29 October, 2010

Zeitgeist by Brewdog

This 4.9% Black lager by Brewdog was a pleasant surprise. Although I appreciate stouts and dark beers they wouldn't be my first choice of style. In saying that though Brewdog seem to do no wrong in my eyes and this black sheep gets the same response.
It pours a silky black liquid with a thin white head.
This is the epitome of  the book and cover syndrome. The nose is like melon and those old-skool Rosy Apple sweets, it's a candied smell but not synthetically candied despite the quarter reference, there's also some floral notes. When I went back to it half an hour later this fresh fruit smell had evolved into a roasted malt nose.
The palate is floral and appley but the finish has some coffee flavours and black chocolate with a hint of hop and some nice refreshing acidity. This is a beer for all tastes. It seems to combine a good quality lager style with a roasted malt beer and an element of a pale ale, very interesting and layers of flavours.
I'm also very excited to inform you all that 'Sink the Bismark' is en-route from Scotland.. 2 bottles bound for Deveney's of Dundrum.
Shout if you're interested!
Ruthxx

27 October, 2010

O'hara's Leann Follain Special

O'hara's Leann Follain arrived in this afternoon...
Described on the bottle as a full bodied extra Irish stout and that it is!
It pours a deep black with a caramel coloured head. The nose is like a cup of espresso with black liquorice some tobacco and tar in there also. The palate follows through on all of the above, black coffee, black un-sweetened liquorice, cocoa and burnt toffee. I know they sound like massive flavours but although they're very prominent they don't over power the stout. It has a silky texture and the flavours bounce one after another, almost in that exact order. It's light enough to drink comfortably, one bottle after another.
Try this with an Irish stew, heavy chocolate desert or cured meats.
Officially launched this week, so to celebrate...
Deveney's of Dundrum will sell you 4 bottles for €10.
The launch party is Thursday 7th from 7pm @ The Bull and Castle, Christchurch. *All Welcome*
I unfortunately won't be making the launch myself, I'm hoping to be too busy selling all of you guys the bottled version.
Ruthxx

21 October, 2010

Brooklyn Pennant Ale '55

This is the first beer that I've tasted in ages that I'd be happy to be locked into a cold room with for days on end.
This golden coloured ale was brewed in honour of the Brooklyn Dodgers World Series win in 1955.
It pours the colour of Mount Gay rum with a thin white head. The nose smells like a hot barbecue, slightly woody, pine resin and vanilla, really appealing.
The palate doesn't disappoint, I get an unsweetened Kola flavour but there's a meaty savoury element to it too, pleasantly floral, a really clean finish and it's not too heavy despite how it sounds.
Eoin reckons it's the best Thursday brew we've tasted in a while and I have to agree.
The winning beer this month, We love it!!!
Ruthxx

Fruili Strawberry Belgian Beer

We haven't featured my beloved Dad 'Tom' in our blog for a while. It's been a quiet Thursday afternoon so we tasted Fruili, Belgian Strawberry beer. I remember tasting this on draught in The PorterHouse a couple of years ago. I can't remember if I liked it or not and being honest I still can't decide. Pleasant? definitely. Offensive? definitely. Contains MSG? quite possibly, It wouldn't be my favourite of the fruit beer family but it's a beer that I could continue to taste until the bottle is empty.
It pours the colour of a strawberry smoothie with a thin off-pink head.
The nose reminds me of a 'strawberry fool' - an effortless, incredibly delicious artery clogging desert which contains fresh strawberries, sugar and cream, whipped until mousse-like. When the fruit nose settles, the white beer element of the beer is evident also.
The palate is delicately carbonated, fresh strawberry with a nice lemon twist. Unless I was writing this blog I'd have forgotten it was a beer though. The alcohol is completely masked by the very strong strawberry flavour. It's a visiting beer - 4.1%, take 2 to a party when the cars outside.
Available currently in Deveney's of Dundrum.
Ruthxx

