CorkBillyBeers #41. Craft Journey with Red Ales by McGill's, Wicklow Wolf and Killarney Brewing

CorkBillyBeers #41

Craft Journey with Red Ales by McGill's, Wicklow Wolf and Killarney Brewing.

********************

Is Red Ale really an Irish style? In the 1970s, famous beer writer Michael Jackson was credited with giving the tag to Smithwicks. According to World Atlas of Beer, American beer competitions started awarding prizes for the category and smaller Irish breweries started to “launch highly-hopped higher strength or even barrel-aged versions”. 

Wikipedia says Irish red ale, also known as red ale or Irish ale, is a style of pale ale that is brewed using a moderate amount of kilned malts and roasted barley that gives the beer its red colour.

********************

McGill’s Maude Delap Irish Red Ale 5.0% ABV, 500ml bottle Centra Waterville

Red is the colour, for sure, of McGill’s Maude Delap Irish Red Ale, red with a soft tan head. After that, it is mostly about the lovely caramel flavours, just about perfect, neither too strong nor too weak. Nice job, Mr McGill!

Very Highly Recommended.

This traditional Irish Red Ale is named in honour of Maude Delap. Originally from Donegal, Maude came to live on Valentia Island (until her death in 1953). A self-taught marine biologist, she was known for being the first person to breed jellyfish in captivity and thus observed their full life cycle for the first time. She was also involved in an extensive study of plankton from the coasts of the island. More on Maude here .

********************

Wicklow Wolf Wildfire Hoppy Red Ale, 4.6% ABV, 440 ml can Bradleys

“Not your typical red – Wildfire is a modern hoppy red ale.” That’s the claim from brewers Wicklow Wolf.

Appearances seem to be in the classic mould, fairly deep red body and an off-white head. 

Malt plus a sniff of coffee and caramel in the aromatics and the same combo, with a stronger showing from the coffee, on the palate. Here too, the Sorachi Ace hops also figure, rather mildly though. A creamy, herbal finish with hints of malty sweetness. Not quite traditional then. Not sure though that it is an improvement on the old style. Perhaps a summer rather than a winter red.

Indeed, “mild” is perhaps the most apt descriptor, though not in a pejorative manner. Touted as a modern red ale, I’m well pleased with it (nothing to do with its modernity or otherwise) and would love to try it in a direct joust with other reds like Roaring Ruby (from West Cork Brewing), Kinnegar’s Devil’s Backbone, Copper Coast (from Dungarvan Brewing), Sullivan’s Maltings, White Gypsy’s Ruby Red, Costello’s Red Ale and more (including Velvet Red by the Cotton Ball and the others in this post). Could be a long session. And I’d need food as well!

Highly Recommended

Geek Bits

IBUs 28

Hops: Sorachi Ace

Malts: Pale, Cara Ruby, Melano, Oats, Roasted, Crystal Rye

The Wicklow Wolf craft brewery was co-founded by Quincey Fennelly and Simon Lynch in 2014. The location then was in Bray. Now, in the new facility, near NewtownmountKennedy, there is a team of five brewers working under two ex Brewdog employees, John the production manager, and head brewer Andrew. The total number employed is 27. More on our recent visit here.

*******************

Killarney Rutting Irish Red Ale, 4.5% ABV, 440ml can, Carry Out Killarney

This Irish Red Ale from Kerry ”pays homage to Ireland’s last herd of native red deer. Each autumn, during a ritual known as The Rut their clashing antlers and bellowing roars echo through the majestic amphitheatre that is the Killarney National Park” say the producers. One such spectacular duel, at the waters’ edge, was brilliantly captured by the David Attenborough series Wild Isles and shown a few months back on the BBC.

The beer, based on the traditional Golding’s hops, has a ruby hued colour, and aromas of caramel and toffee. And that malty combo continues on to the palate, pleasing, lively and refreshing. Should be good with food, as most red ales are. 

