A Quart of Ale± #129. On the craft journey with Sullivan's, O'Brien Wines, Lineman, Blacks, Bradleys, Brewmaster, Aldi.

A Quart of Ale± #129

On the craft journey with Sullivan's, O'Brien Wines, Lineman, Blacks, Bradleys, Brewmaster, Aldi.

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Sullivan’s Maltings Irish Ale, 5%, 500ml bottle O’Brien Wines

Deauville, a long-time magnet for Europe’s rich and famous, was all abuzz for the horse racing in August 1918, even though the Great War was still being waged. 

One Irishman had set his sights on an aristocratic French fillé. He had opposition from a Venetian count. Sullivan, a gambler rather than a brewer, bet the family brewery on a horse to impress the Frenchwoman. He lost and, not fancying a duel with the count, had to settle his debts.

In Kilkenny, as a result of the wager, the Sullivan brewery (established 1702, eight years before Smithwick’s) was taken over by their rivals (“in a kind of a white knight rescue”) and the Sullivan name vanished from the enterprise. Another hundred years on and, in 2014, Diageo moved the production of Smithwick's to Dublin.

But the Sullivan story has been revived over the past few years or so with the emergence of a new Sullivan brewery, backed by the two intertwined families, the Sullivans and, yes, the Smithwicks, both keen to keep Kilkenny’s brewing tradition going. 

Colour of this award-winning red ale is quite a dark one, boasting an off-white head that has some staying power. The aroma hints of a balance between malt fruit and hop bitterness and that continues on the body before the excellent ale finishes dry. Quite a satisfactory bottle indeed and the drinker can see why this easy-drinking smooth ale is an award winner.

They say: Traditionally brewed with only Kilkenny-grown ale malt, including three special darker malts and three varieties of hop. Fermented and matured with cask ale yeast and coupled with our no-rush brewing produces a smooth balanced classic ale. .. the result is a classic ruby ale with deep malt combining rich biscuit and gentle caramel notes.

The beer we craft today is inspired by traditional Kilkenny recipes and brewed the way the family has always brewed – the way real Irish beer should be brewed – by local experts, by hand, in small batches, with enormous heart and the finest locally sourced ingredients.

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Lineman Group Therapy Session IPA, 4.6%, 440 ml can Bradleys

All southern hemisphere hopped session IPA with Galaxy, Motueka and Topaz. That’s the word from Lineman about this session IPA. Motueka comes from a small town on the South Island of New Zealand while the other two come from Australia.

Colour of the ale is a murky lemon with a head that doesn’t stay around too long.  The aromatics are on the meek side, just a hint of tropical notes peeping through. Quite a nice balance on the palate, light and zesty, tropical, citrus, a touch of pine all in the mix. Lineman regularly get it spot-on and this is another fine example from the brewery.

Lineman? “We’re often asked about our name; we’re called LINEMAN as a tribute to my late father who worked as a lineman for both the ESB and P&T in the 1940s and ‘50s. He stayed with the P&T (that eventually became Telecom Éireann and later Eircom) until he retired in 1996. There’s a nice lineage there as that same year Mark got his first job with Eircom until he left to start work on setting up LINEMAN in 2018.

The reason for the name LINEMAN runs a little deeper than that alone though. It’s also a tribute to the hard working heroes who worked in all kinds of conditions to bring about connection in the young Irish state, through electricity and telecommunications, taking Ireland out of the dark and into the modern state we know today." More here. 

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Blacks Pineapple & El Dorada IPA, 5.0% ABV, 440 ml can Bradleys

The perfect fruity mix-up combining fantastic El Dorado hops with fresh Pineapple flavours for the ultimate summer IPA.

That’s the intro to this IPA from Blacks of Kinsale. It has a colour close to a mid-amber with a thin white head that doesn’t hang about. 

It is described as a summer IPA so I’m a little late coming to the party. Also a little apprehensive as I’m not a great lover of overly fruity beers. But I’m relaxing as the first sip flows across, enjoying the pineapple and the hoppy balance provided by El Dorado. Dry finish as well, quite bitter.

May be slightly out of season but it is a thumbs up for this one, a west coast IPA where the hops and the pineapple (one of the listed ingredients) get it together in a deep layered pineapple flavour that reminds me somewhat of the the brilliant Polly that I tasted in Limerick’s Crew last year. Summer may be gone but you can always turn up the heating (but not for lon€).

