Another Weekend, Another Festival

Another festival?  Boom, as Klopp would say.  Following last weekend's ABV festival in Belfast, this time it was the turn of the Irish Craft Beer Festival at the RDS in Dublin.  Hotel and train tickets booked, Mrs W and I were there on the Friday. It's a fantastic opportunity to see so many brewers in one place who have to listen to all kinds of gubbins from punters like me - the gubbins intensifies the more the night draws on.

Anyway, some top quality beers were had.  (Unlike the awful plastic pint glasses we were handed. Organisers, ditch them. They sucked.)  I'd compiled a list (you need a list) of brews that I thought the cocktail and red wine drinker would like and one for me too.  First up, Metalman's 5.3% ABV Raspberry Chilli Sour on cask.  "Fruity, light and refreshing with a nice kick" was her verdict.  That'll do nicely.

 

You know when most of your list comprises of beers at or over 7% ABV?  Yeah...  7% Lublin to Dublin first from O'Haras (collaboration brew with Polish brewery Pinta).  I'd heard plenty in the past but never experienced for myself.  Matter rectified - oh yeah - Choccy McChocface.

Next, down to see the Wicklow Wolf guys.  New 3.8% ABV session IPA Easy Lover was certainly easy going and a tasty sessionable beer for those who wanted a bit less of an alcoholic punch.

I love a good milk stout and hadn't had anything from Trouble in a while so was quite keen to get my chops around their 5.8% ABV vanilla and choc collaboration brew with Danish outfit Coisbo.  Another smooth chocolate milk stout that smelled stronger than it tasted.

Back up the hall for a sit down and then a welcoming yarn with the Carrig boys who I'd seen a couple of months back when I visited the brewery.  A swift half of their faintly peachy IPA Grand Soft Day.

Of course a photo opportunity arises when I'm sharing the Mrs' plum and ginger cider from MacIvors.

 

Next, a good blether with newish Co Dublin brewery, Hope Beer, and a try at their 6.6% ABV Handsome Jack IPA.  A decent double hopped IPA with a tasty citrus bite at the end.

O Brother next, and the return of the much anticipated dark IPA Bonita.  Their DIPA Brutus was my beer of last year's festival and I was eager to see if the 7% ABV lady matched up to the 9% brute.  Hints of fig and chocolate made for a tasty keg beer though I'd love to have compared it with the cask offering that was pouring the following day.

Finally it was over to torture, sorry chat to, Scott at Eight Degrees who poured me a quality new double IPA, Supernova.  Maybe it was because it was the end of the night, I don't know, but this DIPA seemed to be smoother than a lot of other doubles, yet managed to retain the massive hopkick. I'll have to grab some of it when it's released in bottles in a fortnight.

Didn't manage to complete my list, I missed out on cask offerings of N17's Chilli Porter and O'Hara's barrel aged Leann Folláin stout among many others so only one thing for it, I'll have to stay two nights next year!  Roll on 2017!

Sláinte.

Belfast Beer Festival

So another Belfast Beer and Cider Festival has been and gone.  For the 14^th year the Northern Irish public have been spoiled and lavished with over 100 beers and 20 ciders to choose from at the majestic Ulster Hall.  Three days of quality beer choice that you wouldn’t get anywhere else in Belfast.  And I include two of my favourite Belfast bars The Hudson and The Garrick in that statement.

Although the festival opened to the public on a Thursday the CAMRA NI team were hard at work from the previous Sunday assembling the bars and installing and plumbing casks.  A big thank you to all of them for their efforts.

Then the place opened and the fun really began.  Beer novices and self-appointed connoisseurs flocked in their droves - learning, criticising, deliberating and simply tasting what was on offer.  (I’ll tell you later about my quotes of the festival.)  From lagers and light IPAs to rich porters and strong stouts, something was on offer to suit all palettes.

Of course anyone who was there will have their own favourites and your choices will differ from mine but that’s what makes festivals interesting.  One man’s ‘meh’ could be another man’s ‘mmm’.  However this is my opinion so get over it! (Does that annoying American style finger/face gesture.)

My four winners were Ards Brewing’s brand new Bittles 366, Fyne’s Jarl, Metalman’s Chameleon Smokescreen and Otley’s Saison Obscura.  The Ards experimental  offering was a hoppy and fresh  4.8% ABV ale that you could easily enjoy any free Saturday afternoon with pint after pint.  Aaand maybe another.  Perhaps it was a combination of the public’s desire for light IPAs, seeing a local Ards pump label and with ‘A’ being one of the closest pumps to the entrance door, Bittles 366 was the first cask to finish at lunchtime on the Friday!

Also in the same fresh and hoppy category was the award winning Jarl from Argyll brewery Fyne.  With a citrus and grassy finish, Jarl boasts the Champion Beer of Scotland title along with claiming 3^rd place in CAMRA’s Great British Beer Festival in London last August.  At 3.8% ABV, it exudes quality and smoothness.  I loved it since first sampling it in Cork last summer and was very excited to see it at this year’s festival.  If you see it in any shops here in Northern Ireland, don’t think about it - buy it immediately.

Metalman Brewery is based in Waterford and had originally intended sending up their delicious Pale Ale as well as the dark Moonbeam.  However Moonbeam didn’t materialise but instead we were treated to the fantastic  4.5% ABV Chameleon Smokescreen.  Their Chameleon range is so called as it’s a ‘we’ve no idea what to expect, anything goes’ policy – trial brews come under this banner and boy did Smokescreen hit the top corner of the net.  As the title suggests, smokey and dark – a delicious porter that could rival any established porters already on the market.

My final choice of the festival comes from South Wales - the 5.5% ABV Saison Obscura from Pontypridd brewery Otley.  First to strike you about Otley are the funky and simplistic pump clips.  A basic ‘O’ design with black and one other colour is the norm for Otley beers .  Very nice.  The brew itself has a complex and intriguing underlying tongue of dark pepper and orange peel.  Definitely a winning winter ale and one to warm yer cockles after battling through the hoardes of psychotic weemin buying unwanted Christmas presents for wee Britney, Piers or whoever.

I also had the privilege this year to be one of the judges on the panel to select the Champion Beer of Belfast. Although the four beers named above were not in the shortlist of eight (was very disappointed with that), Brentwood Brewery's BBC2 emerged victorious by one point from Titanic's Cappuccino Stout. An amazing feat by Brentwood considering BBC2 had the lowest ABV of the festival at just 2.5%. Just goes to show that not all weak strength brews are tasteless.  BBC2 is a mid copper coloured ale with hints of caramel and citrus, a good session beer.

Before I go, three brilliant questions I was asked while working behind the bar -

3. What lagers do you have?

2. Do you have any Heineken?

1. Have you any beers?

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