in Ireland on tap. Ten of our taps are rotational which means we change to a new beer after every keg so you can try something new every time you call in for just the one.”
Dundalk’s First Craft Beer Taphouse are not just about the drink. Here you may also get coffee, sambas and pizzas, And lots of craic by the look of it!
Athletic Brewing Run Wild Alcohol Free IPA <0.5%, 355ml can Bradleys
The American producers of this beer tell us Run Wild is the ultimate sessionable IPA for craft beer lovers. “Brewed with a blend of five Northwest hops, it has an approachable bitterness to balance the specialty malt body. Always refreshing and only 70 calories.”
Nice slightly hazy golden colour on this IPA with a decent white head that’s not for hanging around. Aromas, citrus and hoppy, are modest. And it looked as if the palate would continue that trend. But I gave it a good swirl around and that approachable (modest) bitterness made its appearance. Refreshing enough but not deeply so.
Still I’d be happy enough to agree with their assertion that "This isn’t your traditional watery, tasteless alcohol-free beer.” It is certainly more than that and better than many on the market. It could certainly do the job for a night if you are driving. And I’d also see it useful to alternate it with an alcoholic beer over a session where you want to exercise restraint. No major sacrifice! And I could say much the same about the Golden Ale, though with less enthusiasm.
When I picked it up first, I thought it was Irish but Athletic Beer are US producers with an office address in Dublin. And the US connection is written on the can which comes in a slightly different size to the usual European one. By the way, why do most non alcoholic beers, with the exception of the German ones (probably the best of the style), come in smaller sizes?
They say: Whether you’re looking to cut out alcohol for life or just for a night, you shouldn’t have to sacrifice your ability to be healthy, active and at your best, to enjoy great beer.
Run Wild is the ultimate sessionable IPA for craft beer lovers. Brewed with a blend of five Northwest hops, it has an approachable bitterness to balance the specialty malt body. Always refreshing and only 70 calories.
Geek Bits
INGREDIENTS: Water, Organic Vienna Malt, Malted Barley, Oats, Hops, Wheat, Yeast.
Pair with: Burgers, Pizza, Tacos
Hops: a blend of five Northwest hops
Calories: 70.
Atlantic Brewing Upside Dawn Alcohol Free Golden <0.5%, 355ml can Bradleys
Made in a “classic craft Golden Ale style", this is the other Athletic Brewing alcohol free beer that I recently picked up in Bradleys. Again it is a pale orange colour with haze and a white head that doesn’t hang about. Aromas are more floral than fruity (citrus). On the palate it is not that dissimilar to the IPA but is that bit milder, easier-drinking.
They say: Classic craft Golden Ale Style. Refreshing, clean, balanced, light-bodied. Aromas subtle with floral and earthy notes. Brewed with premium Vienna Malt along with combo of English and traditional American hops. Crafted to remove gluten*.
While Upside Dawn is crafted to remove gluten, it may still contain gluten. Here’s why: “This product is fermented from grains containing gluten. The gluten content of this product cannot be verified, and this product may contain gluten.”
Ingredients: Water, Organic Vienna Malt, Malted Barley, Oats, Hops, Wheat, Yeast.
Vegan - yes
IBUs:15
Style: Golden Ale
Thursday, June 16, 2022
A Quart of Ale± #109. On the craft journey with Whitefield, Rascals, Porterhouse, Lough Gill and Kinnegar
A Quart of Ale± #109
On the craft journey with Whitefield, Rascals, Porterhouse and Lough Gill
*********
Whitefield “Eastwood” Irish Pale Ale 5.8%, 500ml bottle Bradleys
Whitefield’s Irish Pale Ale is more red than pale when poured from their usual bottle. It has a pillowy off-white head that hangs about for a while. The aromas are malt driven. It is immediately refreshing on the palate, nicely balanced between the Tipperary barley (from Tim Connolly’s farm) and Slovenia hops (from Blaz Bosnar’s farm).
Whitefield say: “This pale ale brings out the best of our philosophy. Tradition, terroir and time.” Add in the long and creamy finish and I’m tasting a really beautiful beer, full of character. A big thumbs up for this one from Tipp.
