CorkBillyBeers #49. Craft with Hope, Western Herd and Dungarvan Brewing

CorkBillyBeers #49

Craft with Hope, Western Herd and Dungarvan Brewing

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Hope Pass If You Can Pale Ale, 4.6% ABV, 440 ml can Dunnes Stores

A great all-rounder

A classic Pale Ale in the American style, synonymous with the current worldwide craft beer explosion since the 1980s. It is an easy-drinking beer, with a clear hop character, but not as hoppy or indeed as bitter as an IPA.

That’s the brewery’s summing up of their Pass Oif YouCan Pale Ale.

It has a lovely gold colour, a hazy one but not enough to hide the fountains of bubbles rising towards the big soft white head. The fruity character of the hops comes through in the aromas. And also on the palate. Not overly fruity mind you nor overly bitter either. The well-judged harmony between the fruity hop flavours and the medley of Irish and European malts defines the beer.

Hope is quite happy with it. “An easy drinking malty and slightly fruity pale ale with a subtle hop kick. A great all-rounder that combines well with most main dishes, such as chicken or prawns, BBQs and pizza.”

I’m also very happy with it. Very Highly Recommended.

The Ale is named after Michael Collier, a notorious 19th-century highwayman who was North County Dublin’s answer to Robin Hood. He was so successful that his townland was dubbed Passifyoucan. Finally arrested in 1807 in his favourite haunt The Cock, he was transported and returned home only to die of cholera! Still, the name remains.

Geek Bits

Hops: Magnum, Mosaic, Citra,

Yeast: US-05

Malts: Pale Ale, CaraHell, Munich, Acidulated.

Core Range: Yes

Bought 20.09.23.

BBD 27.10.23

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Western Herd Islander Session IPA 4.2% ABV, 440 ml can No 21 Midleton

“Inspired by the hazy, juicy beers made famous by Vermont brewers, this is Islander. Embrace the haze.”

That’s the intro to this session beer by Count Clare brewery Western Herd, which stands on a picturesque hilltop farm in a converted shed built over 80 years ago by “our great-grandfather”. The grandchildren, siblings Michael Eustace and Maeve Sheridan, founded the brewery and it was then “found” in 2018 by Montana-born Bridger Kelleher and he “kept turning up” and eventually took over as brewer.

The Islander has a hazy light orange colour with a fluffy white head that stays around for a spell. Aromas are mild, tropical and ripe. On the palate, the beer is soft with citrus and melon showing. The producers indicate that the intention is “to provide a hop burst of flavour that is easy to drink and won’t weigh you down”. Reckon they have succeeded here.

Highly Recommended. The Best Before date had not expired here but there were just a few days to go. 

Geek Bits

Style
Session IPA

Colour/Appearance
Golden, hazy, juicy

Hops
Amarillo, Citra, Simcoe

Malts
Pale, Stout Mix, Malted Oats, Flaked Oats, White Wheat, Torrified Wheat, CaraPils

Yeast
House

Original Gravity
1.045

% ABV
4.2%

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Hope Handsome Jack IPA, 6.6% ABV, 440 ml can Dunnes Stores

Citrusy - malty - bitter. A full-flavoured citrusy and double dry hopped IPA. Great with burgers and pizza.

That’s the brief intro to Handsome Jack by brewers Hope.

This golden beer, with a soft white head, is a little on the hazy side. There’s a supple hint of orange in the aromas but the sweet malt is also holding its own here. And that duel continues on the palate with juicy citrus coming to a duet that also involves the sweetness of the Irish Pale malt. In the end, it's all square between the bitterness of the hops and the mildness of the malt. No losers here of course and the punters are the winners with another excellent beer from Hope who indicates that it pairs well with burgers and roast meat, pizza, Indian dishes, strong, salty cheese and carrot cake.

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And who was Handsome Jack? Jack Criss, the 17th-century Irish pirate, was tall and handsome with blonde hair and eyes as green as the sea. He set sail from Ireland, plundering his way to Spain and Italy. He didn’t die in battle but someone got cross with Criss and stabbed him to death in a Naples hotel. Probably one of his four wives. Some bachelor!

Highly Recommended. The beer that is, not the pirate!