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Brewmaster Sailor Sam’s Hazy IPA, 5.5%, 440ml can Aldi

Brewmaster (Dundalk Bay Brewery Co) are the producers of this IPA, exclusively for Aldi, and they recently rushed to announce that it won a bronze award in the Irish Food and Drinks Quality Awards for 2022.

Sam’s IPA is certainly hazy, under a slow-sinking soft white head over a Mango Lassi coloured body. Mango takes charge on the palate but methinks it needs a bit more to move into gold medal contention.

Good yarn on the label though, where they disclose that dry-hopping was used. Sam brewed at sea, experimenting as he sailed. It was a serious hobby! And he loved to add as many hops as possible to make the beer last..at sea.

Brewmaster is the exclusive beer brand of Dundalk Bay Brewery and Distillery (their spirits are sold under the Ravenrock brand). “All our Irish Premium Craft Beers are brewed in a sustainable way using naturally sourced ingredients. Each alcoholic and non-alcoholic beer has its distinct flavour ensuring there’s one to satisfy every palette!”

On The Pig's Back Menu Sings The Season’s Songs. A mellow melody for misty days ahead.

On The Pig's Back New Menu 

Sings The Season’s Songs.

A mellow melody for misty days ahead.

There is a new menu at On The Pigs Back in Douglas, gorgeous and extensive, plates over-brimming with something delicious for everyone, based on the best of local produce from the bounty of the current season, with a French influence, naturellement, and expertly curated by head chef Paul Siglar and his team and no shortage of expertise either in the cooking and presentation.

Just reading its two pages is a tonic for the appetite. But why walk when you can fly! Tempted by the long list of delightful dishes, I certainly “flew" down to the venue and may well have caught the new menu, with its marvellous melange of meats, breads, vegetables, fish, cheese, and eggs of course, on its debut day. It won’t be my last visit for this menu!

As they say themselves: "As the seasons change so does our menu, ensuring we use the best in season produce while staying exciting to our customers.” Variety is the spice of life and no shortage here.

Took us a while to make a decision! Just so many choices. On the meat side, you may well go for Jack McCarthy's Free-Range Ham Sandwich with Bandon Vale Cheddar Cheese, Green Leaves, Pickled Cucumber, Tomato & Onion with a Red Pepper Relish on Arbutus Sour Dough served

with house salads.

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Dining out in Ireland? Cork in particular? Check out our up to date reviews here. Restaurants, cafés, and trucks included.

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Cheese? How about the Irish and French Cheese & Charcuterie Board with Apple and Carrot Chutney, Crackers and Fresh Bread. Prefer fish? Then the Smoked Salmon and Prawn Salad with Mixed Leaves, Maryrose Sauce, Pickled Red Onions, Brown Bread Croutons may be the one for you.

Treat the Vegetable lover in you to the Hot Braised Lentil and Rainbow Beetroot over Mixed Leaves, Red Onions, Toasted Hazelnuts and Maple Vinaigrette. And you can hardly get more seasonal than the Pumpkin Spiced Butternut Squash, Poached Pears, Watercress and Spinach Salad with Mulled Wine Dressing. How about those eggs? The Welsh Rarebit on Arbutus Beer Bread with an Arugula and Boiled Egg Salad is just one example

There’s bread everywhere: sourdough, baguettes, brioche, and more. Most irresistible though is the Arbutus Brioche French Toast Whipped Chantilly Cream and Blackberry Compote. There’s tea and coffee and soft drinks, of course, all served with a chat and a smile

I had read the menu online and had narrowed my choices down to two by the time I sat down and then made my mind up to go for the Bourguignon Beef Baguette: Braised Beef Brisket, Mushrooms, Bacon and Pearl Onions on Toasted Arbutus Baguette with Red Wine Jus. Just five-star lunch-ing, spot-on for the cool day, quite a warming ensemble robed deliciously in the red wine jus.

I devoured the Croque Madame back in May and it is obviously so popular it continues now and for a long time to come, we hope! This time CL enjoyed it. It comes in Arbutus Toasted Brioche with Free-Range Glazed Ham, Emmental cheese & Mornay Sauce topped with a Fried Free-Range Egg. Again, every little bit on that beguiling plate pulling its weight, the quality of the ingredients shining through, nothing there just for decoration (though of course, presentation is neat and tidy).

