A Quart of Ale± #126
On the craft journey with Wide Street, Bradleys, White Hag, Post Card
Wide Street Coolship Spontaneously Fermented Ale, 5.5% ABV, 330 ml bottle Bradleys.
Light gold colour with a short-lived shallow head. Aromas are sharp, tangy (grapefruit), almost funky. And then that “tangy” liquid crosses your lips and it’s wake-up time. You think: this is approachable and could be something else other than a sour. And so it proves to be. An amazing concentration of citrus-y fruit and refreshment is at hand, just take it sip by sip all the way to that dry lip-smacking, lip-licking finalé. Different class.
“A single barrel one-year aged beer using traditional turbid mash method and aged hops in the boil followed overnight in the coolship to finally unleash an amazing wild beer with a true sense of terroir. Oak, grape skin and citrus aroma and flavour contribute to this delicate wild ale.”
Spontaneous fermentation? Back before Louis Pasteur, this happened in beer but it was something of a mystery. After Pasteur’s 1857 discovery, brewers knew there was a reason, that indeed there were many of them, yeasts and bacterias arriving in the large pan-shaped vessels (coolships) overnight. The mystery was gone but the risk remains as it can go bad quickly. When it works though, the results are amazing. See much more about the process in The Beer Bible (2nd edition) by Jeff Alworth.
The Bible will also enlighten you more on the Turbid Mash Method which is a labour-intensive process and involves taking the mash through multiple temperature rests through infusions of hot water and the removal of 'turbid' starchy wort that is not fully converted. It is a technique associated with brewing lambic style beers.
Wide Street are naturally happy with this one: “We’re so excited to finally showcase what our terroir has to offer with this wild fermented unblended beer. It's brewed in the cold winter night in an open vessel, a coolship and left to cool down overnight. It has no added yeast and takes on the unique characteristics of the air and microflora of where it was brewed. …Oak, grape skin and citrus aroma and flavour contribute to this delicate wild ale…It has spent the past year in barrels and here is the result, enjoy!”
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Bradleys put together a special selection of German beers to celebrate Oktoberfest ... Prost!
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White Hag Little Fawn Session IPA 4.2% ABV, 4x330ml Can pack
I’ve come across Little Fawn quite a bit the last year or so on draught across the country and I’m always glad to see it, always glad to see any White Hag beer in a pub or restaurant. I was pretty certain I had included it in this long-running Quart of Ale± series but, when I checked, I found that I hadn’t. So I managed to sneak one from a 4-pack that someone in the house had bought and this is it.
“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 use ancient tales in selling their many and varied beers including this Little Fawn yarn. He was discovered “as a child on the slopes of Ben Bulben by Bran & Sceolan, this young and sprightly warrior spent his summers foraging and hunting the mountains and woodlands. These local flavours are reflected in the taste experience – an easy-to-drink American-style session IPA.”
Colour is a light gold with a slight haze. No shortage of bubbles rising to a soft white head. Citrus-y in the aromas with a hint of something softer as well. And it is also fruity on the palate, refreshingly so as befits its touting as a session beer, and a decent slightly bitter finish to boot.
White Hag say it is an easy-to-drink American-style session IPA. “Brewed with 100% Irish malt for a pale, very clean base; layered with Mosaic hops, famous for their ever-changing fruity aroma.”
White Hag West Coast to West Coast IPA, 6.8% ABV, 330ml Can Bradleys.
This collaboration with Bagby of California has quite a posse of all-American hops onboard: Mosaic (Tropical, Berry, Stone Fruit), Cascade (Grapefruit, Floral, Pine), Chinook (Grapefruit, Pine, Spice), Columbus (Dank, Pepper, Pungent), Simcoe (Pine, Grapefruit, Berry), Citra Citrus, Mango, Melon), Centennial (blossom, Orange, Resinous).
Seven hops, seven per cent ABV! Bagby, like White Hag, have quite a varied portfolio, including an Irish-style dry stout called Asphalt Jungle!
It’s a hazy mid-orange colour with a soft white head that soon starts to flop. Aromas, with those all-American hops are, as you might expect, rather intense with a united dank front. And that dankness continues on the palate though you’ll find hints of pine and citrus, some tropical stuff too, seeping through.
The White Hag take: “This West Coast IPA is a truly global one. Created by two giants of craft IPA – Joe Kearns of The White Hag on the West Coast of Ireland, and Jeff Bagby of Bagby Beer, Oceanside, California. Jeff took the long-haul hop, and a massive haul of hops from one West Coast to another.”
I reckon Jeff wasn’t going to bring any of those hops back again and everything got used. Sometimes less is more. Still, a pretty good drink.
Post Card Irish Summer 1 Pale Ale, 4.8% ABV, 440ml can Bradleys
“..perfect on a hot Irish summer’s day,” they say. That kind of limits its potential a bit. But there is no great need to confine a beer or a wine to limits that are more often suggested by marketeers and critics. Anyhow, the summer has lingered on well this year.
Actually, talking about marketing reminds me that the label of the can has a bit of info about the illustration and then just weather talk, as if we haven’t enough of it, nothing much about the beer. The can art by the way is based on Portmarnock Bay Summer Light by Sarah Magee.
The beer itself is a light gold in colour with just a hint of haze. Citrus notes in a bright palate, with a good streak of bitterness from the undisclosed hops, all well balanced by the malts. Easy drinking and certainly refreshing and one you can produce on a warm Autumn day, though I think I’d prefer to have the their regular Ha'Penny Bridge Pale Ale as my standby, summer or autumn.
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loughgillbrewery
Gose Again: Gose IPA
This tropical sour IPA blends together Idaho 7 and El Dorado, Kettle soured with Lactobacillus plantarum.
Expect very tropical notes of pineapple and stone fruits.
Hitting all good retailers this week
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2022
Beer of the Year
Confirmed to date
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
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