Geek Bits

Hops: Magnum, Cascade, Sorachi Ace, Simcoe, Citra

Yeast: American Ale

Malts: Minch Hook Head Ale, Weyermann CaraMunich II, Weyermann CaraPils, Weyermann Acidulated

EBU 49

Bought 20.09.23.

BBD 25.04.24

Core Range: Yes

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Dungarvan Mahon Falls Rye Pale Ale, 5.1% ABV, 440 ml can No 21 Midleton

Dungarvan is a family-run independent microbrewery in Dungarvan with over a decade of brewing experience and this is one of their regular seasonal beers, appearing annually in the springtime.

The colour is a murky orange/red with a soft white head that hangs about a bit. Aromas are a bit on the punchy side, with the rye leading the attack, the hops bringing the fruit posse onto the palate before a moderately bitter finish with the spicy rye always a player in the background though it is more hoppy bitter overall than malty sweet.

Highly Recommended. Not bad for a beer that was disappointingly almost six months past its Best Before date.

Food Pairings: This full-flavoured punchy fruity ale works great with lighter-flavoured foods like chicken, pork and fish or even with salad dishes. The brewery also says that the fruitiness of this Mahon Falls works really well with the tang of a Wensleydale or Caerphilly-style cheese. Try Knockdrinna‘s Laviston or The Little Milk Company‘s Brewer’s Gold.

Geek Bits

Style: Rye Pale Ale

ABV: 5.1%

Malts: Malted Rye (Pale, Cara)

Hops: Galaxy, Summit, Ella

IBUs: 50

Allergens: Contains barley.

Calories: 230 per 500ml

Serve: 8-12°C

Pleasant stop at Farran's Wunderkaffee. An hour or two of coffee and a taste of local history

 Pleasant stop at Farran's Wunderkaffee

An hour or two of coffee and a taste of local history

For quite a few months now, I have been meaning to visit the Wunderkaffee in Farran. For much longer, it has been my intention to visit the nearby Kilcrea Abbey ruins. I got both done (and more) one sunny day, perhaps the only sunny one, last week.

The cafe stands on a rural road just (a minute) off the main Cork-Macroom Road. You park by the side of the road and walk in. It is open from Tuesday to Saturday and serves coffee, teas, and hot chocolates and lots of sweet treats and has indicated it is considering doing lunches in the future.

There are strong links between the Farran café and the two Filter Coffee outlets in Cork City, so you feel confident the coffee will be good here. And it is, very good indeed. We tried a selection of good things including a lovely croissant. Then onto a superb Rhubarb Crumble studded with blackberries. But the best of all, I thought, was the Flapjack, packed full of flavour thanks to the fruit, the nuts and an injection or two of chocolate.

There is much more there, hence the “Wunder” bit! You may choose plants from quite a selection. There is a large display of wine, much of it organic and from the Mary Pawle portfolio. Local crafts are supported including silverware, lampshades and more. And do look out for local honey and chutneys. If you are hunting for a last-minute gift, just call in; you’ll be pleasantly surprised!

There is a lively buzz here, a neighbourhood buzz, though I’m sure quite a few passersby also call. Service is friendly and efficient, very helpful. They don't rush you and indeed look out for you.

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Just a few minutes’ drive from the café, is Kilcrea Friary, built in 1465 by Cormac Laidir MacCarthy who is buried here. We called to see the extensive ruin. Buried here also is Áirt Úi Laoghaire, a young Irishman shot dead in May 1773 because an English planter wanted to put him in his place and could so do because of the brutal Penal Laws.

That year, a horse owned by 26-year-old Áirt won a race, beating a horse owned by the planter. Because of the penal laws, a Catholic was not allowed to own a horse with a value of over five pounds, so the Englishman sought to take advantage by offering Áirt that amount for the horse. The Irishman refused and was declared an outlaw and was later shot dead.

Áirt's tomb

The first indication that his wife received of the tragedy was the arrival of the mare without her rider. And that is recalled in Caoineadh (keening) Áirt Úi Laoghaire, the love poem, one of Ireland’s greatest, that his wife Eibhlín Dubh Ní Chonaill composed as she keened.

is níor chreideas riamh dod mharbh

gur tháinig chúgham do chapall

is a srianta léi go talamh,

is fuil do chroí ar a leacain

Here is the translation by Thomas Kinsella

I didn’t credit your death

till your horse came home

and her reins on the ground,

your heart’s blood on her back

You may read the full poem in Irish here.   The Kinsella translation is also available online.