I was reading on their website, looking for a bit of background on this beer (including why it is named Eastwood), and found there is quite a story behind the gear at this brewery: The brewery was commissioned by Paulaner in 1996 for a brewpub in Singapore. The Asian crisis meant the brewery had a very short life of less than six months.
It was then purchased by the Kiley brothers from Kinsale. So, the brewery undertook it’s second journey all the way to Ireland and was commissioned in a beautiful building in Kinsale town in 2002.
No reflection on the owners however as the Irish market was difficult nut to crack in the hay-days of the Celtic tiger and it was idle again by 2004. The brewery lay dormant for the next 4 years after 2 false starts.
Whitefield (then White Gypsy) purchased the brewery in August 2008 just as another crisis loomed! It all worked out well this time, according to Whitefield: "They say it’s a long way to Tipperary, well it is when you start in Germany go to Singapore then on to Kinsale and end up in Templemore. She has a loving home now and fingers crossed she’ll see her retirement here.”
*********
Rascals Hazy In Love IPA 5.0%, 330ml Bradleys
It’s a case (for me it’s a can) of love at first sip! Rascal’s are obviously very happy with this one and it is now part of their core range.
It is not that overly hazy as you can see streams of bubbles rising in the amber/orange colour. Aromas are tropical with Mango heading the posse. And all that exotic fruit, along with some citrus, shows up well on the juicy hoppy palate and there’s a smooth mouthfeel as well. No wonder they’re happy, as well as hoppy of course, in Inchicore. The bitterness in the beer is more or less middle ranking and prepares the palate for the next sip.
They say: This is a hazy IPA hopped with Citra, Mosaic and Ekuanot. Not only does it have all the flavour and aroma profile you’d expect from those world-class hops, but we’ve added wheat and oats to give a lovely hazy appearance and smooth mouthfeel. … Cloudy, juicy, hoppy, crushable: it’s a beer that delivers!
Quite happy to agree with that!
Geek Bits:
Malt: Pale Malt, Flaked Oats, Wheat Malt, Torrified Wheat, Naked Oat Malt
Hops: Mosaic, Citra, Ekuanot
Yeast: US-05
ABV: 5%
Ingredients: water, barley, wheat, oats, hops, yeast
By the way, because you may well ask, the tropical flavours found in hoppy beer can include Passion Fruit, Pineapple, Mango, Lychee, Kiwi, Jackfruit, and Papaya.
And another by the way. It may well be worth your while visiting Rascal’s Inchicore (Dublin) headquarters. “We’ve a world class pizza restaurant with the freshest beer pouring on tap.” You can also check out their off-licence, do the brewery tour and enjoy the taproom of course. Details at www.rascalsbrewing.com
*********
Porterhouse XXXX Full-On Stout 5.9%, 440 ml can Ballymaloe May Fair
Glossy black colour and a foamy tan head are what you see on this Porterhouse stout. But what do you get? Exactly what they say - a full-on dry crisp flavourful stout, introduced by a classic aroma. Hops have their say in the aromatics but it is the malts that drive the flavour on the palate before the hops, with a fruity citrus streak, take over again in the the dry and bitter finish
They say: XXXX refers to the alcohol level and the depth of flavour in this stout. Our kettle hops drum up a fabulous aroma, flaked barley delivering big time on texture and the darkly roasted grain building a flavour as solid as a rock. Not for the faint hearted. Can you handle it?
They certainly seem to have struck an excellent balance between the fruit and bitterness of the hops and the darker roasted qualities of the malts. Having spent a few hours the previous day drinking one of the main stream stouts, this Porterhouse was different class.
Geek Bits
Malts: Pale Malt, Flaked Barley, Roast Barley, Black Malt
Hops: Nugget, Galena, East Kent Goldings
IBUs: 50
*********
Lough Gill I’ll Be Late Oat Cream IPA 7.2%, 440ml can Bradleys
Craft brewed in Lough Gill, an independent brewery in Sligo, this Oat Cream IPA, has a mid-orange colour, a soft foamy head and cloudy haze. Aromas are fruity (citrus and exotic). The palate comes on strong and complex, all those exotic fruit while the oats and lactose help give it a creamy feel.