So that was it. We had been thinking a pastry for dessert but decided to leave well enough alone and it was two very happy customers that headed off for the hills, promising ourselves we’d be back again, so much more to enjoy!

On the Pig's Back in Douglas have both a café and deli.
Situated in Douglas Woollen Mills with free parking for up to two hours.

More details here.

Beer of the Year 2022. Best of October - The Long List

My Favourite Beers of the Year 2022

Best of October - The Long List

(whittled down from a much longer 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%

Contenders to end of October:

October: ??????

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

A Quart of Ale± #128. On the craft journey with Farringtons, Bradleys, DOT, ALDI, Roadworks and Outer Place

A Quart of Ale± #128

On the craft journey with Farringtons, Bradleys, DOT, ALDI, Roadworks and Outer Place

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A couple of good session beers here.

Farringtons Clever Plucker Session NEIPA, 4.5% ABV, 440ml can Bradleys

Trading for 200 years, Farringtons Mill has sold many varieties of beer over the counter and now they are very proud to be brewing on site. Based on their organic farm in Co.Kildare, the brewery sits alongside Farringtons Mill Pub & Restaurant.

This Clever Plucker New England IPA has a mid-orange colour with a soft white head. Both the aromas and flavours tend towards the tropical, passion-fruit and mango, along with citrus of course. Nothing too extreme in the flavours though and the bitterness is also mid-range (perhaps a little higher) so this could well be a popular beer. It is certainly very drinkable, ideal for a session.

The Farrington Beers, and it is a relatively new venture for them, “include some of the popular craft beer palate as well as appealing to the regular beer lover who wants something refreshing. Not everything needs to be high in alcohol and we are enjoying experimenting with beers that you can drink without worrying how you will feel the next day….Farringtons Brewery is all about fresh, crisp wholesome brew that can be shared amongst friends and family.”

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

Lovely soft head atop a gold hazy body. Exotic fruit prominent in the aromatics. Pretty tropical too on the palate, a delightful mixed bag of orange, passionfruit, peach, citrus, mango, apricot too and all present. Mouthfeel is soft and the bitterness levels are low making it pleasant and easy-drinking, just what many prefer for a session.

Geek Bits

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

Hops are Centennial (US) and Galaxy (Australia) round drinking. Exclusive to Aldi.

Roadworks Early Start Non-Alcoholic IPA, 0.5%,  500ml bottle Aldi

Amber to dark gold is the colour of this non-alcoholic beer from Roadworks called Early Start. Lots of bubbles make up the white head and no shortage of replacements as herds of them rush to the top. Aside from a touch of malt, the aromas are on the shy side. And it is the pleasant contribution from the malt that gives the palate its flavour.

This 0.5% non alcoholic option is the first in the Roadworks range and is best served chilled. Water, Malted 𝐁𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐞𝐲, Rolled 𝐎𝐚𝐭𝐬, Malted 𝐎𝐚𝐭𝐬, Hops and Yeast are the ingredients. It is brewed by the Pearse Lyons Brewery Dundalk, Co. Louth. Exclusively for Aldi who promote it as having a food-friendly finish.

An Examiner tasting (of quite a few non-alcoholic beers) concluded that it was great value and a good barbecue beer. Maybe so but, for me, the search for a really good Irish beer in the n/a segment continues.

Outer Place Perpetual Dawn IPA, 6% ABV, 440ml can Bradleys

Perpetual Dawn IPA is a new IPA from a relatively new brewery.

And it is not a clear dawn. It is quite hazy with a small-bubbled white top and a mid-orange colour. Aromas hint of mango, citrus and pine. The beer is smooth on the palate but it is here that the more exotic flavours, including mango, exert an undue influence, edging away from my preferences. 

No bother in acknowledging that it’s not the worst strip of Mango-land I’ve been in and that many drinkers will be be quite happy in this over-saturated space. Different strokes for different folks and thanks to the craft beer movement for giving us the choices.

Citra, Simcoe and Cascade are the hops here; ingredients also include oats, and it is juicy and moderately bitter.

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Hitting the spot with Gamay and Garnatxa. Two gorgeous reds for your short-list!

