On the craft trail with Blacks of Kinsale and The White Hag. Supporting Irish Craft Beer!

On the craft trail with Blacks of Kinsale

and The White Hag.

Supporting Irish Craft Beer

Black’s Kinsale Pale Ale 5.0% ABV, 500 ml bottle, O’Donovan’s Off Licence

“perfect balance and amazing drinkability”

A mid gold with unceasing fountains of bubbles rising are what you see when you pour a bottle of Black’s Kinsale Pale Ale. Flavours are masterfully balanced here with both the hops and the malt getting a chance to shine. But I knew all this as the Kinsale KPA has been a favourite of mine since the start.

Blacks of Kinsale certainly crafted a classic when they produced their first KPA in 2013. It is one of my favourite ales. I love the way the flavours spread over the palate from the first sip and that dry clean lingering finish. Indeed, linger is the word. Take your time sipping, the better to enjoy every single drop.

it is that balance between malt and hops that I find attractive. Some brewers go too heavy on the malt for their pale ales but this recipe allows the hops, a mix of Centennial, Cascade, and Citra, to shine through, contributing flavours of grapefruit, lime and other citrus, while the malt also plays its part, not least in giving a delicious mouthfeel. Enjoy!

I’ve enjoyed this id draught along the West Cork Coast including the beautifully situatded Trident in Kinsakle itself, in the welcoming Celtic Ross Hotel and, most mem orably, in the sunny garden of the Lifeboat Inn in Courtmacsherry.

They say: An American style Pale Ale bursting with hoppy tropical and juicy citrus fruit flavours, masterfully fused with biscuit and caramel malt aromas to produce a fantastic taste sensation. Medium in body with perfect carbonation, this beer will zip around your mouth reaching a beautiful clean finish.

Geek Bits

Style: American Pale Ale - Top Fermented

Hops: Centennial, Cascade, Citra

Release: 2013 Pair with: Burgers, Steaks, BBQ Meats and sunshine (if you get it!)

Food pairing: Burgers, steaks and BBQ meats

The White Hag Swell Classic APA, 5.2% ABV, 440 ml can, Bradleys

“A Modern Take on a Timeless Classic!” 

This American Pale Ale by The White Hag comes with a golden amber colour under a soft foamy head and with a myriad of micro-bubbles racing upwards. Floral hops and citrus greet you in the aromas. And the hops also make an impact on the palate, a balanced burst of the citrus and that subtle malt sweetness all leading to a really refreshing swallow, the finish issmooth and crisp. Very Highly Recommended.

The White Hag: “A Modern Take on a Timeless Classic! … Swell is a crisp and hop-forward American Pale Ale, expertly crafted with Cascade, Centennial, and Citra hops for a bold citrus-floral punch that beer lovers crave. This classic style is elevated with Hyperboost Citra hop oil from Yakima Chief.”

The name, of course, comes from the ocean and the swelling waves that surfers love to ride off the Sligo Coast. Ride a big one, and you’ll deserve a can of this APA.

Brewery & Taproom Tours at The White Hag Brewery will officially launch on May 2nd, 2025. Nestled in Ballymote, Co. Sligo, along the iconic Wild Atlantic Way, “our brewery tours will offer an immersive experience into the craft, tradition, and innovation behind our award-winning beers”.

On the craft trail with Kinnegar and The White Hag

On the craft trail with Kinnegar 

and The White Hag

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The White Hag Little Fawn IPA 4.2% ABV, 400 ml can Bradleys

White Hag certainly hit the mark. Again!

I have encountered Little Fawn quite a bit over the last few years in pubs and restaurants across the country, and I am always glad to see it. I appreciate any White Hag beer available in a pub or restaurant. Its widespread availability affirms its status as a classic Indian Pale Ale, and its lower-than-usual ABV makes it an excellent go-to session beer.

