A Quart of Ale± #130. On the craft journey with Third Barrel, Bradleys, Sullivan's, Wicklow Wolf, O'Shea's, Aldi, Bullhouse, Whiplash, Crew, Kinnegar,

 

A Quart of Ale± #130

On the craft journey with Third Barrel, Bradleys, Sullivan's, Wicklow Wolf, O'Shea's, Aldi, O'Briens, Bullhouse

Third Barrel Day Drinkin 111 Revenge of the Hops Session IPA, 4% ABV, 440 ml can Bradleys

Third Barrel are busy these days: “The UK are going through Prime Ministers like we go through beer specials..”

Like their previous two Day Drinkin beers, this Revenge of the Hops weighs in at just four per cent, and is aimed at the session drinker though I’m sure quite a few other beer drinkers would enjoy it.

It has a pale orange colour and it’s murky in there. The label “forecasts” aromas of grapefruit, raspberry and sweet candy. Grapefruit yes but I’ve found the others elusive! It is pretty big and bold in the mouth where the grapefruit also leads the refreshing charge along with peach and banana.

A duo of hops boot this on. One is HBC 630, an experimental hop from the Yakima Valley. It is recommended for Wheat Ale, Golden Ale, American style lagers, Pale Ales, India Pale Lager (IPL), India Pale Ale (IPA), Session IPA, New England IPA, Hazy IPA, Imperial IPA. The other hop listed is the well-known Mosaic, a contributor to the tropical notes. 

The carbon produced in the making of this beer has been offset by planting native Irish trees.

Our reviews on the other Day Drinkin beers

Part Deux Citra Strata Session IPA 

Third Barrel Day Drinkin Simcoe Session IPA  

Sullivan’s Black Marble Stout, 5.1%, 500ml bottle O’Brien Wines

Enjoy the true taste of traditional bottled Irish stout. Brewed with roast barley, chocolate and wheat malts, and choicest hops. A generous stout with extra depth of flavour.

That is the encouragement on the bottle’s label, so let's have a taste… Black as Kilkenny marble for sure and with a soft floppy tan head that sinks rather slowly. Light coffee aromas and fruity notes also rise from the glass. And they get to tango on the palate, a melange of dancing flavours and sharp acidity waking up the taste buds, and keeping the show going, generously throwing in an encore or two at the finale. If the O’Shea’s (below) is mid-table, this neighbouring stout is championship material.

The hops used are Admiral, Magnum, Goldings and Sullivan’s say it is delicious with roasts and cheese dishes.

Did you know that Sullivan’s were brewing in Kilkenny before Smithwick’s? And then the two got intertwined?

Here’s the timeline, from the O’Sullivan website:

1702 Sullivan’s Brewing Company is established, and grows to be biggest in the area 

1827 The Smithwick name is launched as a beer brand in Kilkenny

1918 Smithwick’s acquires the Sullivan’s brewing brand after it is forced to close

1965 Guinness (now Diageo) takes control of Smithwick’s, buying the family interest 

2014 Diageo relocates Smithwick’s to Dublin, marking the first time in 800 years that Kilkenny is without a commercial brewery 

2016 Smithwick family relaunches the Sullivan’s brand in Kilkenny; brewery launches its North American market entry via Buffalo, NY.

See October review on Sullivan’s “Maltings” Irish Ale here.   

Wicklow Wolf Sirius Black IPA, 6.0%, 440 ml can Bradleys

Not too sure if the Sirius of the name refers to Sirius the brightest star in the night sky or to Sirius Black a character in Harry Potter. Probably not after the famous steamship Sirius, well-known in Cork in the 19th century and the first of its kind to cross the Atlantic.

In any case, the beer is black, black as night, with a tan head.  Aromas are quiet, just some faint floral and even fainter spice notes coming through. It is much more assertive in the mouth though,  with a backbone of milk chocolate, coffee and roast malt flavours. There’s a posse of malts in this one. 

No shortage of hops either with no less than four, all from the USA, employed combining to give flavours of passion fruit, subtle orange and an earthy resinous bitterness. One to make those taste buds sit up and take notice.