Hitting the spot with Gamay and Garnatxa. Two gorgeous reds for your short-list!

Bonne Tonne Cuvée Cléa Régnié (AC) 2019, 13.5%,

Look out for this in restaurants. If you find it in retail (Mary Pawle Wines), expect to pay €34 to 35.

From a small Beaujolais estate, Domaine de la Bonne Tonne, comes this lovely light ruby wine.  Gentle aromas of berries welcome you to the glass, invite you to sip. And you know you’ll have fruit-driven flavours (strawberries, raspberries mostly)  and balancing acidity to enjoy all the way to a soft and sweet spice finish. Another excellent Beaujolais, full of finesse and gently expressive fruit and Very Highly Recommended, from a family winery that I’ve come to admire over the past few years.

They  (Anne-Laure and Thomas) say this wine, “is a bit special for us because it bears the first name of our daughter ‘Cléa’ born in 2017.” Thomas likes to say that it matches his daughter’s personality, which is “full of character.”

No added sulfites or inputs! It is a 100% natural cuvée, 100% Gamay. It is produced in small quantities, hence its name “micro-cuvée”. This cuvée gives a structured wine, with spices and character. However, this spicy side does not dominate and yields to much more subtle and silky aromas.

There are ten crus in Beaujolais: Chiroubles, Saint Amour, Fleurie, Régnié (the most recently created cru), Brouilly, Cote de Brouilly, Juliénas, Chénas, Morgon and Moulin-à-Vent. It is mostly a red wine area and Gamay is the top red grape. Just two per cent of the harvest is white, mostly Chardonnay, and quite a lot of that, especially in Northern Beaujolais, is sold under the better-known Macon appellation according to Jean Bourjade (Cork 2016), then MD Inter Beaujolais.

Domaine de la Bonne Tonne is a small Beaujolais estate and perhaps best known for their superb wines from the famous Morgan cru, including Les Charmes, Grand Cras and Côte du Py, all three available via Mary Pawle and all three Very Highly Recommended on this blog.

The Gamay grape produces wine that “pairs with all manner of dishes..” According to Wine Folly. Outside of France, “Gamay has a tiny but devoted following.” Happy to be included in the tiny fan base.

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Top Wines 2022. With Reviews & Irish Stockists. 

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Dit Celler Selenita Garnatxa Negra (DO Monsant) 2019, 14.5% ABV. 

RRP  about €17.20. The Dairy Toon's Bridge/ Olive Branch, Clonakilty / Mary Pawle Wines

Montsant in Catalonia in the northeast of Spain and is more or less next door to the much better known Priorat. The two produce broadly similar wines but Montsant’s are sold at lower prices. 

Montsant is a relatively new DO (established formally in 2001) and takes its name from a rocky massif that wraps itself around Priorat. Its vineyards, planted on limestone, are situated in picturesque hilly countryside, scattered amongst rocky peaks, woods, almond trees and olive groves. No shortage of diversity here.

Importer Mary Pawle says if you are fond of the robust wines of Priorat “then this Montsant from the opposite valley should please. A powerful wine made from Garnacha, Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon grapes. Firm tannins and well suited to hard sheep’s cheese or ref meat dishes.”

You’ll know straightaway from the slow-clearing legs or tears on the walls of your glass that this is a high alcoholic wine. Colour is a dark ruby.  Intense dark fruit aromas (plum, cherry, cassis), toasty notes too. Powerful yet velvety on the palate, elegant, deeply flavoured and tannins by now well-integrated (you’ll get a soft reminder on the lips), smooth spice, and the long finish echoes the palate. A big hug of a wine and Very Highly Recommended.

The producer: Vibrant and complex, this wine is made with grapes from very old vines, and aged in French oak for 18 months. ….the "Marinada", the cold wind that enters the mountains in the afternoon from the Mediterranean Sea, give the wines a special freshness, characteristic of this area.

Are you a Selenita? Now that we know about Montsant, how about the name of the wine? The Selenita are the inhabitants of the moon and the producers infer that some of their night-time magic has been bottled. You too are free to use your imagination! While we’re on it, the winery is named after its founders Dani Sánchez (from Azul y Garanza in Navarra) and Toni Coca, so D and T (DiT).