The founder remembered

‘Natural and unpretentious’. This beautiful Beaujolais is just like winemaker Karim Vionnet!

‘Natural and unpretentious’. This beautiful Beaujolais is just like winemaker Karim Vionnet!

Vionnet “Du Beur Dans Les Pinards” Beaujolais Villages (AC) 2020, 14% ABV, 

RRP €24.95. Stockists: Le Caveau, 64 Wine, Greenman Wines, Bradleys Cork

The fruit for Du Beur dans les Pinards comes from a parcel which belonged to the late Jules Chauvet and the cheeky label is a Michel Tolmer /  Philippe Quesnot creation. 

“Who is Jules Chauvet?”

Chauvet was a Beaujolais wine dealer, winemaker, and wine scientist, who throughout the 1980s mentored the Morgon vigneron Marcel Lapierre and his collaborator Jacques Néauport, prefiguring many of today’s ideas about natural wine. 

From the 1980s, other natural wine heroes such as Breton, Lapierre, Foillard and Thevenet emerged. Our winemaker here Karim Vionnet learned from them and especially from Breton with whom he worked. And he learned well. 

Very Highly Recommended.

I didn’t have to get it into the glass to get the amazing aromatics. They can't wait to meet you and make a merry dancing impression immediately the cork is removed. The colour is a little darker than normal though not around the rim. The juicy red berry character continues on its merry light-footed delicious way across the palate before a long and refreshing Beaujolais finish.

Karim Vionnet started his own production in 2000. He farms his parcels without chemicals and makes his wines without additives and jokes that he makes wines that look like him: ‘Natural and unpretentious’

He certainly learned well from Breton and company and fully deserves a bit of butter on his spinach (Du beur means a North African and there is a bit of wordplay going on with beurre the French for butter and Vionnet’s first name). Must get Pascal at le Caveau to explain it better when next we meet.

Karim’s parcels are located in the villages of Quincié, Beaujeu and Lantignié, on very varied types of soil, ranging from marls, schists, granite and sand. Since 2020, his daughter Noemie has joined the estate, and proud dad Karim hasn’t stopped smiling since. Thanks to Le Caveau for much of this info!

Stroll by the River Lee, on the Tivoli side, on a Saturday morning.

Stroll by the River Lee, on the Tivoli side, on a Saturday morning. 

Saturday's a good time as rowing crews are training. Usually some wild birds there also.

Lady Tivoli (or a lot of old rope)

Traffic near the Shandon BC slips.

The Norwegian flagged Isbjorn heading downriver. Is it the ocean going boat in this very interesting story here?

Carrig House (being restored), reportedly c. 200 years old

Lee Rowing club, one of three operating on this stretch of the Lee.

Morning after the night before!

Gull gossip

Making a splash x4

This Kinsale Barrel Aged Mead is a lively, attractive drink with a decadent richness.

This Kinsale Barrel Aged Mead is a lively, attractive drink with a decadent richness. 

Kinsale Merlot Barrel Aged Wild Red Mead (Limited Edition) 2022, 70 cl bottle, 12% ABV 

RRP: €31.75. Stockists throughout Ireland, also in GB and NI, in Europe and beyond. Full list here.  

Mead (Miodh in Irish) is the world’s oldest alcoholic drink, unique in that its primary ingredient is honey but also incredibly diverse – it can range from dry to very sweet, which may surprise you when you think of honey as its primary ingredient. It is the world’s oldest alcoholic drink, fermented from honey and fruit and sometimes with herbs or spices added. 

Kate and Denis Dempsey are the couple behind the Kinsale Mead Company venture. In 2016, they went to work to rediscover the ancient art of mead-making and to create a world-class range of light and refreshing drinks. 

Much has been achieved since then. They have certainly opened many eyes (and palates), both here and abroad, to the flavours and possibilities of the ancient drink. Some meads have no fruit included but when it is (as is the case here), the drink is called a Melomel Mead.