The website says that “discerning beer drinkers will appreciate Rutting Red’s rugged flavour which values the intensity of our wild stags.” I can understand the writer’s enthusiasm but rugged is not a word I’d associate with this pretty fine and well-made beer. I’d be thinking more of the friendly red setter (supple, restrained and eager to please) like the dog that greets guests in Kerry’s Sneem Hotel.

Highly Recommended.

********************

CorkBillyBeers #30. Craft Session Time With DOT, McGill's, Lough Gill and Tom Crean.

CorkBillyBeers #30

Craft Session with DOT, McGill's, Lough Gill and Tom Crean.

**********************

DOT Brew Spin Off Series Session IPA, 3.2% ABV, 440ml can Aldi

A “tasty dry hop of Centennial & Galaxy” makes its impact in the aromatics in this hazy pale yellow IPA from Dot Brew. It is one of their Spin Off Series which they brew exclusively for Aldi.

Mainly exotic flavours in the mouth as the hops keep it going, yet the body is soft and light and bitterness, while always there, is on the low side. “Perfect all year round drinking” they say and I couldn’t argue with that. It is an easy-drinking East Coast Style, brewed with barley and flaked and malted oats. Suitable for vegans.

Geek Bits

Ingredients: malted barley / pale wheat / flaked & malted oats  /New England style yeast. 

Hops are Centennial (US) and Galaxy (Australia) Suitable for vegans. Exclusive to Aldi.

Very Highly Recommended.

**********************

McGill’s Skellig Monk Irish Blonde 4.5% ABV, 500ml bottle Centra Waterville

Golden or blonde ale is easy to like. Its golden colour and fountains of rapidly rising bubbles is attractive. Easy on the eye. Like this one by McGill, easy on the palate too with a good balance of hops and malt. Bread and biscuit flavours and a subtle malt sweetness make it easy drinking.

Our Skellig Monk Irish Blonde is spot on style, is balanced, light, rounded and smooth, with those bread-like malt flavours and citrusy hops and a subtle malty sweetness. As is usual for the style, the finish is not the longest. An excellent accessible beer to try, especially if you are starting off on your craft trail.

Monks have long been associated with beer making. The beer is named for the monks who lived on Sceilig Mhichíl, the larger of the two Skellig Islands, 12 kilometres off the Iveragh Peninsula in Kerry. Monks founded a monastery on the island at some point between the 6th and 8th century and it remained continuously occupied until it was abandoned in the late 12th century.

Joe McGill suggests matching his blonde with lighter food: such as chicken, salads, salmon, bratwurst, white fish and Monterey Jack Cheese. Sweet tooth? No bother. Joe says try it with Light apricot or mandarin cake, lemon custard tart.

While the Skellig monks may have had beer, I don’t think they enjoyed that kind of diet!

Serving temperature should be in the 4.5–7 ° degrees range. 

Highly Recommended

**********************

Lough Gill Cutback New England IPA, 4.5%, 440ml can Bradleys

“Our Cutback Session IPA was developed as the perfect post-surf, summer-BBQ ale with a lightly tropical flavour to put you in mind of warm weather and…if you can’t visit Sligo, let us bring Sligo to you!” That was how Lough Gill introduced their Cutback New England IPA.

It comes in a light, hazy orange/yellow colour with soft foamy head.  With the hops involved, you are expecting tropical and citrus. And they are there but so too is a reasonably stern bitterness that somewhat tames the flavour or perhaps I should say, balances them. For this is a very drinkable NEIPA from the Sligo brewery and, with an ABV of 4.5%, a very sessional one as well.

The hops used are Comet, Azacca and El Dorado, all American as you might expect.

There is rarely any shortage of ideas for brews at Lough Gill. They explain: We are very fortunate to have such a diverse and dynamic team of dedicated staff at our brewery. It is this diversity that gives us a competitive edge. Each morning in Cleveragh, we're greeted with hello's in various languages. Aside from our fellow Sligonians, we have an Italian head brewer, an Argentinian brewer, and our head of sales is French.”