19 October, 2010

Brooklyn Oktoberfest

It's rare that a Sunday morning would see me showered and capable of anything other than a bacon sandwich and some horizontal t.v activity. If I was to be honest and pathetically sad, xfactor on a Saturday night has changed my normal Saturday night routine. I become all about the pyjamas, heating, maybe some butter chicken marsala and definitely a glass of red. The rushing home from work for a quick shower whilst multi-tasking a drink, my make-up, a call to my local taxi company and possibly 3 changes of clothes before settling on the original and getting a lift with an aggravated taxi driver who has been waiting and then waiting.
As a direct result of this change in habit, I find myself in work on a Sunday morning...
I also find myself well enough to not only do a post but taste a beer and do a post simultaneously.
Brooklyn Oktoberfest arrived in on Friday. This is a 5.5% seasonal addition to the Brooklyn range.
It pours a caramel colour with a Guinness head. It looks really carbonated with lots of fine bubbles in the glass.
I can't decide if the nose is appealing. Initially it's caramel, sweet fruit and almond but this turns into what you'd expect your back garden to smell like after a landscaper has been digging around in the rockery. It smells like ''Atlantic Homecare'' out where they grow the tomatoes, a hot soil smell.
The palate, thankfully doesn't display the outdoor flavours. I get ripe cherries, malt and only slightly carbonated. A really creamy palate with a hopped finish.
Of all the Oktoberfest beers I've sampled over the last couple of weeks it's the most unusual style and unlike any of the others available. Oktoberfest to me is all about a beer that's light enough to consume vast quantities but has substance to it. Subtle flavours that are balanced and easy to neck.  Brooklyn, although interesting I wouldn't be downing 5 steins with a leg of ham.
Worth a try though,
Ruthxx

15 October, 2010

Weissenoher, Klosterbrauerei, Kolster Sud.

62nd Best Beer Blog in the World with a badge to prove it!
It's Thursday night, again! and as you avid readers know, myself and my little brother Eoin pick a Thursday brew to review.
Weissenoher, Klosterbrauerei, Kloster Sud is the beer of tonight.
Firstly neither of us can pronounce this one, let alone spell it. This is a very traditional label, Eoin thinks a little dated, I like kitsch so it does it for me.
When  poured it looks like a glass of Schweppes Ginger Ale. Lovely rich brown colour with reddish and yellow tones and a thin white head.
The nose smells like coffee and raisin with a bonfire smokiness, maybe burnt banana and definitely Horlicks malt and toffee. Every time I go back to it I pick up a different distinctive smell. It's really complex and unusual.
The palate is just as big and unusual as the nose. Instant coffee - Nescafe, maybe!- doesn't sound appealing, caramel and loads of malt. Quite sweet initially but finishes dry and chalky.
I'd consider this an acquired taste- Definitely a food beer, try baked ham or a vintage cheddar.
Not for me but everyone to their own.
Ruthxx

09 October, 2010

Augustiner Oktoberfest 2010.

I'm not going to lie to you, the label alone does it for me on this beer. The entire range of Augustiner always gets me excited, possibly because it's not consistently available 12 months of the year but also the beer is just so good. It's a style that appeals to almost anyone, I could give it to my granny and she'd appreciate it. It's inoffensive and deliciously refreshing but without being run- of -the- mill boring.
The Augustiner Oktoberfest has a nose that's reminiscent of a Sauvignon Blanc from Marlborough,  asparagus and slightly grassy but there's also some honey evident. I won't repeat how Eoin described the colour in the glass but let's just say kidney infection and plastic cup in a doctor's surgery. Although not a very appetising description, pretty accurate.
The palate is very different to the nose, it's nicely carbonated but not overly, creamy with a hint of ''Ranchero'' smokiness and some sweeter flavours close to the finish. This all sounds pretty imbalanced but it works really well.
Anyone who called into the shop after 9pm on Thursday tasted it and consequently bought it. Even Karl who drinks Tuborg substituted a couple of tins for a bottle.
It'll be available for the remainder of  October, if you miss the opportunity you'll have to hold out for another 11 months, so get moving!!!
Ruthxx

07 October, 2010

The ''Deveney's Beer Box'' delivered nationwide.

''Deveney's Beer Box''
*Having difficulty playing Santa to all of your friends? *Finding the perfect Kris Kindle gift for 'Brian' in the accounts department? or

*No time and even less motivation to visit your Uncle in Tubercurry with a box of Lily o'Brien's?.....


