Carrig Brewing Co

Last month I had the great fortune to be able to take a weekend away with Mrs W to Drumshanbo in Lounty Leitrim.  And lo and behold there's only a brewery in the town - ahem.  Opportunity grasped, we headed along to Carrig Brewing for an impromptu visit.

Oisin and head brewer Daniel made us feel very welcome, telling us all about their brews and letting us get stuck into some of their wares.  

First up is Whiskey Coalface, a 6.5% ABV variation on their original Coalface Black IPA that's been aged in The Shed Distillery whiskey casks (also from Drumshanbo)...

An enticing dark colour with mild whiskey notes on the nose, the whiskey comes through wonderfully more smoothly upon tasting.  This black IPA isn't overbearing or sharp, just enough to make you long for open fires and snow on the ground outside.  Or maybe that's just me?

Next a very secretive red ale that Daniel said was like a rum and coke and, y'know, he wasn't wrong. This was probably my favourite of all the brews I tried from the brewery - I was going to describe it, but a less-sweet rum n' coke is probably right.  It's a pilot brew for an American importer and that's all I can say because they wouldn't tell me any more.  I really hope this makes it onto our shelves soon.

Finally on to Iron Mountain Stout.  At 4.5% ABV it's a sessionable dry stout with a delicate roasted coffee aroma and taste.  Maybe I detected a touch of vanilla in there too or maybe that was the beer w.nker element kicking in.  Regardless, it's a solid stout that will appeal to many.

Cheers to Sinead, Oisin and Daniel for their fantastic hospitality and enthusiasm.  Good luck with the new FVs too and see you at Dublin's Irish Beer Festival in September.

Battle of the Cloudwater DIPA

Manchester based Cloudwater's much-hyped DIPAs (Double IPA) have become a bit of a thing over the past six months or so.  I don't know if they deliberately under-produce or have their marketing machine cranked up to 11 but fair play, they sell out in minutes.

I didn't get to try the original DIPA but to date their best for me has been the superb v2, consumed 9 days after bottling and as fruity as a RuPaul/Boy George duet while manfighting with mangoes and passion fruit. Um Bongo on speed, bliss.

v3 was something similar, a beery grapefruit and orange pith combo but just... not... quite v2.

But that was then and this is now.  Time for v4 and v5.

v4 first.  Label says dry hopped during fermentation.  Slightly fruity aroma, slight fizz, doesn't seem 9% abv, thinner than other DIPAs, not as fruity as hoped and certainly not the fruit bomb of v2. Hmmm, lets see what v5 brings.

Much cloudier.  Label says dry hopped after fermentation.  Again a little touch of fizz and well hidden alcohol, though this has more of the gummy mouthfeel of a DIPA.  Still not as fruity as v2.

In my opinion v5 edges v4 but where they really comes to life is with a blending of the two.  I'll be honest and say I was reluctant to do this at first.  Why should the customer blend the two, isn't that Cloudwater's role, to decide how the beer is made?

Three blends were created, 75% v4, 50/50 and 75% v5.  In my opinion a half n half mix was the perfect combo: dank passion fruit, mango fizz, sublime, everything that I recall about v2.
The 75% v5 came in a close 2nd (not as fruity) with the 75% v4 a distant 3rd. (too thin)
It seems strange that both versions were below CW's high bar but a mix of the two created some sort of Utopia.

So is the v4 and v5 a genuine test of which is better or a clever Cloudwater marketing ploy to make you buy 2 beers?  You decide.

Or maybe just opt for their other DIPA Three's Company, which is a belter. Confused yet?

Old Kid on a Different Block

The first Belfast Craft Beer Festival took place recently at Custom House Square.  Run by the same folk who are responsible for the Irish Craft Beer Festival at the RDS in Dublin, it was good to see another festival in our capital.  Great to have so many Irish brewers from both north and south of the border all in one place - as well as beer, cider and whiskey there were some tasty food selections on offer too; pies, curries, burgers, pizza, cheese. That'll do nicely.  Thankfully the rain stayed away although it was still baltic! Maybe next year have an enclosed marquee?