“When drawing up concepts for new beers, we develop different ideas from across the table. The styles are very different in each country. Argentina prefers well-made traditional old school beers. France is following more after the US scene with modern styles, and Italians have been influenced by Belgian styles and enjoy strong beers. It makes for a good mix. We want to brew the best hand-crafted beers using the finest ingredients and, where possible, to add some local indigenous ingredients to the brews.”

Highly Recommended.

**********************

Tom Crean Scurvy Dog IPA 4.2%, 440 can Carry Out Killarney

Lovely gold colour, soft white head, plenty of bubbles rising. That’s what you see when you pour this low ABV IPA from Tom Crean. 

Scurvy is a disease caused by a significant lack of vitamin C in your diet. Not a name I’d be inclined to give a beer though I understand the mariner connection in that scurvy was a curse for sailors on long voyages in times long past, in Tom Crean’s time I’d say.

The white head has more or less vanished having typed up that first paragraph. Sipping the beer itself now which has citrus aromas,  is crisp and light and very refreshing indeed. 

Highly Recommended and a good fit for the Session category.

If you prefer a hoppier beer, then the Whiplash Rollover (3.8% ABV) is well worth checking out.

McGill's Brewery From Kerry's Dark Sky Reserve

McGill's Brewery From 

Kerry's Dark Sky Reserve

I called to Joe McGill's Waterville microbrewery on a wet and windy day.
He and his Mom were busy on the bottling line, still had time for a chat though!

McGill’s Brewery is located in the Gaeltacht region of Murreigh, Waterville, in the south of Kerry. It is the first microbrewery on the Iveragh Peninsula. At this stage of its development, it is probably more accurate to call it a nano-brewery but it has a big heart, excellent beers and one of the friendliest brewing families you are likely to come across (not that I’ve come across any unfriendly brewer!)

Top black stuff from McGill, including the 13.1% ABV
An Coireán (the Irish for Waterville)

We met up with Joe McGill recently and asked him who started the brewery? 

I opened the brewery in 2019 but it was a few years in the making with trying to get a premises and all that goes with starting a new business. I'm the brewer and I get help from my mother, my wife, and my friends. 

Joe had been home brewing for years and was also educated in the process of starting his own brewery by the renowned German brewing company Spiedal. In addition, he has carried out extensive research into the business of Craft Brewing in Ireland and completed a two-part radio documentary entitled ‘Cheers to Craft Beers’ the story of Irish Craft Beer. 

A new attraction has been added to the South Kerry list!

Joe has a Masters in Business Management and Entrepreneurship from the University of Limerick and has completed the Bill Keating Broadcasting course. He also completed the prestigious RTE Doc on One Radio Production training at the RTE Radio Centre. He starred in Discover Ireland’s Go Campaign screened worldwide which showed Kerry as a unique holiday destination.

The Blonde

Joe is a presenter of the popular Saturday Supplement on Radio Kerry having previously managed West Limerick 102fm which is the largest community radio station in Ireland, from 2011 to early 2016.

What are your core beers? Which is your favourite?

We started with two core beers; Skellig Monk Irish Blonde Beer and Dark Sky Reserve Irish Stout and then we added two more; Maude Delap Irish Red Ale and Waterville IPA. This year we added two more. Puffin Island Imperial Stout and An Coireán Barrel Aged Imperial Stout. This is like choosing who is your favourite child?!! It changes week to week but I really love our Puffin Island Imperial Stout and our 13.1% Barrel Aged beer is so exciting, it knocks your socks off!!

What stands out about your brewery, your beers? Is there something unique about your beer? 

Our Barrel Aged series is very unique like our other beers, the first beer of its kind brewed in the area. We aged it over time in Oak Port barrels which had exquisite whiskey in them by Wayward Irish Spirits producers of Liberator Whiskey in Killarney and the results have been amazing.  

Mom and Joe on the bottling line

I more or less stumbled on McGill’s Brewery as I travelled from Waterville to Ballinskelligs. I had heard of it, indeed I had enjoyed their Waterville IPA in The Lobster the evening before, and once I saw the sign I stopped and interrupted a bottling where Mom McGill was helping Joe. Joe filled me in on the story and I went off home with a bottle of that Barrel Aged, An Coireán, the first very bottle to have the proper label attached. It is indeed superb.

