All was quiet on New Year ’s Day!

On a wet New Year ’s Day, with the Year not even 12 hours old I had my first brewery tour. It could possibly be the some sort of record, but who knows. Gordon of 9 White deer was very kind to agree to show me around the brewery. On our way back to Dublin, after spending New Year ’s Eve in Kenmare, we passed through Ballyvourney. The home town of 9 White deer, we stopped off to meet Gordon and have a look around the brewery. 

The brew house its self is a 22 HL system, Gordon was very active in the design and build of his brew-house. Which can be seen reflected in the design of the heat system. The kettle is heated via a steam powered external wort boiler which to maximizes the entire kettle. Which I was told is fairly unique for a system of its size. Something you’re more likely to seen with the bigger boys. As the external boiler is kept at 105 deg C there is no scorching of the wort. 

A glimpse of the rakes within the mash tun

They have range of different fermentation vessels. Four double brew 45 HL and two single 25HL. Which in total give a capacity of 300 hectoliters or 30,000 litres.  Gordon added his own cooling system to the fermentation vessels. Copper coil was placed around each fermentation vessel that supplied glycol for cooling/heating.  Which was the insulated to maintain the correct temperature.  

Walkway for ease of access to the fermentation vessels. 

They have added a state of the art bottling line can fill 1700 by 500ml bottles per hour. There is very little oxygen pick-up as each bottle is double flushed with carbon dioxide. Give the rate of bottle, I suspect it keeps the people working on it very busy.

The Home brewing system, from which it all started with. I was very envious when I first was the system over on Beoir. Gordon’s ability to fabricate such a system and having it to play around with. It has now been promoted to become the pilot brew house from 9 White deer and an assist to the brewery 

Lots of lovely shiny kegs. They went with the brewery name on the kegs over the somewhat traditional method of a color code on the kegs 

  

Stag Ban a 4.5%, 30 IBU's. It’s a pale- gold beer with a nice white head. The aroma is of citrus and lemons, which finishes with a little fresh cut grass. The hops used are First Gold, Amarillo and Cascade. Which would add the citrus notes noticed the nose. It has a medium body, dry, with almost with a clean enjoyable lager quality to it. Ban very much reminded me of some of the classic golden ales and a very drinkable beer.  I suspect Ban as a base beer would be a good platform to experiment with some single cask hopping.  

Stag Rua a 4.5% Irish red ale. It’s a dark ruby in the glass, with some caramel aromas. But this much dryer beer than some Irish reds would suggest. There is a little caramel flavour which is then firmly backed up with a roastiness from the grain paired with hop tannin's and bitterness. Some different for the Irish red ale lover and welcome addition the Irish craft beer scene.  

Photo via 9 White Deer

Thank you very much to Gordon for venturing out on a cold and wet News Years morning to show me around the brewery.  For disclosure I did receive beers to review. 

Irish Beer & Whiskey Festival 2015

Helping out at a beer festival can be a good bit of fun, and this year was no exception. The Irish Beer and Whiskey festival has moved from CHQ down on the quays to it new location in hall 1 at the RDS. I found myself helping out at the concession stand with a few other of the Beoir members.  The hall is a much bigger venue than the old CHQ and a better one in my opinion. Much more seating than even the Septembers festival too. The only down side was the reduce number of glass wash stand and potable water for people, but this are minor quibble to what was a great festival.   

Lager space hall with plenty of seating and room for everyone to get around.

There where some great beers on offer and a few festival special that where launched for the event.  Given that I was volunteering there was a lot less note taking that I probably should have done. But here are some of my favourite  beers and ciders that I came across at the festival.

First up was a beer I had heard very good things about on the grape or beer line, Black Bucket from Kinnegar. A black rye IPA (6.5%), probably a first for Ireland. Flowing with big flora, pine and citrus zest aroma. Black in colour, but without any major roastiness like many good blacks IPA. A medium bodied beer that finished up with a lingering hoppyness. Overall a very well crafted black IPA. 

