What beer are we drinking this week ?

Grayditch

I think Rogue are a mixed bag. Some good. Some not.

BaZmO*

Just picked up a couple of bottles of Narwhal in Drinkstore. Was talking to Richard(?) and he said that he was getting some stuff in from Oskar Blues later, from what I've had from their range I've really enjoyed them.

He was also saying that the Budget hikes are going to play havoc with the imported high abv beers. He was saying that it'll probably make importing some of them pointless. The Narwhal is €4.99 at the moment but could increase to €5.99! That's madness.

Cue lots of moaning about value -v- quality posts in the next while!

Hootanany

BaZmO* wrote: »

Just picked up a couple of bottles of Narwhal in Drinkstore. Was talking to Richard(?) and he said that he was getting some stuff in from Oskar Blues later, from what I've had from their range I've really enjoyed them.

He was also saying that the Budget hikes are going to play havoc with the imported high abv beers. He was saying that it'll probably make importing some of them pointless. The Narwhal is €4.99 at the moment but could increase to €5.99! That's madness.

Cue lots of moaning about value -v- quality posts in the next while!

I thought it was on a pint in a Bar not Offies:mad:

Seaneh

Hootanany wrote: »

I thought it was on a pint in a Bar not Offies:mad:

There must have been a change to the duty on alcohol as well or something?

BeerNut

Seaneh wrote: »

There must have been a change to the duty on alcohol as well

There was only a change in the duty on alcohol, it's just the government traditionally expresses it in the budget speech as the effect it will have on a "typical" pint of beer, measure of spirits and/or bottle of wine. The increase on higher ABV beers and spirits is proportionally higher than the "10c" in the speech.

ThisRegard

Azza89 wrote: »

Just wondering can anyone tell me what is the best off licence in around the city centre please ? I want to try and find some more of the founders range but I live out in Meath so the pickings are slim.

Carry Out off licence just got some of the range in, it's their beer tasting selection of the week. You might find one close to you depending where in Meath you are.

drumswan

Just picked up some Sierra Nevada Narwhal and Oskar Blues Dales Pale Ale. The only reason I bought these is because they are hyped up and highly rated.

Btw, it would seem people actually are factoring price into their rating of beer here. I was only joking earlier on. No wonder people think the likes of Rogue are over-rated.

drumswan

Seaneh wrote: »

Pumpkin brew is a lot better this year than I remember it, will be going back for more.

Last year it was Or with added pumpkin at fermentation, this year its a newly concocted Amber Ale with pumpkin and Troubles own pumpkin spice which is made in-house.

BeerNut

drumswan wrote: »

Last year it was Or with added pumpkin at fermentation

That was the year before. Last year it was a separate beer, as it is this year.

drumswan

BeerNut wrote: »

That was the year before. Last year it was a separate beer, as it is this year.

So it was, Troubles last blog post was on this, I assumed it was this year. Lazy gets.

Heroditas

ThisRegard wrote: »

Carry Out off licence just got some of the range in, it's their beer tasting selection of the week. You might find one close to you depending where in Meath you are.

Just the Carry Out in Rathborne though, isn't it? Got the email myself earlier so I'll be popping down for a taste of them after work tomorrow.

ThisRegard

Heroditas wrote: »

Just the Carry Out in Rathborne though, isn't it? Got the email myself earlier so I'll be popping down for a taste of them after work tomorrow.

Tyrrelstown and Ashtown anyway, I thought they alternated the days in each store, today was Tyrrelstown anyway.

RonanC

Latest beers to try out in CA; Green Flash beers were a nice surprise as I hadn't heard of the brewery before. Racer 5 was ridiculously hoppy, but in a good way.

blueshed

Azza89 wrote: »

Just wondering can anyone tell me what is the best off licence in around the city centre please ? I want to try and find some more of the founders range but I live out in Meath so the pickings are slim.

im sure the Malt house in Trim have this range of beers in stock, hope to be back there either Friday or Saturday so will let you know.

Seaneh

RonanC wrote: »

Latest beers to try out in CA; Green Flash beers were a nice surprise as I hadn't heard of the brewery before. Racer 5 was ridiculously hoppy, but in a good way.

I hear good things about Racer 5.

drumswan

RonanC wrote: »

Latest beers to try out in CA; Green Flash beers were a nice surprise as I hadn't heard of the brewery before. Racer 5 was ridiculously hoppy, but in a good way.

Hell of a line up there! Enjoy.

Dales Pale Ale is fantastic, so fresh from the can too.

Ipso

RonanC wrote: »

Latest beers to try out in CA; Green Flash beers were a nice surprise as I hadn't heard of the brewery before. Racer 5 was ridiculously hoppy, but in a good way.

