Ballykilcavan Beers. The taste of Laois in your glass.

Ballykilcavan beers. 

The taste of Laois in your glass.

The restored mill race and clock on a frosty morning.

Another award for Lisa and David

Since David and wife Lisa set up the brewery business in 2017 - the brewery itself followed a year later - the Ballykilcavan beers have earned quite a reputation in the craft world. We had an online chat with David - a busy man - and you can read about his drive and hard work, the pride in his area and county, a drive and pride shared by Lisa and the younger members of the family. 

Since 1639, Ballykilcavan Farm has been the home of the family; no less than 13 generations have lived and worked here since.  With the current careful stewardship of the land, it looks as if the story will go on and on.

What stands out  about your brewery, your beers? Is there something

unique?

David: I think the first thing you notice when you visit the brewery is the

setting - the brewery itself is in a 240 year old stone building, and

the new visitor centre beside it is in the old farm mill house.  In

terms of the beers, one thing we're very proud of is sourcing our own

water, barley and some hops from the farm.  All the beers are brewed

using our own barley, and we make one beer every year where all the

ingredients are sourced from the farm, all from within 400 metres of the

brewery.

The ever popular Bambrick's Brown Ale, the beer they are best known for, enjoyed all the way from Laois to Lombardy.

Who started the brewery? Who is the current brewer?

David: I started the business along with my wife Lisa back in 2017 and set up

the on-farm brewery in 2018.  In fact, Nigel Oakes, our first head

brewer, physically put the brewery together.  It arrived flat pack in

two shipping containers, and Nigel had a two week job of putting all the

vessels in exactly the right place on the brewery floor and then

connecting up all the pipework.  Nigel retired in 2021, and our new Head

Brewer is Joe O'Driscoll who comes up with all the recipes and runs the

brewery.

What are your core beers? Which is the favourite of the brewery team?

David: We had a wide range of core beers, probably too wide because trying to keep them all in stock in cans, bottles and kegs is pretty hard for a brewery on the scale that we're at.  We brew a lager, a pale ale, 3 IPAs, a red ale, a brown ale and a stout, along with seasonal and one-off specials.  We're not allowed to have a favourite - it's like asking which of our children is our favourite - but personally I do change my drinking habits over the course of the year: pale ales and the lager in the summer, and the darker beers in the winter.

Cleo, the brewery "guide" and photo bomber!

Any new beers in the pipeline?

David: There are always new special edition beers in the pipeline, but I'm not allowed to tell you what they are until Joe's happy with the recipes! All I can say for now is that there will also be more and different brown ales coming out.

Are you selling mainly in pubs or in off licences. Restaurants maybe?

David: In Ireland, it's mainly what we call small-pack: bottles and cans.

We're starting to get a bit of traction in local pubs, but draught sales

are the hardest part of the market to crack in Ireland.  For export,

it's completely the other way around - almost everything we export is in

kegs, with a few cans going out as well.

This plank for the taproom comes from the Kylebeg Wood on the farm

What’s your typical day like? No shortage of variety?

David: There's no typical day for me, really.  I'm still farming and now I do

the guided tours of the farm and brewery as well as the behind-the-scenes work on the brewery, so it really just depends on the time of year and what we're doing on the farm, or what groups are turning up for a tour.  If we're brewing, I usually start mashing in at 8am before the brewers come in around 9:30 to take over the rest of the brew day, and then it's just a case of keeping all the other plates spinning after that.

Welcome to the tour!

Tell me about one time when things went wrong. How did you learn from that failure? Can you look back and laugh about it now?

David: We roast our own barley here, which is tricky as it doesn't take long at all for barley to go from not roasted enough to being on fire.  One time, we had what we thought was properly roasted barley and brewed a stout with it, but when it was in the fermenter, we realised that it was much too light in colour, so we converted it into a porter and barrel aged it instead, and it went down really well.  The lesson is to double check the roast levels before you end up with a lot of beer that doesn't fit the style you're trying to make.