 

Little Fawn has a sessionable ABV of 4.2% and features grapefruit aromas balanced with 100% Irish malt. It is clean and fruity, thanks to the Mosaic hops, but not overly hoppy due to its mild lingering finish. As they describe it, it’s “an easy-to-drink American-style session IPA” that is a great option to start with at any time.

 

The White Hag is rightly proud of its modern independent craft brewery located in Sligo, along Ireland’s Wild Atlantic Way. They state, “We brew innovative and groundbreaking beers, inspired by ancient and classic styles.”

 

With Little Fawn, they certainly hit the mark—it’s an easy-to-drink American-style session IPA, brewed with 100% Irish malt for a pale, very clean base.

Kinnegar Black Bucket Black Rye IPA, 6.5% ABV, 440 ml can, O’Briens

A twist on the traditional IPA style

This beer is Kinnegar's twist on the traditional IPA style. It balances dark maltiness and hoppy bitterness, resulting in a unique blend and an attractive IPA.

 

On first glance, you think you’ve got a stout in the glass, but a closer inspection will reveal quite a lot of brown under the coffee-coloured head. On the palate, the fresh American hop flavours are balanced by the sweet roasted malt, and there’s a spicy hint of rye.

A Gold Medal at the World Beer Cup 2022, it is one of Kinnegar's impressive core beers. The company call it “the bigger, darker brother to our Rustbucket Rye.” This full-bodied and complex black beer, with its distinctive, rich flavour profile,  is available all year round. The Rustbucket, by the way, is an “old reliable”, well into its second decade now.

Beer of the Week. White Hag Heidrun Bock. Perfect for Oktoberfest!

White Hag Heidrun Bock Beer, 6.5% ABV, 440 ml can, Lidl 

Beer of the Week

Perfect for Oktoberfest

White Hag Heidrun Bock Beer is a rich and satisfying brew that perfectly captures the essence of a traditional bock. This 6.5% ABV malty beer pours a traditional

Beer of the Week: The White Hag Silver Branch Apple Sour 2023

Beer of the Week

The White Hag Silver Branch Apple Sour 2023

5.0% ABV, 375 ml bottle Bradleys

The Silver Branch Apple Sour, a complex sour beer, has a mid-amber colour and a thin white head. You certainly get the orchard aromas from the wild fermentation Irish Cider. And it is tart on the palate where the apple juice and the Golden Ale base combine to good effect. If you really pay attention,  you'll find slight notes of malt. Brewers White Hag have once again done a great job here and this complex sour beer, with a refreshing finish, is well worth your attention!

The brewery says that Silver Branch “is perfect served with some Tart & Fruity Desserts”. Didn’t have anything handy, other than a regular supermarket apple tart, a pretty decent one as it turned out, but I do think these two were not made for each other.

The White Hag, as most of you know, are well into their myths and legends. It is no different here: “In Irish mythology, the Silver Branch of the apple tree represented a passport to the Otherworld of Tir na nÓg. The effect of the apple in this beer can also be considered a gateway to magic and rebirth.”

Here’s how the magic came about. “For this one, we reached out to our friends at MacIvors and put our heads together. We made a Golden blond and blended it with wild fermentation Irish Cider from MacIvors. We started with our very own locally harvested wild yeast; brewing a beautiful golden sour ale, then blended to create an ancient Celtic ale made with spontaneously fermented Bramley apple juice from MacIvor’s cidery, aged in French Chardonnay Barrels.”

(Check our updated Beer of the Week Index here)

Silver Branch is now available from the brewery webstore and these stellar beer outlets around Ireland 

📍@bradleys_offlic

📍@bierhaus_cork

📍@brees_strandhill

📍@matsonswinestore

📍@shop.worldwidewines

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Cool Cube for the Craft Curious. The White Hag Mixed 4-Pack.

 The White Hag Mixed 4-Pack. 

Cool Cube for the Craft Curious.

A cool cube that is easy to solve. Just open and enjoy!