Racer 5 would be my favourite of those, not crazy about Green Flash myself. Keep an eye out for Ballast Point Sculpin.

Creamy Goodness

Punk IPA

drumswan

Galway Bay are launching a DIPA on the 15th of November, looking forward to that

Heroditas

ThisRegard wrote: »

Tyrrelstown and Ashtown anyway, I thought they alternated the days in each store, today was Tyrrelstown anyway.

They never sell any of that stuff up in Tyrrellstown!

All the Eastern European beers sell well up there.
The Mulhuddart branch is also owned by the same guy and the best seller is Dutch Gold.

jh79

drumswan wrote: »

Galway Bay are launching a DIPA on the 15th of November, looking forward to that

Available on tap in the Oslo in Salthill when I was there last week.

Seaneh

jh79 wrote: »

Available on tap in the Oslo in Salthill when I was there last week.

No it wasn't.

The dry hopped Imperial Brown Ale from the Pilot brewery was though.

The DIPA is still in the fermenter.

jh79

Seaneh wrote: »

No it wasn't.

The dry hopped Imperial Brown Ale from the Pilot brewery was though.

The DIPA is still in the fermenter.

DIPA pilot 1 3.8% was hand written on the tap assumed it was one of there own . Sorry my mistake.

xxyyzz

My weekend tipples

ThisRegard

Heroditas wrote: »

They never sell any of that stuff up in Tyrrellstown!

All the Eastern European beers sell well up there.
The Mulhuddart branch is also owned by the same guy and the best seller is Dutch Gold.

I'm sure they do sell, otherwise they wouldn't be stocking such a great selection.

Seaneh

jh79 wrote: »

DIPA pilot 1 3.8% was hand written on the tap assumed it was one of there own . Sorry my mistake.

Pilot 001 APA 3.8% maybe?

They had a 3.8% session APA from the pilot, was the first pilot brew.
Then an imperial brown.

The DIAP isn't a pilot brew, it's a general release (bottled too I think) and going to be 8.5%-ish.

Heroditas

ThisRegard wrote: »

I'm sure they do sell, otherwise they wouldn't be stocking such a great selection.

The lads in Rathborne are always joking that the biggest sellers in Tyrrellstown are the Eastern European beers and the other stuff doesn't sell nearly half as well.

jh79

Seaneh wrote: »

Pilot 001 APA 3.8% maybe?

They had a 3.8% session APA from the pilot, was the first pilot brew.
Then an imperial brown.

The DIAP isn't a pilot brew, it's a general release (bottled too I think) and going to be 8.5%-ish.

Could be wasn't that interested when I saw the low alcohol content. Might go in and investigate later.

snowblind

Had a Narwhal which was a really nice imperial stout. Definitely will be going back for more. Wish we could get Old Rasputin, tried it this summer and I can see why many Americans consider it a benchmark for this stuff.

Dale's Pale Ale was pretty nice - couldn't help but be a bit disappointed initially, but the hops were lingering and sneaky and caught up with the rest of the beer like an echo in a chamber. Still, I find it a bit overpriced for what it is at ~3.50 (don't remember the exact price) but it's totally reasonable considering how and where it comes from.

Undoubtedly the Stone beers will be similarly pricey, probably feeding more "overrated! overrated!" frenzy. How about overpriced instead? I mean I've heard Stone, Mikkeller, even Dogfish Head been toted as overrated so much lately that if I would go by that reputation (not all the "lazy hungover journo compiles a list for a business magazine to meet content quota" articles on which it invariably is placed, but street rep) I would except the beers to be pretty bogstandard, or absolute dog**** when it comes to Mikkeller. The couple of Stone beers I've had have been lovely and that's enough for me even if they were not my Favourites Ever. I dunno maybe I'm just naturally cynical about sites like ratebeer and end up not giving a crap whether a beer is 97 or 100 there. Just enjoy what you like and have fun with good things! Hopefully we get some Sublimely Selfrighteous, it's got 100 on RB so it better blow my mind or else

drumswan

The Narwhal was very good, though I prefer a sweeter stout myself.

The Dales is a great example of an American Pale Ale and packs a punch at 6.5%. Price point is irrelevant when commenting on how good a beer is, the brewer has no control over us paying €4 for a single for something that costs $10 for six in the states. If we are going to start factoring price into how much we enjoy beer then every jurisdiction on the planet will produce a different rating and things such as the BJCP would become unviable.

If people are looking for a cheap hobby certainly craft beer and homebrew is not the way to go.

BeerNut

drumswan wrote: »

If people are looking for a cheap hobby certainly craft beer and homebrew is not the way to go.