How do you choose which styles of beer to brew?

David: The first beer we brewed was our Bin Bawn pale ale.  It's the one beer

in the range that is my recipe from my homebrew days, before Joe came in

and showed he was a natural at putting recipes together.  The aim with

it was to make it interesting enough for craft beer drinkers, but not

too overpowering for everyone else, because craft is still only about 3%

of the overall beer market.

How is your beer connected to the local area?

David: I think the main way is in how we use our locally grown ingredients to make the beers.  If you're drinking a beer like our Brickyard red ale, where most of the taste is coming from the malt, that's the taste of Ballykilcavan and Laois right there.  We also like to get involved in the local community as much as possible, so we sponsor the local soccer and GAA teams, and we provide free access to the farm and event space here for local community, arts and schools groups.

Hop pickers in action last October

Water. Hard or soft? Is there much adjusting involved?

David: The water here tastes lovely, but it's off the scale hard.  Even in the

house we can't use it without furring up kettles and washing machines.

All our production water goes through a reverse osmosis (RO) system that

basically converts it to purified water, and then we re-mineralise it

depending on the beer style.  Our thinking is that you can't brew a

lager and a stout, for instance, off the same water supply - you have to

have a water profile that suits each beer.  By starting with the RO

water, we can make sure our water profile perfectly matches the beer

style and then build the malt and hops on top of that.

Our post on 9 White Deer Ballyvourney.

Over the next few weeks we'll be posting about some of the Ballykilcavan beers. For more info, on tours for instance, check out their social media.

Twitter: @Ballykilcavan

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Ballykilcavan

Instagram: ballykilcavan

Website: https://www.ballykilcavan.com/index.html

Electric's got you covered with tempting new Valentine's menu!

Electric's got you covered with tempting new Valentine's menu!

A stunning Pinot Gris from New Zealand’s Marlborough

 A stunning Pinot Gris from 

New Zealand’s Marlborough

Tinpot Hut Pinot Gris Marlborough 2022, 13.0% ABV

RRP €24.99. Stockists: Red Island Wine Co. World Wide Wines. Bradleys Cork.
Wineonline.ie

The name Pinot Gris is well down the list when people think of the different grape varieties. So what is it? Is it part of the Pinot family? Pinot Gris (better known to most of us as Pinot Grigio) is a pink grape mutation of Pinot Noir as is Pinot Blanc. 

While Pinot Gris, as Pinot Grigio, is grown in many countries, it is mostly associated with Italy but is increasingly grown in New Zealand’s Marlborough. Our excellent example comes from Fiona Turner’s Tinpot Hut winery there. Tinpot say it is a dry style with fresh pear, white peach & spice notes. 

Very pale straw is the colour here. Aromas are fragrant, led by pear, peach and lime with a streak of spice there too, all a build-up to an amazing palate,  intense ripe fruit flavours, succulent and beautifully balanced, silky with good weight, lip-smacking and the flavour-packed finish lingers. Very Highly Recommended.

The Tinpot Hut story began in 2003 when winemaker Fiona Turner and her husband Hamish established their own 20 hectare vineyard in Marlborough’s emerging sub-region of Blind River.

When I met her in Cork’s Electric, a good few years back, Fiona explained that the name of her range of wines comes from a historic Marlborough mustering hut; that ‘Tinpot Hut’ links the area’s sheep farming past with its current state as one of the world’s most dynamic wine regions.

Fruit is sourced from Fiona’s ‘Home Block’ and is supplemented by grapes from selected vineyards. She is assisted by Matt Thomson, a friend and colleague with whom she has worked for many years.

The 2022 growing season was characterised by La Nina conditions. Warm flowering conditions and regular rainfall during berry sizing meant rigorous canopy and yield management was crucial to bring the vines and yields into balance, producing fruit of exceptional character. 

In the winery, once settled, the clear juice was cool fermented in stainless steel using an aromatic yeast to help tease out the delicate flavours, and to retain the fresh fruit characteristics and underlying spicy notes, ( a very successful operation indeed!)