They say: “A magical Black IPA, Sirius was brewed with a robust malt bill to provide strong depth of flavour and colour to the beer. This robust malt bill gives the beer a dark opaque appearance… .Sirius is a West Coast style Black IPA that was double dry hopped with a massive amount of Amarillo, Simcoe and Strata hops.”

"The endangered species brews are a series of small batch, limited edition crafted beers. These beers are so rare that only a lucky few will get to experience them in the wild before they become extinct." This is #34

Geek Bits:

Hops - Bravo, Simcoe, Amarillo, Strata

Malts - Pale Malt, Carafa Special Type 1, Carafa Special Type 3, Caramalt, Dark Malt, T50

O’Shea’s Cold Dark Stout, 4.5%, 500ml bottle Aldi

Seldom easy to find detailed info on supermarket beers and this is no exception. But you’ll read this line on the neck: Traditional Dry Irish Stout bursting with flavours of coffee and chocolate.

Okay. Pours out into the glass as black as midnight with a tan head (short-lived). That coffee and chocolate seep out of the glass and there’s a toasty note as well.

While named O’Shea’s, it is made by Carlow Brewing who also make O’Hara's beers (including some really excellent stouts). It could be a bit more full-bodied, more robust, on the palate and it continues to a reasonably dry if shortish finish.  That coffee/chocolate duet persists to the end but it needs a bit more to shift it out of mid-table.

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Whiplash: Few Riddlers, be grand. After a brief hiatus on the webshop, Body Riddle is freshly canned and ready to go! Grab it in a Big Huge Slab or in a 6-pack Mixtape with other styles. Scroll on to see more  New to Body Riddle? It's our interpretation of an American Pale Ale, weighing in at 4.5% and in a 330ml can, it's perfect for suppin'. It has a really bright hop bill with loads of Lemondrop, Galaxy, Simcoe, and Ekuanot leaving us with notes of passionfruit, lemon rind, grapefruit juice and some piney goodness.

Shop Body Riddle

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Bullhouse Brew Co : Modest Beer & Cheese Night

Beer and Cheese at Bullhouse East. Join us on Tuesday 8th November for an intimate beer and cheese pairing with Chris Morris, owner and head brewer of Modest Beer. These intimate tastings are limited to 20 tickets per tasting and include a guided talk on 5 different beers paired with 5 excellent local cheeses. The event kicks off sharply at 7:30pm and we ask you to be there for 7pm.

BUY TICKET

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Crew's Irish Night...

Irish Night in Limerick
Every Thursday, 8PM

Irish Night happens every Thursday from 8PM. It’s a great chance to use your cúpla focail in a supportive environment. Any level of the Irish language is welcome, from total beginners to fluent speakers. It's been said that it's easier the more pints you've had!

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Kinnegar New Beers Alert

There are no fewer than five new beers jostling for position in the release queue. First to burst out of the holding pen was our 2022 Barleywine which will appear in just a few weeks wearing its smart BAP28 uniform. Not yet packaged but next in line for canning and first in line for release is BAP27, a Black Lager that Rick was curious to try as part of our Brewers at Play series. This is the first of our lagers to go over to the dark side so we’re pretty excited about tasting it in its finished form. And there's more to follow...

Recommended Red Wines. Just what the doctors ordered in Faugères and fireworks from Italy’s Alba

Recommended Red Wines 

Just what the doctors ordered in Faugères

and fireworks from Italy’s Alba 

Leonides Météore Faugéres (AOP) 2018, 14%, 

€18.95 64 Wine Dublin, Bradley’s of Cork, Greenman Dublin, Le Caveau Kilkenny

Just what the doctors ordered.

From the steep-sloped schist outcrops of the Cévennes, where the vineyards of Faugères are planted, comes this excellent blend of Syrah, Grenache and Cinsault.

Colour is a mid to dark ruby. Aromas are quite assertive with strong notes of blackcurrant and hints of the garrigue (thyme, balsamic). No shortage of spice on the velvety palate but also fresh and fruity and well balanced and definitely digestible, a word I’ve heard Le Caveau’s Pascal use quite often, and accurately I think, in regard to organic wines. 