If you fail to land a bottle, then sign up for a tour and get a taste or look out for the second edition. Joe has gone public on it: “Our first Barrel Aged series worked so well, we’re on to our second!!! The imperial stout we brewed has been transferred to the oak barrels. The first beer of its kind brewed in the area. We will age this over the Summer months in Oak Ruby Port barrels which had exquisite whiskey in them by Wayward Irish Spirits producers of Liberator Whiskey in Killarney.”

Are you selling mainly in pubs or in off licences? Restaurants maybe? 

All of the above. We mostly supply within a 20-mile radius of the brewery. We supply kegs and bottles and are in most of the restaurants, pubs, shops, and off licences in the area.

How is your beer connected to the local area?

Each beer is unique to the area of South Kerry. They reflect our local heroes, culture, and history. To give you a few examples: Our blonde is named in honour of the famous Skellig Monks. Our Stout is named after the local Dark Sky Reserve which is one of only three gold-tier reserves for stargazing in the world. Our Red Ale is named after local woman Maude Delap who was the first person in the world to study the full life cycle of jellyfish in captivity. 

Danes on tour at McGill's

Water. Hard or soft? Is there much adjusting involved?

We don't adjust our water which is particularly suited to stouts. In our brewery tour audiovisual we actually show you the source of our water which is just outside Waterville village.

McGill's Dark Sky
Stout

What efforts do you make to be environmentally friendly?

Our spent grain goes to our horses and ponies on the farm. We also have a mule who absolutely loves it!! Therefore there is no waste. We also reuse our cooling water in the next brew after it passed through the heat exchanger, thereby cutting down on energy usage.

                 What’s your typical day like? No shortage of variety?

Definitely no shortage of variety!! Have a lot of hats in the business. I brew, clean the lines, bottle, keg, do the accounts, sales and marketing, social media, tours, and deliveries, and often I might conduct Zoom interviews for my radio programme at the brewery!! So every day can be a mixture of some or all of that!!

How do you choose which styles of beer to brew?

The beauty of having a small brewery is you can experiment a bit. At the start, I wanted to concentrate on making Irish-style beers like stouts and red ales. My thinking is that if you go to a wine country like France you want to taste the wine of that region. Likewise, if you are visiting Ireland you want to taste some Irish-style beers. Now we have branched out a bit with a very popular IPA and because our business is predominately seasonal we can age beer in barrels over the quieter Winter months and then release it in the busier Summer months. 

Joe (right) is collaborating again with Maurice O'Connell of
Wayward Irish Spirits on another barrel-aged stout!

Who does your artwork/design?

Our initial design was done with the help of my cousin Bobby McGill and I do a lot of the new designs myself.

Why have you not switched to cans?

There has been a big movement towards cans however we are slow to do so as we supply to a lot of restaurants where cans wouldn't suit and our bottles stand out on the shelves. It's a personal thing but there's something nice about pouring from the bottle.

Do you do tours?

Yes daily. We do a General Brewery Tour, a Barrel Aged Tour, and an Irish Experience Tour. Indeed, we had our first ‘Irish Experience’ tour early in May with a bunch of fine people from Denmark and it was a great success!!! This tour involves our barrel-aged tour and food pairing with local food in addition to learning about life and culture in the area and a bit of ceoil agus craic thrown in.

As you can see, tours at McGills are somewhat different. I’ve done quite a few tours and have never ended up in a sing-song. That’s what happens when you take the 2-hour McGill’s Irish Experience Brewery Tour. The tour is conducted by the brewer himself, with no shortage of beer for tasting, food pairings too and an Irish sing-song with stories and songs about the general area.

Links to my previous posts on Irish breweries

Mescan Westport

Ballykilcavan The Taste of Laois in your glass.

9 White Deer At Home In Ballyvourney. And On The World Wide Web

Whitefield Brewery Templemore

The Amazing BeoirFest

Tom Crean's Brewery Kenmare

An Irish Meaderie

Kinsale Mead Company