Tinpot advises matching with Asian cuisine, a summer barbecue or winter roast chicken. Wine Folly suggests: white meats, seafoods and food with a fruit element (lemons, oranges, peaches or apricot).

Marlborough, on the north-eastern corner of the South Island, is well known for its excellent Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir. You may  also add Riesling and Pinot Gris to that list. And if you want good examples of each of them be sure and check out  Fiona’s Tinpot Hut range that extends to superb Chardonnay,  Grüner Veltliner and Riesling.

CorkBillyBeers #8. Craft porter with West Kerry, Bradleys, Clonakilty, O'Donovan's, Whiplash, Einstock, The Cru

CorkBillyBeers #8

Craft porter with West Kerry, Bradleys, Clonakilty, O'Donovan's, Whiplash, Einstock, The Cru

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West Kerry Carraig Dubh Porter, 6.00% ABV, 500 ml bottle Bradleys

“The original beer was red which became Cúl Dorcha, then came Carraig Dhubh a porter because we like the sound of the word as opposed to stout!” Hard for us amateurs to describe the difference between stout and porter if the professionals chose to call this one porter on the basis of how it sounds!

But agree we can (as Yoda might put it) that this is quite a beer. Smooth, seductive, chocolate-ly and there is no letting go as the lingering finish is along the same lines. One to sip and savour, arís is arís.

How does it look? Well, black as you’d expect and it comes with a quickly vanishing head. Aromas coming from the malt are coffee and caramel. The roasted flavours are on the bold side, and really wake up those taste buds. Lots of chocolate malt here but there is also a balance and it never gets too sweet, just spot on. The aromas and flavours continue to make this a superb experience right through to the finalé. They also do a barrel aged version - must sometime try that!

West Kerry are somewhat unusual in that all their beers are brewed with the same yeast. “Breweries normally match the style of beers to different yeast types, but we like to do it the other way around, and we design the recipe for each of our beers ourselves. But what we like to think makes our beers even more special is our water, which is full of lime and as luck would have it, ale yeast loves limey water, ensuring our beers are flavoursome, and feel round and soft in the mouth.”

It is bottle conditioned and made from malted barley, hops, yeast and spring water “from our own spring”. Traditional, yes. A bottle (or two) would go down well at the threshings I remember - but not too many threshings on farms anymore. 

Not only was Beoir Chorcha Dhuibhne the first brewery in Kerry when set up in 2008, but it was the first micro-brewery in Ireland to be founded and managed by a woman, and Adrienne continues to run the brewery ever since. 

Remembering those early days, Adrienne recalls “I realised the wonderful potential around developing beers with an intense connection to the ground they were made on … using water from 150 feet below the brewery connects me back to the family members who have gone before us, and in turn they are connected out to the world through the beers we produce here”.

You may enjoy a tour the brewhouse and then a tasting in the pub afterwards or take a technical tour where you get to pick the brains of one of the brewers. More details here.  I’m well overdue a visit to Tig Bhric myself.

Very Highly Recommended

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Clonakilty Smuggler Porter, 6.0% ABV, 500 ml bottle O’Donovan’s

What is the difference between Stout and Porter? 

Author Mark Dredge says Porter typically has less roasted barley flavour than a Stout.

Traditionally, Stout became regarded as stronger than Porter (or was that just the marketing!). Then again, you have Baltic porter, stronger than most stouts (except perhaps those barrel-aged).  No easy answer to the question anymore as there are so many sub styles, so many different brewers and so many variations from brewery to brewery.

Dark stuff this Clonakilty bottle with the startlingly blue-eyed boy on the label. Previously the bubbly frothy tan head sank slowly, but this time it made a rather quick exit (even though I poured slowly, as instructed). I must say, without ever counting them up, that I think the porter heads generally slip away much quicker than their stout equivalent.