Below are a few of my highlights of the festival...included in the list but minus photos are Farmageddon's cask Impy Porter and keg Wolf IPA .

First up and on cask, a new barrel aged red from O'Hara's.  As you would expect, smoother than the standard red with lots of vanilla up front.

O'Hara's Barrel Aged Irish Red - 7.5% ABV

Next, another new one from co-op brewery Lacada in Portrush.  Made with the addition of ivy honey from the brewer's own beehive.  Some honey beers have a hint of sweetness, not this one.  Boom!  Honey to the fore, a real cracker.

Lacada's Ivy Honey - 7.5% ABV

Another corker and at this strength, a triple red IPA to be greatly respected.  So called as it's the first brew by new Galway Bay head brewer Will and last by outgoing Chris.  A total hopbomb.

Galway Bay's Change of the Guard - 11.5% ABV

One of the few bottles I had during the fest and I was so happy to see this as I'd been wanting to have it for a good while.  From Carrickmacross in Co Monaghan, Brehon's Shanco Dubh porter is as smooth as Roger Moore's Bond with lots of coffee and dark chocolate going on and a hint of sweetness.  More please!

Brehon's Shanco Dubh Porter - 7.7% ABV

From just outside Derry/Londonderry (whatever, ffs) another wee hop sensation.  70 represents its IBU bitterness (as do all Northbound beers - 08, 26, 33, 34, 47 & 70)

Northbound's Magnum 70 - 6% ABV

Bar of the tent goes to Hillstown Brewery.  

Again congrats to the organisers and thanks to all the brewers for the craic and pints.  Here's to 2017.

When Beer and Politics Collide

The Northern Ireland public go to the polls on 5th May to elect a new Stormont assembly but do politicians actually listen or respond to the ordinary man and woman in the street?  At this time when they're knocking on doors and pleading for your vote, why should you vote for one candidate over the other?  Do you really know what their stance is on issues that matter to you?  Using a pseudonym, (I've no idea why either) I put on my beer hat the other week and contacted all 15 candidates standing in my constituency of East Antrim to see what they had to say.

Here's my email -
---
Ahead of the upcoming election in May, I have a couple of questions which would go someway to deciding who gets my vote in East Antrim.  I am interested to know if...

1.    You would support small Northern Ireland breweries by introducing a new category to the licensing laws to allow them to 'sell at source' ie, sell beer directly to the public from the brewery ... and to encourage global brewers such as Diageo (Guinness) and Tennent's (who both own the vast majority of NI pubs) to offer a guest draught beer option to improve the small NI brewer's access to the market.

2.    You are in favour of changing the licensing laws at Easter to bring them into line with the rest of the UK.

Craft brewing has never been as popular as now in Northern Ireland but the industry can only survive with help from local government.  At the moment this is not happening.

Regards.
---

Time passed. Six replied, nine did not.  Here are the replies, some more positive than others, but that's for you to decide, as is where your valuable 1,2,3 etc vote goes on the ballot paper.

Thank you for getting in touch. 

As it happens I am so what of an amateur Brewer myself and would totally support the introduction of a new category to the licensing laws. I believe many of our laws here are totally archaic and I would fully support the Easter licensing law being brought into line with the rest of the U.K.  

I hope this helps and if you have any other questions please feel free to get in touch. 

John Stewart - UUP
---

Thank you for your letter.   

As you may know Sinn Féin will be launching our manifesto on April 27 as part of the Assembly election campaign.   

However, given space and the need to keep it manageable we are restricted as to how much we can include.   

As a party it is not our practice to endorse other manifestos, rather we go to the electorate seeking their mandate on our own manifesto.   

We would hope that our manifesto sufficiently addresses the issues that you have raised and will allow you to support Sinn Fein on May 5th.

Oliver McMullan - SF
---

Thanks for your email in relation to brewing. 