An excellent wine, with a long and fruity finish, it is Very Highly Recommended. And you won’t need a prescription! Try in the weeks and months ahead with an Irish stew or a French style cassoulet or with some of O’Flynn’s Gourmet Sausages (especially the spicier ones).

The domaine, certified organic, has been recently purchased by Paul Jenkins and Paul Jarman, two London-based doctors and wine enthusiasts, who have known the area well for many years. Passionate about the possibilities presented by the Faugères schist terroir to create truly compelling wines, they spent a long time searching for a vineyard with the right potential, history and a truly unique setting. When they found Domaine du Météore, they knew they had found the right land and vines to create the wines they wanted.

And the vineyards name? Well many thousands of years ago, a meteor struck the land here and left its mark by way of a crater, a depression where their vines grow very well indeed. Oh yes, you may well notice a streak of minerality!

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Top Wines 2022. With Reviews & Irish Stockists. 

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Ciabot Berton Fisetta Barbara D’Alba (DOC) 2017, 14% ABV

€20.65 64 Wine Dublin, Bradley’s of Cork, Greenman Dublin, Le Caveau Kilkenny

Barbera is full-bodied, has high acidity and higher-level alcohol, is dry with low tannin, and is the go-to red-wine grape of Piedmont in northern Italy. It is also grown in neighbouring Lombardy and in Emilia Romagna . These three Italian regions account for most of the world’s Barbera crop.

Our Fisetta has a dark colour; you see it immediately on the bottom of the cork where it looks like blackberry. The nose is rather dense and fruity (blackberry jam). May not be as full-bodied as some but no shortage of flavour (cherry, blueberry). And there’s quite a kick of spice as well through the medium long finish. Highly Recommended.

The ‘Fisetta’ cuvée is produced from a small plot of young vines and the vineyard claim the result is freshness, good acidity and distinct hints of fresh fruit. Serve it at 18 degrees and you’ll find “it perfectly accompanies cured meats, light pasta dishes courses and fresh cheeses”. Wine Folly suggests trying it with roasted and vegetable-driven dishes. I reckon our bottle would be just perfect with a Pepperoni Pizza!

The name Fisetta (which means fireworks in Piedmontese) stems from the small building (ciabot, in Piedmontese) found on the site, which belonged to a certain Berton, who, in an attempt to make his own fireworks, caused a fire. Even today, from the cellar you can see the ruins of the building after which the winery is named.

The aim at Cabot Berton is to produce wines that express their vineyard terroir, unique in each vintage and with the stamp of the family’s way of working. “These methods are primarily the use of organic techniques in order to attain and maintain equilibrium and healthy vines in the vineyards and an emphasis on slow ripening and allowing the grapes to hang as long as possible in order to achieve phenolic ripeness, especially for Nebbiolo.”

We enjoyed the Ciabot Berton Rutuin Dolcetto D’Alba (DOC) 2013 a few months back. Review here

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Best Value Wines 2022 Under €18.00. With Reviews & Irish Stockists. 

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Top Wines 2022. With Reviews & Irish Stockists. 

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My Favourite Beers of the Year 2022 Announcing the October winner. Wide Street Coolship.

My Favourite Beers of the Year 2022

Announcing the October winner: 

Wide Street Coolship

Contenders to end of October:

October: Wide Street Coolship Spontaneously Fermented Ale

September: Bradleys (with Dot Brew) Nice One IPA

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

October. The Final List

Spon: Wide Street Coolship Spontaneously Fermented Ale

Stout:Brehon Shanco Dubh Porter

Red Ale: Sullivan’s Maltings Irish Ale

Session: Lineman Group Therapy Session IPA, 4.6%

Pils: Farringtons Bohemian

October Short List

Session: 

White Hag Little Fawn Session IPA 4.2% 

Outer Place Mini Mini Session Disco IPA, 4.4% ABV 

Farringtons Clever Plucker Session NEIPA, 4.5% 

DOT Brew Spin Off Series Session IPA, 3.2% 

Lineman Group Therapy Session IPA, 4.6%

IPA:

White Hag West Coast to West Coast. 