Two new beers that  8 Degrees  had on keg for the festival where, polar vortex which I  had previously reviewed Weather Experience: Polar Vortex. Although the review was based on the the bottle serving rather than keg. Both format where equality good. The second  was Enigma (6%) a SMaSH beer, single malt and single hop in this case the newly release Enigma hop from Australia. 54 IBU's weighing in, high for a pale ale and with the 6% ABV this could easily be many breweries IPA. But that's just how the roll over at 8 Degrees.  A golden color in the glass with an a aroma of melon, with a touch of candied oranges too. This then followed up with a slight dank-ish  hop herb aroma, possibly very slightly peppery.  That in total works really well.  Finishing up with a nice clean bitterness. The malt is some what in the background, but this beer is all about showcasing these new hop which it does in spades. 

Trouble brewing possible brought the most specials to the festival. Sadly the cask of their Triple IPA, (11% ABV) was not ready on the Saturday when I was around. But it is good to see a brewer hold back a cask till its in the right condition before tapping. One of my top beer at The Irish craft festival last September (2014) was  their Vietnow IPA. This current version was dry-hopped with  Comet hops. I am not sure if the standard brew was dry hopped with the same hop. I did pick some herbal/glassy not that I did not remember from last time. But it all worked out very well.

Up next was their new released Fallen Idol and the second Black IPA-dark ale of the festival. Weighing in at 6.3% and hopped with Chinook, Citra and Vic Secret. The aroma is a big load of citrus hops finishing with some dank-ness. The flavour has a little roast with  a  good bit of resin from the hops in the finish. But that just in total adds up to a near perfect CDA-Black IPA in my book. Again another masterfully brewed beer for the trouble brewing boys. The last of their festival special I got to try was Wandering Star. A 5.3% blonde ale, brewed with Golden Promise malt, and hopped  with Summer and Huell Melon. A tasty beer, lighter in taste and aroma  than the previous tow. I did pick up some stone fruit and a little melon. I could see this been a very popular summer beer.  

The one cider I tried over the even was Stonewell Festival, golden in colour, low in carbonate and in all a very tasty cider

Independent brewing had two beer for the festival. The first was their  Pale ale casked hopped with citra. The aroma started of with a musky tropical fruit finish up with  a light citrus notes. Which I presume was the contribution of the citra. The second and my favourite of the two was there special festival IPA and their first IPA I believe. A big bitter beer with lots of orange and grapefruit aroma. The 7% abv was not as apparent as I would have believed for such a strong beer.  

There was green beer to for those who want it. Independent brewing gold ale was infused with a natural green colouring from Spirulin. Not the first time seen in Ireland the  Bull and Castle  did a similar thing a few years ago to great success with tourists.  

The only White hag  beer I got to try was their White sow  on coffee rocket (Randell). The base beer is a oatmeal milk, which is a solid beer with a creamy body with a very nice roasty finish. The hook for me was coffee rocket (randell) with 3FE. The aroma was of big fresh well brewed coffee and one I would love to see around again.  

The third black IPA that I was looking out for was the releases of O Brother Brewing Bonita (India Dark ale), Spanish for " pretty, cute"  and it certainly is.  7% ABV it is well hidden in this beer. A little roastiness  on the palate like all the best Black IPA's. Bitterness was low, which allowed some sweet hop flavor come through. The aroma was a big C hop fruit which I thought were coming from  a combo of Simcoe/Columbus with maybe some Cascade.  A lovely beer for a such a new brewery. 

I helped out for a bit behind the bar for Mountain Man and its possibly one of the fun-est thing to do at a festival. As you  get to meet some great people and the fans of the beer. One beer I was looking to was their Sneaky owl, I missed the Franciscan wells cask festival. A dark English style bitter, ruby in colour and with a firm malt backbone. Aroma was of dark fruit with a light bitterness a beer that would be prefect for serving on cask. A beer that was  very popular with the punters, while I was on the bar.  On cask was hairy goat and it was also in top condition proving very popular too.  

Sam from Blacks Brewery and Derek Neville from 8 Degrees chatting over a glass of Polar vortex. Its always great to chat to the brewers over a few beers.