Colour of this barrel-aged mead is a dark ruby with flashes of a lighter red coming through, depending on the light. Aromas are fruity, that mix of blackcurrants and cherries and a hint of the Merlot Barrel in which it spent the last year of its 3-year maturation. 

Smoothness is the initial impression on the palate, then the fruits, the cherry and the tartness of those Wexford blackcurrants well balanced with attractive forest honey notes and caramel from the Bordeaux oak barrels, a harmony that continues through to the dry finalé.

They say: it is a gorgeous 3-year-old berry mead fermented off dry and silky smooth and matured for the last 12 months in French Merlot wine barrels to add intriguing structure and depth. “An exceptional, unique mead, a lively, attractive drink with a decadent richness. ….We were over the moon when this mead won the Drink of the Year from the Irish Food Writers’ Guild in 2021…..”

It was also awarded Drink of the Year from the Irish Food Writers’ Guild.

Denis and Kate suggest it is delicious served at room temperature on its own or with fine food. Other suggestions include pairing it with cheese boards or quality chocolate, with roast duck, grilled ribs or sausages and rich tomato-based Italian dishes.

The beautiful label was inspired by the story of the “Wild Geese” Irish who emigrated in waves from Ireland to the continent at the end of the Jacobite wars and settled in France. Many of them began to start trading and making wine. Today, in Bordeaux, you can find the names of those resilient Irish emigrants on the streets and vineyards of the region – Lynch, Barton, Boyd, Phelan – alongside other trading connections to the wine ports of Ireland.

Photo from the Kinsale Wine Museum in Desmond Castle.
The museum has since closed down.

Kinsale Mead: “In a sense, we are completing the circle, bringing those precious barrels back to Ireland. Kinsale in the 18th century was a thriving port, one of several in Ireland licensed to import wines from France, Spain and Portugal. The harbour and warehouses were full of barrels of the finest wines, ports and sherries.”

Much easier in those far-off days to get your hands on an empty cask.

Click on link for all the info on the full range of their meads at Kinsale Mead Company.

Redbreast Tawny Port Edition, One for my short list!

One for my short list!

Redbreast Tawny Port Edition 46% ABV

This eagerly awaited Redbreast Tawny Port Edition was recently launched and glad to say I got my hands on a wee sample. I haven't seen any independent reviews, but I was delighted with it; it may well be my Whiskey of the Year. 

Midleton's finest Single Pot Still Whiskey infused with the rich flavours of port wine makes for a truly unforgettable experience. I have a birthday coming up and Christmas won't be too far behind; my list will be brief, just the one item each time. Now you know!

Whiskey tasting notes can be even more convoluted than those of wine so I’ll give you the shortcut version. It is smooth from aroma to finalé. Croisannt and almond on the nose and a wee squeeze of honey also. On the palate, it is again smooth even if there is a tiny little hint of burn (a tiny drop of water cures that); it is rich (think ripe figs) with a streak of smooth limoncello. Spices linger at the smooth finish, vanilla, the fruit still prominent. Great to be back in Porto!

This Port Edition has been expertly created by esteemed Master Blender Billy Leighton and Blender Dave McCabe and is another expression from the Redbreast Iberian Series. RRP: €100.00

It is a single pot still Irish whiskey, initially matured in a combination of bourbon and oloroso sherry casks. To add a new dimension to the flavour profile, a portion of these maturing whiskeys were re-casked into tawny port casks for a number of years. All of the whiskeys were then skilfully blended and completed their maturation journey by marrying in freshly seasoned tawny port hogsheads for a final maturation period of 14-25 months.

The Iberian series is inspired by Redbreast’s long-standing connection to some of the Iberian Peninsula’s most celebrated cooperages and winemakers, combining the craft and rich heritage of the region with the excellence of Midleton Distillery’s single pot still whiskeys to create expressions that are truly extraordinary. Redbreast Tawny Port Cask Edition is the second limited edition to join the series, following the 2021 release of Redbreast Pedro Ximénez Edition, and permanent expression and series anchor, Redbreast Lustau Edition.

Redbreast Tawny Port Cask Edition is bottled at 46% and is now available in the USA, Ireland, UK, China, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Global Travel and online at the RRP of €100, £79, $100.

IG: @RedbreastIrishWhiskey   #RedbreastTawnyPort    #PassItOn

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