Blacks Pineapple & El Dorado 

Stout: 

Brehon Shanco Dubh Porter, 7.7%

Pils: 

Farringtons Bohemian Pils 

Spon: 

Wide Street Coolship Spontaneously Fermented Ale  

Red Ale: 

Sullivan’s Maltings Irish Ale, 5%

Craft on Draught:

The Maritime, Bantry: 9 White Deer Kölsch

The Lake, Killarney: Ale and Lager by Killarney Brewing Co.

Merry’s, Dungarvan: Wicklow Wolf Ale and more

The Shelbourne, Cork: Beamish and more

The Cotton Ball, Cork: Lynch’s Stout, Indian Summer and more

Mellet’s Emporium, Swinford: Reel Deel Jack the Lad, Mescan Seven Virtues Lager.

Keenan’s, Tarmonbarry, Co. Roscommon: White Hag Little Fawn; Kinnegar’s Scraggy Bay.

Finín’s Midleton: Black’s KPA

Franciscan Well: Original 7 Weisse and more

Elbow Lane: Angel Stout and more

The Mad Monk by Quinlan’s, Killarney: Killarney’s Casey Brothers Extra Stout and Golden Spear Blonde

Castlerosse Hotel Bar, Killarney:  Killarney’s Golden Spear Blonde

Celtic Whiskey & Larder, Killarney: Tom Crean St Brigid’s Lager and Rascals Black Horse Stout 4.4% and more

Café Pigalle Cork: White Hag’s Atlantean NEIPA (also White Hag lager)

Spooky Beers??

Black Donkey Have You Covered.

"Samhain Season is upon us ,

It is a time for welcoming the harvest and ushering in the dark half of the year. Samhain holds a special place in our memories as our Underworld series was born from this darkness.

The Underworld series of native Irish beers was born out of our quest for adventure, our sense of history and our respect for tradition. If you haven't tried the three Underworld beers yet, you are missing out on Ireland's only beers fermented with a native Irish yeast.

On October 31st, 2017, we embarked upon the Wild Yeast Chase and harvested a yeast we named Morrigan from Oweynagat cave. The cave is considered to be the “Gate to Hell” or entrance to the Underworld and the origin of Samhain. You have been warned!

Sergeant Jimmy 2022 is on its way, scheduled for a late November release. 
And something sour, barrel conditioned and special this way comes in the next month or less, stay tuned!

Forever and always, we ask you to support local wherever you can. This support helps small independent brewers like ourselves to keep brewing."

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Rye River Celebrate Again

World's Best Helles/Münchner!

Celebrations are in order! Our Bidin' Time Irish Lager has been officially named the 'World's Best Helles/Münchner' at the World Beer Awards 2022. Yes, that's right, the world's best! And it didn’t stop there. We picked up a further 40 awards to be named the World's Most Decorated Brewery for the 3rd consecutive year. 

Marina Market Munch Lights Up Grey Autumn Day

 Marina Market Munch 

Lights Up Grey Autumn Day

Latke with salmon

Q - So, what kind of food can you get in the Marina Market? Why is everyone going there?

A - Oh, you can get all kinds there. Hansum and maybe not so handsome. Sinless and sinful. Messy and brand nua. Deli and delights. Soul and blues…and.

Q - Stop messing. Listen, tell me what cuisines can I sample there?

Okay. No messing. Not too easy to answer though as there’s all kinds of fusion going on. For instance there’s one stall with a French name, Poulet Vous. But on Insta, they say they have Korean Chicken while, on their website it is Bold Nashville style with a Korean twist, so that’s four different nations involved in that small space: Us, US, France and Korea!

The Original by Poulet Vous

Then there is a Sicilian place, a Mexican (Burrito & Blues), Asian with sushi, Brazilian with wood-fired beef, one stall from the Maghreb, and another with Jewish style latkes. Of course, we Irish are well represented with Prátaí!

We’ve sampled quite a few in previous visits, including Nua Asador using wood and fire to give an amazing Latin American makeover to Tom Durcan’s beef. We’ve also enjoyed the fare from Taylor’s Deli (see below), serving Latkes, Jersey Rolls and “the best NY subs you can find”.  

In the earlier days we went to town on two offerings from the Wild Hogs (no longer operating here), enjoyed their pig-fest in a bun, the “Ze Octoberfest”, plus their West Cork Gourmet Sausage Bap.