To mark World Grenache day in September, Decanter Online published a list of 18 top scoring examples to try. No less than fourteen of them were from Spain! Details here. 

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Best Value Wines 2022. With Reviews & Irish Stockists. 

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Taste of the Week. Killeen Cheese

Taste of the Week

Killeen Cows Milk Cheese

Taste of the Week

October 2022 has been quite a good one for cheesemaker Marion Roeleveld and her team at Killeen Farmhouse Cheese in County Galway. On the 5th, at the British & Irish Cheese Awards 2022 in Bath, their cows milk cheese (Kilmora) was named as the Best Irish Cheese. 

Marion even scored a double at Bath as their goats cheese (mature) won the Best Goats Cheese Special Award. Killeen (indeed best known for their goats milk cheeses) are of course quite used to winning awards and have a long list to their credit.

The Swiss-style cows milk cheese, which is produced at Portumna, took the trophy after more than 500 cheeses were judged in a single day at The Bath & West Showground on Wednesday 5 October, as the awards returned following a two-year hiatus. It took a 50-strong judging panel two rounds before the country winners were decided. Killeen have their own goats and they get cows milk from a neighbouring farmer. 

I got email confirmation of the results the following day and that very morning, by coincidence, I had bought a wedge of their cows cheese from the Gubbeen stall at the Mahon Point Farmers Market and, after sampling a sliver or two, decided without hesitation that this would be our Taste of the Week. And so it is! 

It is an Emmental type hard cheese. It is clean, nutty, savoury with a gentle tang, deliciously creamy and well worth seeking out at Mahon Point and also at On the Pig's Back. More info on stockists and the cheeses here.

Cracking Wine and Warm Welcome in MacCurtain Wine Cellar

 Cracking Wine and Warm Welcome in MacCurtain Wine Cellar

The MacCurtain Wine Cellar has just celebrated six months in business and is already making its mark on the busy street, now a go-to destination for eating and drinking with a huge choice of venues and styles to choose from.

The Cellar is essentially a wine shop where you may select your purchases from a huge wall of wine. Don't worry though, you'll have lots of excellent advice, given with knowledge and a rare enthusiasm, not to mention charm. If you wish to drink on the premises, that is no problem in the evenings. And while wine is their priority, they also provide some very tasty small plates and sharing boards as well.

They are owners Trudy Ahern and Sean Gargano, both very experienced in the restaurant industry and thrilled to have finally been able to establish a small business of their own here in Cork's Victorian Quarter. Trudy’s career was as a restaurant manager while Sean was (and is!) a sommelier, drinks buyer and bar manager. The team is completed by sommelier Paris who is "our front of house whiz". You'll find ex-charcuterie butcher Bryan Rudd (who is now studying wine) mostly in the little kitchen.

West Kerry Saucisson, pickles & bread

After a warm welcome from Sean, we were soon sipping our wines and enjoying our small plates. They have a varying list of about 20 wines by the glass, plus some fortified wines as well. We settle on the Trepat by Succéss from Catalonia (Spain).  The grape is new to me and Sean explained that is close to Gamay. It is a light-bodied aromatic red, close to what you get either in Beaujolais or the Jura. Well worth a try. 

We were in more familiar territory with the Holzer Grüner Veltliner from the Wagram in Austria. It was fruity (tree fruits), zingy and refreshing, lime and pepper on the nose and versatile with the food. 

Macroom Ricotta with Squash, Hazelnut and Speck on toast

Food may not be number one here but the short list offers a pleasant accompaniment to the wines. Along with the two pictured, we had the options of Smoked Almonds; Nocellara Olives; Bread, Butter and Tapenade; Cheese Board; Charcuterie Board; a plate of Burrata, Mozzarella and Bresaola; and more. Very happy with the two that we chose!

We were never going to leave without getting a bottle or two from the fantastic range on the wall, all organic, biodynamic or natural. I picked the Godello and Treixadura blend from Monterrei while Sean suggested the Celler del Roure Cullerot Blanco. He was very enthusiastic about this winemaker and about the future of wines from the Valencia area. Looking forward to trying the pair in the weeks ahead and they are likely candidates for our Good Value Wine List.

Check menus and opening times and stay up to date with MacCurtain Wine Cellar (who also do pop-ups and tastings) by following their Instagram here.