Compared to wine and whiskey, I think it is.

drumswan

BeerNut wrote: »

Compared to wine and whiskey, I think it is.

True enough I suppose. From reading your blog, Id say you spend next to nothing on your hobby.

:P

snowblind

drumswan wrote: »

Price point is irrelevant when commenting on how good a beer is, the brewer has no control over us paying €4 for a single for something that costs $10 for six in the states. If we are going to start factoring price into how much we enjoy beer then every jurisdiction on the planet will produce a different rating and things such as the BJCP would become unviable.

Yeah I mean that's why I mentioned that the price was "reasonable", the comment about it being overpriced did not relate to my enjoyment but my consumption habits - I would like to drink this more often, but! And as such, it is absolutely relevant.

Seaneh

Sounds interesting.
Will be spendy though.

Galway Bay Brewery wrote: »

"Of Foam and Fury", our DIPA is now set for release in November. 8.5% ABV with 132 IBU's to boot. Chock full of Galena, Chinook, Pacific Jade, Simcoe and two rounds of Dry-Hopping. Cause it's all worth it!

drumswan

Gonna start saving up so I can afford one at launch

Seaneh

drumswan wrote: »

Gonna start saving up so I can afford one at launch

I'm getting the angle grinder to the strongbox as I type.

I'm guessing it will be abour €5-5.50 (Galway pubs cheaper than Dublin) for a 16oz glass. They don't usually serve high ABV beers by the pint so will make it bit less of an investment.

Bottles will probably where it's most noticeable.

drumswan

Thank god for smaller measures. On that note 'The Tap Room' have opened in Ranelagh village, word is they are doing all their craft beers in 400ml measures as well as the usuals.

BeerNut

Similarly, Sheary's in Crumlin are doing Brooklyn Lager, Sierra Nevada Pale Ale and 5am Saint in 16oz (473ml) glasses. €4.80 each.

Seaneh

For anyone visiting Galway anytime soon.

The Bierhaur do pretty much everything in 16oz, but the best value is 5am Saint and Punk @€;4.10 for 16oz, its actually cheaper per litre than a half or a pint.

Similarly Massimo have a glass for €3 while a pint is €6.20.

Small savings I know, but sure every little counts.

Heroditas

Nipped out a short while ago and sampled some of the founders stuff in Carry Out.
Decided to buy a few as well and sample them in comfort on the sofa this weekend.

The owner says they are a real potential challenger to Sierra Nevada. Certainly the price is comparable.

Seaneh

Heroditas wrote: »

Nipped out a short while ago and sampled some of the founders stuff in Carry Out.
Decided to buy a few as well and sample them in comfort on the sofa this weekend.

The owner says they are a real potential challenger to Sierra Nevada. Certainly the price is comparable.

The porter is top notch.

Their beers should be popping up on tap soon.

Grayditch

Four Founders for a tenner in McHughes. The chap from Mountain Man was in with samples of his new one, Hairy Goat, so I grabbed one of those too. I also grabbed an Orval for measure.

Speak Now

Enjoying a pint of Metalmans Smokescreen, flipping delicious!!

drumswan

Quaffing an Anchor Big Leaf Maple, it's gorgeous.

Seaneh

drumswan wrote: »

Quaffing an Anchor Big Leaf Maple, it's gorgeous.

Had one last weekend in Galway, really liked it.

BaZmO*

Nice beer. For my tastes it could probably do with being a tad sweeter.



Think I had it too cold from the fridge initially, it got nicer as it warmed.

ciaran76

Kinnegar Scraggy bay not a bad beer. A gold coloured beer with very little head.
Smells quite sweet but not overpowering.
It's malty and hoppy leaving a nice bittersweet aftertaste slightly lemony.
I think it's a little under carbonated as it's went quite flat very quickly.
I liked it but would like it a tad hoppier.

sReq | uTeK

Blue moon, North American craft beer based on a Belgium recipe, love it.

Seaneh

sReq | uTeK wrote: »

Blue moon, North American craft beer based on a Belgium recipe, love it.

Worm can = opened.

:pac:

BaZmO*

ciaran76 wrote: »

Kinnegar Scraggy bay not a bad beer. A gold coloured beer with very little head.
Smells quite sweet but not overpowering.
It's malty and hoppy leaving a nice bittersweet aftertaste slightly lemony.
I think it's a little under carbonated as it's went quite flat very quickly.
I liked it but would like it a tad hoppier.

I tried a few of their beers recently and was quite underwhelmed by them. I'd tried their super hoppy version of their Rustbucket at the Beerfest and absolutely loved it, but just like you I felt all the ones I tried from the bottle could've been a tad hoppier.