The food offering where much more extensive than last years CHQ event, much more in line with the September event. there was some old favorites like the Pie man and Jane Russell sausages.  

Jugging buy the quality of the three CDA's-Black IPA's its a style that Irish brewers have really nailed down.

All in all a great festival and I think the new venue was a hit with everone

Meet The Brewers

The first Friday of March was a trip to Barry and Fitzwilliam distributors, to meet their stable of craft  brewers and cider makers. It was held in the Herbert park hotel and was a cosy affair with  the air of a small festival about it. 

First up was the relase of "Little barney" from Poker Tree in collaboration with Marble brewers Manchester. A 5% amber beer with big cascade nose, with the unmistakable sherbet aroma. It's a dry beery with a firm bitterness, somewhat remindeds me of Marbles Dobber. In short living up to the West cost IPA name and a very tasty beer.

"Lager is Lager yellow and fizzy", not so with Bo Bristle Pilsner. It was my first time encountering it. Some cereal note with a slight sweet finish and then finished with a a nice bitterness. Dave said it was under-carbonated, but I found this made it very drinkable and a very welcome change to the mass fizzy yellow stuff.

My First cider of the event was from Long Ways. Their elder-flower infusion was very interesting. The aroma was of gooseberry, sauvignon blanc an usual addition, but welcome to the Irish cider market. One that could prove quite popular one a bit of sun comes out. Following that I had a quick sample of Scotts cider, lots of tannin structure and oak aroma. A different beast from this first, but none the less very enjoyably.

A trip over to Cotton Ball to put some faces to the their twitter account was next on the list. I previously had their Indian summer, which I brought along to a BYO dinner with friends at the beginning of the year. It was very well received by craft and non-craft friends alike. So they must be on to a good thing. One  beer I have manged to over look was  their Kerry lane pale ale. It very  much reminder me of a east coast American pale ale. Solid C hop on the nose, malty which a touch of  crystal malt on the palate and following with a clean bitterness, very enjoyable.  Last was their Mayfeild 5, a solid lager all in all  But unusual for a lager bitter with  Columbus, something normal reserved for IPA's.  Given what I have seen and tasted from both Cotton Ball and Bo Bristle I will be seeking out more Irish craft lagers. 

Possibly the first sighting south of the boarder  is Belfast newest brewery Knock Out Brewing.  In a few short years has grown to be the home of five breweries. Knock out were showcasing  their two core beers. The first was their Irish Red Ale a solid enough Irish red, mild sweetness with a touch of caramel.  The second  was their Middleweight IPA . On the light end of the IPA family, moderate bitterness and aroma, but an a very approachable beer for many of the public I suspect.

Last but not least was a quick trip around to Baggot Street Wines to meet O Brother Brewing for CB Growlers launch. A quick sample of their tasty, citrusy APA and some growler fills and we where off again. A bit thank you to Barry and Fitzwilliam distributors and the guys at Baggot Street Wines for the evening.  

Weather Experience: Polar Vortex IPA

The Polar Vortex has arrived!

Short-Pour: I picked up a bottle from my local Molloys as the Irish beer and whiskey festival was starting up at the RDS. It weighs in a 5.8%  abv and 59 IBU's (bitterness). Hops are listed as cascade, citra and Simcoe. The grist is kept fairly simple in pale malt, Carapils and Cara aroma.  The aroma I found to be  of the tropical fruits variety. With a slight dank/dark finish, most likely coming from the Simcoe addition. I  didn't  get the sherbet notes,  that some times can be associated with cascade. But maybe the paring with citra edged this towards the  tropical fruit end. Flavour wise I noted  C hops,   following with some pine and then brimming with a  smooth hop bitterness. 

Reminiscing I though there was a firm nod towards  it's other running mate Amber-Ella, but with a slightly darker finishing hop presence. Probably similarity in colour and somewhat in aroma where the trigger for those fond memories. Over all I found this to be  another very enjoyable IPA from 8 Degrees.

Color: Amber with slight red-hue.

Aroma: Tropical fruit aroma, C hops and finishing with a  dank edge.

Flavour: C hops, pine, brimming with a smooth hop bitterness.