I cannot claim to be an expert in the licensing laws, but I have been working alongside Hospitality Ulster (previously Pubs of Ulster) to modify the laws in Northern Ireland in the new Assembly term. Only last week I held a meeting of publicans in the Newtownabbey area to discuss what reforms are necessary in order to assist the hospitality industry and I have given my support to any sensible reforms without delay. 

On the issue of ’selling at source’, I am sympathetic to a new category of license, not least because of the growth of local breweries and distilleries in NI. 

It is my understanding that once the new Assembly is elected a package of reforms will be introduced and you will be able to make an input into this piece of work. 

Alastair Ross - DUP 
---

You raise a couple of interesting points. I would support a change to the licensing laws to try and help the trade. I would also be interested in helping the small Independant brewers. I have discovered a few locally recently and I for one would appreciate the products being made more available with more people getting the chance to sample some excellent products . 
Again thank you for the email and raising these issues and if I can help any further please get in touch.  

David Hilditch - DUP
---

Thank you very much for your email in relation to my views on the licensing laws in Northern Ireland.  I am certainly in favour of changing the licensing laws as at present we seem to have some nonsensical inconsistencies in regard to when and where alcohol can be sold and I am more than happy to ensure that those are changed and indeed our First Minister, Arlene Foster, has already committed to changing the licensing laws at Easter time and I am more than happy to support any such efforts.

With regard to the other issue that you have raised about allowing breweries to sell at source.  This is not an issue that I have had raised with me before, however I am more than happy to look into this and see what action we can take and what changes could be made.  Certainly if you have any further information for me in regard to this I am more than happy to consider it and will certainly ensure this is an issue that is considered at the start of the next Assembly term, should I be returned. 

I hope this information is helpful to you.  If I can be of any further assistance please do not hesitate to get in contact with me.

Gordon Lyons - DUP
---

(Updated response 25 April)
I can not say I am an expert in Licensing laws myself but I have been committed to learning more about them. 

It is in my best interests to support all small businesses as best I can & listen to what they want. Therefore I would support change to licensing laws that includes changes to licensing laws at Easter to bring them into line with the rest of the UK. 
However I stress that incentives must be offered to workers i.e triple pay, Their rights must be protected and they shouldn't feel obliged to work on Easter. 
A concern that I have heard frequently is helping Draught beer access the market; this is a big concern that needs addressed; Diageo & Tennants won't permit it, only their own brands. As a possible public representative, I will raise this concern & I will do my best to address this concern.

To help do as much as we can for small N.I breweries: myself, party colleagues & some local bar owners from East Antrim, would love to have the opportunity to meet the owners & workers to discuss what we can potentially do for small Ni breweries.  

Conor Sheridan - Labour Alternative 
---

Thanks to all who took the time to reply. 

15 candidates are standing.

East Antrim 2016 Assembly election
Party		Candidate
	UUP	Roy Beggs Jr
	Alliance	Stewart Dickson
	Alliance	Danny Donnelly
	DUP	David Hilditch
	UKIP	Noel Jordan
	DUP	Gordon Lyons
	PUP	Jim McCaw
	SDLP	Margaret Anne McKillop
	Sinn Féin	Oliver McMullan
	UUP	Maureen Morrow
	Green (NI)	Dawn Patterson
	DUP	Alastair Ross
	Labour Alternative	Conor Sheridan
	UUP	John Stewart
	TUV	Ruth Wilson

A St. Patrick's Day alternative

It's been an interesting couple of months in the Northern Ireland beer scene.  Newcomer Bullhouse Brewing near Newtownards launched its first two beers, Boundary had its first birthday, Lacada released a cracking limited edition stout and there's also a hot chocolate from Mourne Mountains?

Bullhouse is so called as the brewery used to be...a bullhouse.  But you knew that was coming, right?  Brewer Willy Mayne has been adventurous by starting off with an imperial coffee stout and a Comber potato infused saison!  If there are other spud based beers in Ireland, let me know as I don't know of any.

Because I've never had a spud beer before I didn't really know what to expect.  It's of saison ilk, pours golden-amber and certainly one for the summer days ahead.  I got some slight potato-starchiness but I'm not sure if that was the placebo effect taking hold.  Anyway, Über Tuber is a great name for a spud beer.