White Rabbit Menu

Another visit saw us at Sicilian Delights and there we got their sensational Parmigiana. It consists of shallow fried sliced aubergine with tomato sauce, Parmesan cheese, then baked. We combined that with a call to Prátaí for their Nacho Fries, a base of fries topped with Bean Chilli, guacamole, Salsa and Sour Cream, one of their Loaded Chips specials. Olé.

Our visit last week began with a call to Taylor’s truck. They, and Soulful, are somewhat unlucky with their placement as their wagons are parked outside the main hall, just outside but you could easily miss them in Autumn and Winter, easier to spot though in the other seasons when many people decide to eat on the outside tables.

We wanted to try their potato pancakes called Latkes. They had three or four versions and the one we picked was “Fish In The Jailhouse": 3x Potato Pancakes, Smoked Salmon, Cream Cheese & Chive. The pancakes, a bit like the Swiss rosti, can take a bit of time as they do everything from scratch but soon we ended up with a delightful box of pancakes and smoked salmon for 8 euro.

Part of the Egg menu

Our normal practice here is to share and that is not that easy with many of the meals. They are well packed into their containers and the wooden forks and knives aren’t up to much. So, the tip is to bring an old knife from home to do the dividing and it may be no harm either to bring a small plate or two! Might be easier to get one meal each.

Mostly though you’ll get by with what the vendors supply and they certainly draw in the punters. We were there last Tuesday and there was no shortage of customers, customers of all ages. And if you have a baby in tow, then there are a few baby seats around the place.

More Egg!

Our other call on this visit was to "multi-national" Poulet Vous and we could see from the menu that it looked like Korean all the way, not that I know much about Korean food other than kimchi! 

They promise: you won’t find our flavours and colours anywhere else! We serve it all hot, fresh and in a format that’s affordable and comfortable for urban Corkonians to enjoy. They highlight four on their website.

KOREOLE

House Fried Chicken, Fries Kimchi Mayo House Pickles in a Golden Pitta

GOCHUJANG CHICKEN TENDERS

Sweet & Spicy Signature Fried Chicken Tenders

KFC BAO BUNS

Korean Fried Chicken, Kimchi Slaw, Pickles

WINGS

Honey Soy Garlic Maple Hoisin Gochujang

All interesting, though I usually steer clear of BAO buns as they themselves are fairly tasteless. Of course it is what’s in them that counts.

Trick or treat? Poulet Vous.

Anyway, we picked the top item on the menu called The Original: Korean Fried Chicken, fries, Kimchi Mayo, Shredduce (what language is that?😉) and house pickles in a golden pitta bread with sesame and chive. Not easy to make two halves of that! But it was well worthwhile, full of flavour and texture and nicely spiced as well. 

They also had an offer to make a dinner of any of their mains by adding fries and a drink for another four euro. And they don’t forget the kids with a box of Fried Chicken pieces with fries for €6.50.

Took the opportunity to do a walkabout or two and found a few menus that will result in another visit to the food market that keeps on giving!

Previous visits

Featuring Wild Hogs Food Truck 

Featuring Taylor’s Deli and Nua Asador 

Featuring Sicilian Delights and Prátaí 

Bad News...and Good

Just as I was wrapping up this post, Taylor's Deli were posting some bad news.

"We have made the very difficult decision to close our doors after this Bank Holiday Weekend.

The rising cost of everything has made it unviable for us to remain open without drastically increasing our prices which we don't want to do

We want to extend a massive thank you to all our customers who Made It Rain and kept a smile on our faces 😊 and to our amazing local suppliers
@panabreadcork
@carthyjack
@rebelchilli
@eastferryfarm
@buddswestcork"

Hopefully Taylor's will find a way back.. I still have a lot of their subs and Latkes to try! Best of luck to you all.

Almost at the same time, Marina Market announced the opening of a new stall....

"Introducing Charcú 🍷

The first wine, cheese and meat bar in the Marina Market and just in time for Jazz 🎷

Try Cork's most unique new bar in a one of kind venue.... Delicious meats and cheese sourced locally and the finest wine this side of the Lee."

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