Craft curious? Then this White Hag Mixed 4-Pack may be just the job. “These beers best represent our style of brewing, and are almost always available in most great beer outlets.” The neat and very portable ( as well as being very potable) pack contains their wildly popular Little Fawn IPA. All four beers are in 330ml cans.

White Hag Little Fawn Session IPA, 4.2% ABV

White Hag Magic Mist Juicy Pale Ale, 5.0% ABV 

White Hag Ninth Wave New World Pale Ale, 5.4% 

White Hag Atlantean New England IPA, 5.4% ABV

The Little Fawn, known to wander well outside its native Sligo area, may be found on draught home and away. Its ABV is a sessionable 4.2% and it features grapefruit aromas balanced with 100% Irish malt. Clean and fruity (from the Mosaic hops); not too hoppy though as you see from the mild lingering finish. As they say themselves, “an easy-to-drink American-style session IPA” and a good one to start with anytime.

Next up is the Magic Mist Juicy Pale Ale and it comes with lots of juicy tropical fruits and a hazy body. No doubt about it being fruity and juicy, more so than the Little Fawn,  but the White Hag brewers have this burst of fruit pretty well balanced and there’s enough bitterness there and so any tendency towards sweetness is kept in check. Another very made beer indeed that may be included in your session.

Where do they get those names? You may well be asking. The Magic Mist goes back to the Tuath de Dannan who had the knack of enshrouding themselves in a mystical fog that rendered them invisible to the enemy. You can get more on the names of the beers on the website here or on the cans.  

On now to the New England IPA called Atlantean. New England IPAs are beers that are purposely made hazy or cloudy, which can give these brews a smooth, creamy mouthfeel with little to no hop bitterness at the end utilizing hops that impart a tropical, juicy sweetness rather than the classic bitter. 

It is indeed creamy and cloudy. White Hag has used “copious amounts of American hops to add a big, juicy, fruity punch. Oats and lactose ( a sugar present in milk) add a rich creaminess that subdues the bitterness, making this beer similar to a hop shake”. 

White Hag advise drinking this beer as fresh as possible when all the Alpha and Beta oils from the hops are the most powerful.” With a best-before date towards the end of the year, this was probably as fresh as it gets in can and very enjoyable for sure. Yet, if you are starting in craft beers, I would recommend the first two. But don't worry - you can graduate quite quickly!

Finally, we have the Ninth Wave, a New World Pale Ale. It boasts a beautiful tropical character with a light toast finish. It is darker, close to amber, but clearer than the Atlantean (which is the fruitier of the pair). It is “stuffed with American hops, added in different stages of the fermentation” and you can smell that in the aromas and taste it on the palate. It is not devoid of fruit flavour (citrus mostly) and is refreshing and quite a thirst-quencher.

CorkBillyBeers #47. Craft with White Hag, Wicklow Wolf, Lacada (with Brehon) and Hofbräuhaus Traunstein.

CorkBillyBeers #47

Craft with White Hag, Wicklow Wolf, Lacada (with Brehon) and Hofbräuhaus Traunstein.

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All Good Here!

The White Hag Ninth Wave New World Pale Ale, 5.4% ABV, 330 ml can Bradleys

Hard to believe that the IBU number here is 15 IBU, a lager like reading while, by the way, that of the well-known and loved Sierra Nevada Pale Ale equivalent is 38.

Colour is a mid-amber, cloudy, and topped with a short-lived white head. Aromatics are mild also, apricot, mango and citrus, all from the hops, in there. No sparing the hops that are added at various stages in the production of the brew creating some really bright tropical fruit flavours but always with a strong undercurrent of hops. 

Quite a greeting on the palate, creamy feel and insistently fruity (citrus to the fore) from the American hops, but all is kept in check as this balanced effort makes its way towards a very satisfactory finalé indeed.  Lively, flavourful and very drinkable. Another for that second glass, or should that be second can, designation!