Geek Bits
Style: DDH Oat Cream IPA 7.2% ABV
Hops: Citra, Galaxy and Idaho 7
Malts: Golden Promise, Flaked Oats, Wheat and Dextrin Malts
Format: 440ml Can
They say: Dry Hopped with 18g/L of Citra, Galaxy & Idaho 7, this IPA is an explosion of Citrus, Grapefruit, Passionfruit and Apricot which bring out bright tropical fruit and peach aromas followed by a little dankness.
*****
FESTIVALS & EVENTS | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sunday, May 1, 2022
2022 Beer of the Year
2022 Beer of the Year
Confirmed to date
April: Whiplash True Love Waits Dry Hopped Pils
March: Lineman Schadenfreude Schwarzbier
February: Wicklow Wolf “Apex Cherry” Black Cherry Oatmeal Stout.
January: Whiplash Dry the Rain Double Decoction Dunkel
December: Lough Gill Mac Nutty Macadamia Nut
Best of April (Short list)
Pils: Whiplash True Love Waits Dry Hopped Pils
Pale Ale: Wicklow Wolf Tundra Tropical Pale Ale
Brown Ale: Whiplash Smoke Stack Lightnin’ Oaked & Smoked
Gose: Dot Brew When the Going Gets Gose
Session: Boundary Love is Here Hoppy Table Beer Pale Ale 2.6%
Ciders to note: Killahora Bottle Conditioned Dry Bittersweet Cider 2019, 5.9%, 750ml (champagne style) bottle Longueville House Cider 5.9%; Longways Medium Sweet Elderflower Cider.
Best of March (short list)
Schwarzbier: Lineman Schadenfreude Schwarzbier 5.9%
IPA: Boundary Inefficient Knowledge IPA 6%;
Weizenbock:Whitefield The Viscount Weizenbock 7.5%
Pale Ale: Third Barrel Shut Up Juice
Black IPA: Rascals Rude Girl Black IPA
Session: Boundary Trees We Didn’t Plant Pale Ale 4.0%
Best of February 2022 Short List
Oatmeal Stout: Wicklow Wolf “Apex Cherry” Black Cherry
BA Stout: Bradleys & Dot Brew Shady Dealings
Milk Stout: Trouble Brewing Nocturne Milk Stout
IPA: Killarney Scarlet Pimpernel
Smoked Porter: Whitefield Old Smoke Smoked Porter;
Porter: Clonakilty Smuggler Irish Porter.
Bitter: West Cork Baltimore Bitter
Session: Blacks The Session Pink Grapefruit IPA 3.4%
Rye IPA: Wicklow Wolf Canis Rufus
Dark Lager: Whitefield Ivy Hall
Gold Lager: Whiplash Dawn Chorus Helles.
Best of January 2022 Short List
Dark Lager: Whiplash Dry the Rain Double Decoction Dunkel
Oats IPA: Hope Overnight Oats IPA.
Session IPA: Porterhouse Sundown Session IPA
American Pale Ale: O Brother The Chancer APA
Barleywine: Brehon Brewhouse Red Right Hand Barley Wine Beer
NEIPA: Porterhouse Renegade New England IPA
Stout: West Cork Stout X Stout West
Blonde: Killarney Golden Spear Blonde
Best of December (2021, for 2022) Short List
Brown Ale: Lough Gill Mac Nutty Macadamia Nut.
Single Hop IPA: Eight Degrees Citra Single Hop IPA 5.7%
Cask-Aged Porter: Brehon Brewhouse Shanco Dubh Porter 8.8%
Coffee & Oatmeal Stout: Third Circle Shot In The Dark
Pale Ale: Lineman Fluid Dynamic Extra Pale Ale.
Single Malt IPA: Eight Degrees Full Irish 6.0%
Session: Whitefield Brewery “Woodville” Session Pale Ale 4.3%
Lager: Whiplash Das Model.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)