Moderate aromas of roast and chocolate as the head sinks another notch, just a thin disc now. And, now on the palate, it is sweet chocolate, coffee too and a medium touch of bitterness all through to keep it all in balance and there is a good dry finish.

They say: We are passionate about making beer with no compromise, brewing small batches with big personality. Using locally sourced grains, the best hops and water from our own well, our beers are handcrafted with care…. 

Pour slowly for a smooth creamy head. Enjoy at 10-12 degrees. It goes well with dark meats, rich desserts and chocolate, and is delicious and satisfying on its own.

The Deasy family brewed beer in Clonakilty (known as the brewery town) for almost 200 years, including the famous Clonakilty Wrastler. The Deasys also had a legendary reputation as successful smugglers along the dramatic and rugged coast of West Cork.

They, the current brewers, say: We are passionate about making beer with no compromise, brewing small batches with big personality. Using locally sourced grains, the best hops and water from our own well, our beers are handcrafted with care in our Brewhouse in Clonakilty by head brewer ‘Thirsty’ Frank Fredriksen and his team.

Clonakilty is at the centre of such a positive mix of beautiful scenery, amazing food, interesting characters, quirky local stories and strong town spirit. …It also pushes us to brew beer that stands with the best and make the town proud of what we do.

Highly Recommended.

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Whiplash The Sup Porter 5.0%, 330 ml can Bradleys

Thought I’d throw this in here (we’ve had it previously) to fill a small gap in the session…..lighter than the stout and with an almost cherry like flavour..a little beauty that sure can speak for itself…

The Sup is a glass of the black stuff with a classic tan head. And there’s more! The aromas, chocolate and caramel, are a gentle and pleasant introduction. The firm shakehands comes in the mouth, again chocolate and caramel, but now more assertive, again in the most pleasant of ways, plus that cherry bonus.

As with many porters, it is more about the malts. They say: This porter has been on our “to brew” list for years now and we decided it was finally time. …... The main star in this is CaraBohemian – a kind of rich and decadent Czech Brown Malt but it oozes fruity Bournville dark chocolate with a hint of coffee in there too.

Not too sure about the Bournville bit; that bar was a favourite of mine (back in the day, before the day!) and I can’t say I recognise it here. Nice soft finish though with a hint of sweetness. Been years since I had a bar of Bournville! Must try one soon.

Bournville or not, this is delicious, quite a sophisticated porter. Should be versatile at the table, morning with pancakes and Nutella, lunch with Smoked Scamorza by Toonsbridge, evening with a few squares of a certain chocolate.  Or perhaps any time, with just a few of the Apple Farm cherries when they ripen next summer!

Highly Recommended

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Einstock Icelandic Toasted Porter 6.0% ABV, 330 ml can The Cru

The traditional colours of porter are here: black body, tan head (that sinks away). Aromas are very much in the tradition as well, especially the slightly roasted chocolate. Chocolate, coffee and caramel feature also in the flavours. 

This is quite a combo actually, really well executed by the Icelandic brewery. Toasty and rich, with a smooth punch on the palate plus a very satisfying finish indeed, it is quite a porter. Had been a little sceptical about this small can but now it is a big thumbs up.

The headings on the can don’t mention it but this is the brewery’s take on a Baltic Porter, though it is mentioned in the text. So this take is out of a direct comparison with the other porters in this quartet.

They say: Aromatic Icelandic roasted coffee subtly bands together with toasted malt undertones to create our take on Baltic Porter..What is a Baltic Porter? The rise in popularity of the English-style Porter took over shipping ports around the world in the 18th century. It primarily gained recognition when it was introduced to London's working class, the porters, who loaded ships and traded with the Baltic states. As this popular style reached the Baltic region, local brewers tried their hand at this famous recipe, but this time with a local twist. Since the native climate of the Baltics was measurably cooler than England, brewers began using lager yeast to ferment their porters instead of ale yeast (which typically ferments at higher temperatures)……Lager malt, Munich malt, chocolate malt, Bavarian Northern Brewer hops, and authentic Icelandic roasted coffee.