On to the 8% abv El Capitan stout and this is great stuff.  Good body, slight coffee aroma and the coffee continues into the taste.  A good start from Bullhouse, and I love the artwork on the labels.

Co-operative brewery Lacada from Portrush also launched the first of their new limited edition Salamander Series: Utopian Stout. I had the privilege to taste this from cask when it was launched in Portrush town hall and I'd go as far to say this is one of my favourite new NI beers this year.  A very tasty stout - hints of chocolate and coffee with a slightly sweet edge.  The cask version was only available for the launch night, though it is available in 8% abv bottles around the north coast and in selected Belfast locations.

Mourne Mountains' new 6% abv Chocolat Chaud is another dark hit.  Again as you would expect, choc and sweet coffee notes on the nose but this South Down stout has a very distinctive taste of clove and orange that mix well with the chocolate.  It reminded me slightly of their recent Pumpkin Porter but with a fuller stout body.

So this St Patrick's day, there's more of a stout to experience than just Guinness.  Give your taste buds the break they deserve and try one of the above.

Iceland: Land of Ice, Fire and Lava Smoked Stout

Iceland - a land of mystery and intrigue, of volcanoes and glaciers, and of beer since... 1989?

Yes folks, Icelandic prohibition was only lifted 27 years ago since coming into effect in 1908.  Ok that's not technically true, spirits have been legal since 1935 but a ban on the sale of what the Icelandic government termed 'strong beer' remained until '89 - that strong beer being over 2.25% ABV!

And that lifting of the ban gave me great joy when I recently visited Iceland for the third time to celebrate Mrs W's 'significant' birthday.  In between snowmobiling across a glacier and sampling some fantastic fish dishes we visited some cool and funky little bars in Reykjavik such as Kaffibarinn although be warned - this place for some reason prohibits any photography up at the bar, beer geeks and Untappd users take note.  If popping in, make sure you say hi to the barman from Hillsborough, County Down, he has a degree in Icelandic!  Edit: I've since been informed the photography ban eradicates selfies with celebrities or drunken social media pics, apparently.

If you find the Lava Smoked Imperial stout by Ölvisholt Brugghús, get ready for a taste sensation.  It possesses a great smokiness that hides the 9.4% ABV so be careful how many you have.  Also very tasty but going out of season now is the Kaldi Súkkulaði or Chocolate Porter from Bruggsmiðjan.

Lava Smoked Imperial Stout and Chocolate Porter

Like Northern Ireland, craft breweries in Iceland have shot up in number since 2010.  The new Bryggjan Brugghús at the edge of Reykjavik port is well worth a visit.  When I visited there was the in-house brewed pale, lager and IPA, guest draught brews from Borg and bottles from other breweries on the island.  This is a very modern brewpub-restaurant where you could lose an entire day drinking but watch your spending, it ain't cheap.

Bryggjan Brewery

Bryggjan IPA

Other craft beer bars such as Skúli Bar or Íslenski Barinn serve a great selection of Icelandic beer and the world renowned Mikkeller and Friends can also be found in Reykjavik.  It was a coincidence it was the closest bar to our hotel, honestly!  Just make sure your wallet is sturdy enough and the credit card isn't prone to melting at the thought of beers costing upwards of £20 for 400ml!  Yeah you read that right.  Though the average is around £6-£8.  My inner Ballymena man is away for a lie down just writing this.

Mikkeller and Friends bar

Mikkeller Mexan Ranger - a great chilli stout

20 pumps of beer - all at an eye watering price

Omnipollo's Nebuchadnezzar at Skúli bar

From Norway, 7 Fjell's Svartidiket Black IPA

A good tip is to pick up some 6-packs of local brews at the airport when leaving for home.  Bottles of Víking Ölgerd Einiberja/Juniper Bock or Borg Brugghús Úlfur Nr 3 IPA can cost less than £2 each with Borg's Garún Nr 19 (11.5% ABV stout) less than £3, a serious bargain.  Congrats to Keflavik airport for having such a variety of great local beer on sale, Northern Ireland airports should take note - THIS is how to stock local beer for departing tourists!