Deveney's of Dundrum have come up with one solution for all gift conundrums...
The 'Deveney's Beer Box'  which contains 12 seasonal premium beers plus glass delivered to any location nationwide. All for €50.00
*selection disclosed on order due to stock availability*
Please order via email or telephone, payment required pre delivery.
Ruthxx





05 October, 2010

Erdinger Oktoberfest, IFSC, Dublin '10

.
Chris from Erdinger and myself  having a stein
Sunday consisted of re-runs of last weeks Eastender's and a 4 o'clock start at the Erdinger Oktoberfest in the IFSC.
I went in, family in tow, to meet Chris from Erdinger and check out the Beer Festival competition.
Definitely worth a trip. Beer good, crowd good, crepes good, music not great but very German beer festival authentic.
I have to admit that both Erdinger and Paulaner Oktoberfest I would prefer in bottle, I know that that sounds a little conveniently bias but this is written from a review perspective without my retailer hat on. There's something about the more commercial styles of Oktoberfest beer that translate better in bottle format, equally as much as the less exported beers taste better on draught such as Lowenbrau and Augustiner. Paulaner and Erdinger Oktoberfest bottled is a style that evokes true Germanic flavours and smells. I always get stewed apple and cinnamon from Erdinger Oktoberfest with a creamy sweet palate and a doughy dry finish. The Erdinger Oktoberfest on draught just doesn't have the same appeal for me. It's very drinkable but seems alot lighter in style.
Met Barry, Phil and Steve as seen in previous post pictures. They were enjoying all of the above and loving the beer so possibly I've become one of those painfully fussy reviewers or just boring and old!!
Erdinger Oktoberfest available in Deveney's Dundrum. Special price 2x500ml for €5.
*Offer available while stocks last*
Ruthxx

Weihenstephaner Festbier, Dublin '10

Weihenstephaner Oktoberfest, Dublin.
My weekend in Kilkenny plans were a-skewed when the call came through for a ticket to the exclusive Weihenstephaner Festbier, Oktoberfest night in Ballsbridge, last Friday.
I arrived, as requested, at 6.15pm, only to discover that the Festival didn't kick-off until 7pm and I was the only invitee that hadn't brought a date along. I hung around the bar for all of 7 minutes until I discovered that my good pals from  'X' Off-Licence on the North-side were definitely joining me but not until they'd finished their 5th Paulaner stein down at The Church, behind Jervis Shopping centre.
I left the romantic beer festival in The Berkley and joined the Paulaner Oktoberfest crew for 2 half steins before making my slightly unsteady way back to enjoy the authentic German Festivities complete with bad German pop songs, dough pretzels, apple strudel, 30ft tables complete with German families eating sauerkraut and the odd lederhosen and Really, really good beer.
Weihenstephaner Festbier is a rich golden colour with quite a fat creamy head. It's only slightly carbonated and smells like fresh bread with some clove and spice. The palate is slightly sweet and has flavours of cake mix and ripe fruit. It's a big beer, loads of flavour. Incredibly easy to consume, as experimented by our table. See exhibit 3.1.
The night finished relatively early. I (Test example1) arrived home at 12.30pm- apparently, Test example2 fell asleep in an armchair in the lobby and awoke to an empty event at 1.45am, Test example3 managed to have a sleep whilst levitating above the white table cloth, glass in hand. Test example4 was the last I left behind, still sitting in an upright position and speaking coherently. Test example4 had had previous experience. 

exhibit 3.1

Weihenstephaner Festbier is a must try during this 2 week beer celebration. It's got everything I'd expect from an Oktoberfest. Well worth the spend at €2.99 bottle.
Will there be an invite to the Berkley Court next year? Very much doubt it. At one point Test example2 was tearing pretzels apart and throwing them at our German neighbours. There was also a couple of incidents with unsteady steins close to trouser pockets which could well have been mistaken as a misinterpreted armchair!
Oktoberfest is great fun, well worth having a party in honour. It's one of the only times of the year that we can get drunk and blame it on the hike in ABV and then get away with it!!
Prost!!!
Ruthxx














01 October, 2010

Innis and Gunn, Rum Cask

Innis & Gunn, Rum Cask


Myself and Eoin decided on the Rum Cask as our Thursday beer. It's been selling like Jif Lemon on Shrove Tuesday. We wanted to know what the beer frenzy was all about...
This looks like a glass of Coca-Cola after the ice has melted with a thin cream head.
Initially I was a little disappointed with the nose, I think I expected a full aged rum nose. I get charred wood with demerara sugar, there's a little bit of fruit evident but it's not prominent.
The palate however is a whole different beer. It tastes like 'Old Seadog' dark rum, it's balanced with some orange flavours, smokiness and some soft vanilla but the finish is really unusual it leaves a hot feeling, almost like the spiciness that you get from eating unsweetened natural black liquorice.
In some ways it's quite similar to Celebration Ale by Porterhouse but a little lighter in style. I'd try it with a winter stew or some smoked cheese.
Available in Whiskey finish, Rum finish and I.P.A
Ruthxx