Food pairings suggested are: Rich and roasty notes bring out the best of steak, lamb chops, game and roasts.

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A terrific red that highlights the ongoing improvement in quality of wines from Portugal’s Dão

A terrific red that highlights the ongoing improvement in quality of wines from Portugal’s Dão

Fonte do Ouro Tinto Dão (DOC) 2020, 13.5% ABV, €17.25 

Like many Portuguese wines, this is a blend. All three grapes used are popular in the region. The Alfrocheiro adds depth of colour, Touriga Nacional (with its expressive violet scent) is considered to be the country’s finest, while Jaen is the local name for the what the Spanish call Mencía. By the way, Touriga Nacional probably started “life” in the Dão.

A government study in 2017 listed no fewer than 230 indigenous varieties and, according to the marvellous book Foot Trodden, there are many many more yet to be identified. No wonder there are so many blends in the country.

Portuguese wines can often be a hard sell because of the unfamiliar names of the grapes but don’t let that put you off. I like the neat way Boas Quintas (the producers) sum it up on the label: ruby colour, blackcurrant and cherry aromas, fresh, smooth with elegant tannins, 

It indeed has a dark ruby colour. Fairly rich aromas of blackberry, dark cherry and plum. There’s a great mix of the fruit flavours on the palate, with a touch of spice, smooth with elegant tannins and a very satisfying and persistent finish. This supple and fresh wine, full of vitality, has spent six months in oak and should be served at 16 to 18 degrees and will go well with red meats. Full of Dão character and Very Highly Recommended.

Importers and distributors O’Brien’s: A delicious red, showcasing the quality of winemaking in the Dão region of Portugal. Aged for 6 months in French oak it is a blend of indigenous grapes: primarily Touriga Nacional. 

And the region, for so long shackled by the dictator Salazar imposed cooperative system, that rewarded quantity over quality, certainly needed the improvement in quality which has taken place in the last 20 years or so. There have been setbacks of course, most notably the devastating fires of 2017. Casa de Mouraz, some of whose wines are imported to Ireland by Mary Pawle, was one vineyard that suffered badly as the flames raged in the  Dão.

The top Dão wines are now some of the most highly rated in Europe, winning consistent praise on both sides of the Atlantic, says wine-searcher.com. “It is in the north of the country. It takes its name from the Dão river, along which the majority of the region's vineyards are located.”

Boas Quintas also produce a white blend under their Fonte do Ouro brand and that too is worth looking out for.

* Current price of my 2020 red is €17.25 (I got it on offer, before Christmas, at 13.95. 

 

Where's the Beef? Ten of the best in Cork City

Where's the Beef?

Ten of the best in Cork City

(beef round-up for 2022/23)

Brown's Brasserie at BT Jan 2023 €15.50
French Dip: Rotisserie North Cork Sirloin, Emmental Cheese,
Caramelized Onion Emulsion, Red Wine Jus, ODB Sourdough

Impressive steak salad at Liberty Grill Aug 22

Cork City has had a long, and continuing, history in beef. Such was the scale of the trade here in the 18th century that it was known as the slaughterhouse of Ireland. 

And it wasn’t just Ireland. In 1756, France and Britain were at each other’s throats in the Seven Years War and “the Great Ox-slaying city of Cork” emerged as the Royal Navy’s preferred supplier for beef, pork and butter.

So where’s the beef now? Let me take you on a lunch-time tour of the city and check out what is on offer. Some terrific beef-based dishes in Liberty Grill, Market Lane, Nua Asador, Oliver Plunkett, On The Pig's Back, Sketch at The Imperial and Woodside Farm, Bella Napoli and L'Atitude 51and all were enjoyed over the past few months.

We’re starting with a beauty at Liberty Grill on Washington Street: a seared beef salad (vodka and chilli marinated fillet strips, chargrilled on leaves with balsamic onions, rustic potatoes, red peppers and toasted pecans) was outstanding, a highlight being the palate pleasing combination of the meat and balsamic onions. A terrific dish for €15.50.