Borg's popular Úlfur Nr. 3 IPA

Reykjavik is a great city to discover emerging new breweries. It's only a couple of hours by plane from Belfast and the locals are very accommodating and friendly.  Oh by the way, did I mention to bring plenty of money?  Skál / Cheers!

My Best of Northern Ireland 2015

Here it is again, the end of year thought process as to what were my favourite Northern Irish beers.  I've written another blogpost here about the new NI breweries that opened in 2015 and another post on my overall Golden Pints of Ireland so I'll not go into detail about that here, hence to say there were a lot more beers available in 2015 than 2014.

You may agree with some placings, you'll probably not agree with lots.  But that's the way these things work.  Remember I can only vote for brews I've actually had.  I'll admit I've tried quite a lot of Irish beers (North and South) over the past year but couldn't have them all.  If your favourite beer isn't listed, it could be that I didn't get the chance to try it.  So to quote @thebeernut from last year, here's my "tiny and twee" list of NI winners for 2015 :-p

Best Porter/Stout - MOURNE MOUNTAINS Pumpkin Porter

Controversial to start, my top dark of 2015 goes to a pumpkin (love it or hate it) beer from Warrenpoint's new brewery Mourne Mountains.  Also praise due to new co-ops Boundary's Export Stout and Lacada's Stranded Bunny.

Best IPA - FARMAGEDDON Mosaic IPA (cask)

This was in great condition at the Belfast Beer Festival, as was Northbound's 47 IPA.  The Mosaic cask outing was better than the bottled output in my opinion and the Farmageddon gang also did a great Hopburst IPA earlier in the year.  Shout outs too for Whitewater's Maggie's Leap, Lacada's Giant's Organ and Boundary IPA.

Best Pale Ale - WALLED CITY Boom
If you ever get a chance to visit the Walled City brew-restaurant at Ebrington Square in Derry/Londonderry, grab it.  James brews a good selection including this quality pale ale and it was my favourite Northern Irish pale of the year.

Best Red/Amber Ale - WHITEWATER Hen, Cock and Pigeon Rock

I've admitted before elsewhere that reds aren't my favourite style and there weren't many NI amber ales, though I did like this one.

Best Irish But Not Northern Irish - GALWAY BAY Two Hundred Fathoms

I can't say much more about 200F that hasn't already been said by many others, it's such a great beer.
2nd - O BROTHER Brutus
Joint 3rd - GALWAY BAY Buried At Sea / O'HARA Leann Folláin

Best Northern Irish Beer of 2015 - MOURNE MOUNTAINS Pumpkin Porter

2nd - FARMAGEDDON Mosaic IPA (cask) 
3rd - FARMAGEDDON Hopburst IPA

I started controversially and I'll end controversially.  It really was a close run thing between Mosaic IPA and Pumpkin Porter for my NI beer of the year.  Maybe on a different day the result would be reversed but that's my final answer...for today.   It's good to see new breweries like Mourne, Walled City, Lacada and Boundary entering the list here and good luck to all new and existing Northern Irish brewers for 2016.

Irish Golden Pints 2015

This is the first time I've nominated beers for the Golden Pints awards and I was initially torn between doing a UK list or Ireland list, then quickly realised I've had a lot more Irish beer this year than ones from England, Scotland or Wales.  So that's sorted then.  Also please remember when reading this that it's what I think.  You probably won't agree with a lot here but that's ok - next time you see me you can buy me a beer and we'll talk about it like reasoned adults. 

Best Irish Cask Beer - Farmageddon Mosaic IPA

Cask is a rarity in Ireland, north and south.  The best tasting cask beer I experienced this year was at the Belfast Beer and Cider Festival in November and goes to Farmageddon's Mosaic IPA.  A cracker of a beer, fresh, crisp, fruity and one of the few beers I tried more than thrice, ahem. 