Easy drinking, refreshing and thirst-quenching. And Very Highly Recommended.

They say: “We are a modern independent craft brewery from Sligo, on Ireland’s Wild Atlantic Way. We brew innovative and groundbreaking beers, inspired by ancient and classic styles.” 

They brew a lot of them! The able and masterly brewers here ensure they are good.

The White Hag are deep into their myths and this New World Pale Ale is named after the “Ninth Wave” that formed a formidable barrier for anyone wishing to cross over to New York and Boston. 

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Wicklow Wolf Raindrop Mixed Berry Sour, 4.2% ABV, 440 ml can Bradleys

This summer’s “extension” provided some extra time for sours and our Raindrop from Wicklow Wolf was one. “A lip-smacking sour” according to the message from the Den. “A refreshing sour ale that will leave you wanting more.”

You can't miss it, this melange of raspberry, blackberry and blueberry, in its vibrant red colour and ripe fruit aromas. And those fruits also appear on the palate, as part of a crisp and refreshing tartness. A sour yes, but not one of the extreme ones.

I picked this up in error as I meant to try their Raindrop 0.5%, the non-alcoholic version. But no big deal, this is very drinkable, lip-smacking as they say, and Highly Recommended. Will just have to call again to Bradleys and pick the correct one!

Geek Bits

IBU: 10

Hops: Bravo

Malts: Pilsner, Chateau, Flaked Oats, Carapils

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Lacada (with Brehon) Dunseverick West Coast IPA, 5.5% ABV, 440 ml can Bradleys

Lacada is a community-owned Co-Operative brewery based on the world-famous North Coast of Ireland. That’s also where you’ll find Dunseverick Castle, after which this West Coast IPA is named.

Dunseverick, the beer that is, has a gold/amber colour and a soft white head that has a fair bit of longevity to it. Gave it the old finger-dip test and got a bit of resin back. The aromas also have hints of pine. There’s an impressive trio of hops lurking here and you get the robust results on the palate, deep and bitter, but there is also a good balance present.

That is key and I give it a big thumbs up. Very Highly Recommended.

Lacada Brewery has its origins in a love of beer and brewing, a love of place, and a love of people. It began with a father and son brewing together and grew to become a group of co-operative minded, good beer-loving aficionados.

Both Lacada and their collaborators on Dunseverick, the Brehon Brewhouse from County Monaghan, are happy with the results. As it is a limited edition, you may find it difficult to get your hands on a can or a keg.

The castle by the way is just east of The Giant's Causeway which dates back to the 5th Century. One of the five great royal ancient highways of Ireland, Slige Midluachra, had its Northern terminal point at Dunseverick Castle.

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HB Bayerisches Pils, 5.1% ABV, 500 ml bottle Bradleys

Looks so inviting in the tall glass. A light golden colour with battalions of bubbles streaming upwards into a soft foamy white head of medium longevity. You can smell the hops, Even get an early fresh and bitter taste by dipping your finger in the foam and taking a little suck. Or just dive straight in, and enjoy the dry and refreshing palate, the light sparkling body and that hoppy finish.

Many German brewers followed the example of Pilsner pioneer master brewer Josef Groll who, in 1842, developed the beer in Pilsen, Czech Republic, a beer that would gain popularity across the world. But, the brewers say, this Bavarian Pilsner by Hofbräuhaus Traunstein is milder, more balanced and easier to drink.

They say: “We have set up our own storage cellar for our Pils, tailored precisely to its needs, where it can ferment in peace until it is perfect - elegant and bright, with a subtle malt body….. a taste experience for connoisseurs who love a balanced hop note.” 

This bottom-fermented beer from Traunstein (Bavaria) comes in a brown bottle with an IBU number of 28. Carbonation has been analysed as high and it is regarded as mild, balanced, tasty, balanced hoppy, elegant, subtly malty, fresh, sparkling, .… Pretty much your go-to everyday beer.