Market Lane: Korean bulgogi steak sandwich
Dec 2022

Now (a different day, of course!), it is the turn of Market Lane and their superb Korean bulgogi steak sandwich on sourdough baguette, chilli, sesame and soy marinade, carrots, spring onions, lime mayo and with a helping of excellent house chips (€16.90). The marinade is key here and the kitchen certainly did it well and the meat was top quality; the sourdough was moistened as well and they all worked so well together, enhanced by the crunch of carrot strips and the onions, the salad leaves and those very tasty fries. A terrific dish and well priced.

Picanha Steak by Nua Asador May 2022

We make a visit to the Marina Market and the Nua Asador stall where Chef Victor Franca, in partnership with Tom Durcan Meats, serves up, without gas or electricity, just fire, the best of Irish beef in a Brazilian style. You’ll really enjoy the Picanha Steak with sourdough bread, grilled baby potatoes, chargrilled onions, Farofa, and Chimichurri Sauce (13.00).

Oliver Plunkett's Seared Steak Sandwich July 2022

It was a visit to the Oliver Plunkett that started me on this beef trail. Here’s why: Seared Steak Sandwich was worth every cent of the €18.95. Four generous slices of beef wrapped in Garlic Ciabatta, with a red onion and Smoky Bacon Jam, Pepper Jack Chips, Brandy Pepper Sauce and a Little Salad.

I wasn’t letting go of this, clinging on until the last bite. It was sensual, an enthralling mix of textures and flavours. The steak was ace,  cooked to perfection and so easy to slice. And then the enhancement, that garlic ciabatta, the onion and the bacon jam. The Brandy Pepper Sauce was another major player on the palate, deeply enticingly enhancing everything else. The salad too was perfect and then those Pepper Jack Chips, cheesy, tasty, delicious.

On the pig's back with Bourguignon Beef Baguette Oct 2022

Next stop is Douglas to visit On the Pig’s Back and enjoy their 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. Love the French touch!

Delicious steak at Sketch Oct 2022

Here we are in Sketch, the bright and airy dining room in the lovely Imperial Hotel, a room where new executive chef Ali Honour is making her mark. There was a group of us and the Steak Sandwich (6oz Sirloin, Onions, Garlic Butter, Focaccia, Lettuce, Tomato, Fries) for  €19.00 proved very popular, ordered by three of the seven adults. The meat and the Focaccia were absolute top notch and all three were well satisfied.

Beautiful! Beef Burger by Woodside Farm Oct 2022

Alphabetically, Woodside Farm is our final destination and they are found every Thursday in Mahon Point Farmers Market (and at other markets on other days). They are perhaps best known for their magnificent free range pork but they also do a highly rated Beef Burger and serve it with relish and salad in a lovely bun, for 8 euro  (if I remember rightly). Superb meat and great value.

All their offerings are cooked and filled in front of you, and there's a chat as well, as the salads and relishes are added. And, if necessary, they even provide a tailor-made insulated envelope to take your purchases back to the office or home.

Bella Napoli Dec 2022

Bella Napoli came up Rigatoni with Ragu Napoletano with six-hour braised beef in an onion and tomato sauce served with rigatoni pasta and bruschetta (17 euro). I hit the jackpot here. This was beautifully cooked, the quality of the beef was top class and plenty of it as was also the case with the ragu. Very happy with this one.

L'Atitude pic Dec 2022

Slow-Braised Beef Cheeks, Celeriac Mash, Spiced Pickled Cranberries (a cool inclusion) was one of the highlights of a recent visit to L'Atitude, a superb dish in an impressively expanded menu and well worthy of inclusion here. More details at https://www.corkbilly.com/2022/12/wine-and-dine-at-latitude-huge-choice.html

* All these dishes enjoyed relatively recently but remember that menus and chefs change.