Best Irish Keg Beer -  O Brother Brewing Brutus

My winner by a long way.  I fell in love with it at the Irish Craft Beer Festival in Dublin's RDS in August and I still love it.  Very much.  Also shout outs to The White Hag's Black Boar and 8 Degrees for their new Belgian stout, Signal.

Best Irish Bottled/Canned Beer - Galway Bay 200 Fathoms  

A Teeling Whiskey barrel aged imperial stout is right up my street.  Their chocolate milk stout Buried At Sea is also high up the list as is O'Haras Leann Folláin.

Best Overseas Draught - Brewdog IPA is Dead Citra

I'll class overseas as mainland GB in this list and first place goes go the juggernaut that is Brewdog, had in their self-named bar in Liverpool.  Titanic's Plum Porter and Fallen Brewing's Platform C are crackers too.

Best Overseas Bottle Beer - Williams Bros Froach 22

Loch Ness' 10%abv Double Cask Prince is fantastically smooth but it is pipped to the top spot by the 11%abv Williams Bros Froach 22, a heather ale matured in ex-sherry casks which were previously used to mature Auchentoshan single malt (it just sounds good!)

Best Overseas Canned Beer - Beavertown Gamma Ray

The two top spots here go to Beavertown from that there London town with the American pale ale Gamma Ray coming 1st.  Also look out for their stunning triple IPA Power of the Voodoo, it's a beezer.

Best Collaboration - Galway Bay Goodbye Blue Monday

Another winner for Galway Bay. Brewed in collab with Begyle Brewing from Chicago, it's a hoppy oatmeal IPA.

Best Overall Beer - Galway Bay 200 Fathoms

I've been dreading this category...but had to narrow it down to about 5.  And then 3. 

And then finally 200 Fathoms.  Maybe absence makes the heart grow fonder and all that guff but it pains me to have had it only once this year - I miss you 200F.

Best Branding - 8 Degrees

Respect is paid to Northern Ireland's two new publicly owned co-ops, Lacada and Boundary for having something different but the boys at 8 Degrees take the crown.

Best Pumpclip - O Brother's Brutus.  

Loved it.

Best Label - Red Hand Pale Ale

Small brewer Red Hand pale ale from Co Tyrone - a child's hand.  So simple.

Best Brewery - Galway Bay

Another one for the GB massive.  Although 8 Degrees and O Brother did run them close.

Best Overseas Brewery - Beavertown

Hmmm... Loch Ness, Isle of Skye and Brewdog are right up there but again it goes daaaaan saaaaf to that Landan taaaan brewery Beavertown.

Pub of the Year - Kiwi's Brew Bar, Portrush

I thought I'd venture out of a city and award this to a cracking wee bar with a really good range of bottles in a town not overly known for its craft beer selection. Plus it shows football on tv. Well done Kris and the team.

New Pub of the Year for 2015 - The Woodworkers, Belfast.  

Although it opened in December 2014, it's a winner here. Regular meet the brewer events, great rotating taps and a fantastic food selection to boot!

Best Festival - Irish Craft Beer Festival

Despite being involved in the Belfast Beer and Cider Festival my favourite festival of the year was the ICBF in the RDS in Dublin last August.  So many brewers selling their Irish beer, so many great food stalls out the back with ample seating and a good DJ doing his thang..

Supermarket of the Year - None

A lot of them are still quite rubbish so I'll pass on this until (some chance) they reach somewhere near the level of independents.

Independent Retailer of the Year - The Lighthouse

Within 10 miles of Belfast, it's this fantastic place in Whiteabbey. Also great to see others like The Vineyard, Gap Wines, Lavery's, Wineworks and Neill Wines have a wide ranging selection too. 

Online Retailer of the Year - www.drinkstore.ie

I've used a few but the winner is Drinkstore, primarily for their discount policy!

Best Beer Blog or Website - http://thebeernut.blogspot.co.uk

Always informative.

Simon Johnson Award for Best Beer Twitterer

@thebeernut for his dry wit or @twattybeer (Twatty Beer Doodles)

Best Brewery Website/Social Media - ......

Anyone who doesn't retweet 50 fecking times a day.