29 November, 2010

Midnight Sun by Williams

Midnight Sun is a 5.6% dark and spicy Porter from the Williams Brothers, Alloa, Scotland.
The nose exudes chocolate, orange peel, coffee and fresh ginger. The palate is smooth and creamy but light in comparison to other dark porters we've tried of late. Ginger, coffee and chocolate are the predominant flavours.

These 2 lads dropped in on Saturday to buy a bottle of Smirnoff and left with the intended purchase and a couple of bottles of the above. Job done!

Available from Deveney's Off-Licence.
Ruthxx.

26 November, 2010

Roisin by Williams Bros.

Friday Fact: Tayberry A cross between a raspberry and a blackberry
Roisin by Williams Brothers uses this ominous but delicious sounding berry in the brewing process of this beer.
It pours a darker shade of golden with a lovely pink hue.
It smells like fresh raspberries and cream with some floral hop aromas.
The palate is tart raspberry with really refreshing hop flavours, crisp and clean with a slightly sweet finish.
Try this with a summer pudding or even a spicy curry.
Unusual and delicious.
Sold 6 bottles since writing this post.
Ruthxx

Odell Isolation Ale '10

There are 2 things I look forward to when the temperature drops below -1C.
The first being, the new season of Desperate Housewives and the second is the arrival of some really good winter beers.
This is definitely the best I've tried yet. This brewery is fast becoming my favourite new arrival.
Odell Isolation Ale, a 6.1% ale that has a colour quite similar to the once- banned red lemonade T.K.
The second the crown cap is off I get strong notes of Turkish delight and violet. When poured into the glass these are prominent along with some floral hop aromas.
The palate is dry with flavours of burnt toffee, floral hop and a nice acidity.
So far, this for me is the favourite Winter '10 but there's a range still to come.
Stay tuned!!!
Ruthxx

20 November, 2010

Sierra Nevada Tumbler 2010.

We rarely do a Saturday tasting but due to the apparent match - All Black vs. Ireland, it left us a little stuck for customers.
A tumble weed afternoon led us to Sierra Nevada Tumbler... Fitted right in with the afternoon atmosphere.
It pours a ginger-ale colour with a thin white head. This Autumn brown ale actually both smells and tastes of Autumn.
The nose has a distinct earthiness - soil and grassy notes, a little bit of coffee and some Sunday roast beef.
The palate tastes like coffee and cream with a bonfire smokiness and a hint of sweetness on the finish.
We tasted and all liked it, despite my pre-conceived ideas.
Just in the door and available on a 4 for €10 special.
Ruthxx

Rosey Nosey - Batemans

Rosey Nosey arrived in this afternoon.
After putting the Christmas spirit window together we cracked the crown on this familiar Christmas beer.
 It pours a light brown with red and pink tones and a thin white head.
The nose, Eoin describes as very similar to Samichlaus - sweet and sticky.
It smells like sweet caramel, milk chocolate, a little bit of cinnamon and some stone fruit.
The palate is completely different. It's dry with a meaty and savoury earthiness. No fruit at all. It has a nice carbonation.
I'd regard this a thirst quencher. Try it with a sandwich containing the left-overs from the Christmas dinner. Good home cooked salty ham and some hot mustard- St Stephen's Day special!!
Declan had just returned from McDonald's after partaking in his four cheeseburger  ritual and joined the tasting, He insisted on a photograph - I almost always keep my promise Declan!!
Ruthxx

16 November, 2010

Santa's Butt, Winter Porter.

Santa's Butt is the second instalment of our vast Christmas beer selection, the balance is on a boat somewhere in the North Atlantic Ocean- we're hoping to see it this side of December 25th.
Santa's Butt is a Winter Porter, apparently a Winter Porter differs from any other Porter because of 2 things, first being it's released in Winter (surprisingly enough) and second is that it's a racier style. Certainly the label is racier, my first concern when looking at this label is Santa's cholesterol level, that is one very big behind and I'm also hoping he's not stuck for cash - he clearly needs new trousers.
The beer, as you can see is a dark porter style with reddish/ amber tones and a thin cream coloured head.
It smells like espresso, clove and liquorice but not the Christmas nose I normally get crazy excited about. It smells like any other dark porter or stout, very nice but not seasonal.
The palate is loaded with black chocolate and liquorice but it's a much lighter palate than I anticipated.It's smooth with a long finish and loads of flavour.
Will post on the Christmas beers as they arrive.
Ruthxx

Sink the Bismark in store.

Maybe we don't live in an economy where flaunting disposable income is condoned but sometimes you just see something that you know you'll regret if you don't dig deep and find the cash!!!...
Sink the Bismark by our pals at Brewdog is available to purchase, Guess where?...
Deveney's of Dundrum, we now have not one but two bottles for sale.
The price is slightly more then Trashy Blond or 77 Lager .
At a mere €74.90 it has your name all over it!
You also get a free bottle stopper at no extra cost!!! Ruthxx

15 November, 2010

Weisser Hirsch.

There's nothing quite like kicking off your week with an early start which includes opening shutter's, boiling the kettle, changing the cctv camera and opening a brand new beer - this my friends, is work as I know it!! It will get progressively more difficult as the day proceeds but right now, for these few minutes, it's the best profession in the World! Just for the record, may I clarify, this is tasting not boozing - I am also not operating heavy machinery or climbing in behind the wheel of my car for another 12 hours, so safe? It couldn't be safer!.
I took in approximately 15 new beers last week. This has a swing top so I can open it at 11.09am, swing-top it into place and resume consumption at 10.20pm this evening.
Weisser Hirsch joined the rest of her family in our refrigeration unit last Friday.
This pours a very light almost lager colour weiss with a heavy white frothy head.
The second I open the bottle I can smell ripe banana and vanilla ice-cream. In the glass, the nose changes to banana and black peppercorn.
The palate has a light fizz, very creamy with flavours of ripe banana and clove - very typical but it has this lovely light finish with a slight lift in acidity at the end.
Definitely a beer I'd serve with some nice 60% Brie and a French stick.
Very nice!!
Ruthxx

11 November, 2010

Sharp's Chalky's Bark.

Eoin Deveney takes a bad picture
Chalky's Bark - Sharp's, Cornwall
Absolutely anything that contains ginger has me sold, immediately. It's up there with cinnamon as a favourite pastry flavour.
This pours a lager colour with a thin white head - Budweiser?!!!! It does look like Budweiser!
The nose smells like Christmas. Slight smokiness with candied orange and spicy notes - not solely ginger, definitely my 2nd favourite pastry flavour features and orange peel.
The palate is quite light with some subtle flavours, predominantly orange with some fresh ginger spiciness, slightly honeyed and a dry finish.
Eoin reckons it's very refreshing and despite having an orange phobia!!! (no exaggeration) seems pleased with his beer choice this evening.
Try it with a spiced beef sandwich and redcurrant jelly - aka: Christmas Eve after work in the Deveney household.
Very enjoyable!
Ruth & Eoin xx

10 November, 2010

Humming Ale by Anchor Steam

Humming Ale by Anchor Brewery
 I no more felt like opening and sampling a beer this evening. I unfortunately went against my personal mid-week rule and had a late night teamed with a few too many which equates to a torturous 12 hour Wednesday shift. I had reason to though. An old pal that I spent a summer with 10 years ago came to visit this week and he was over for a cheese plate, a couple of Chimay blue and two too many Del fin del Mundo, Malbec. All fabulous at the time, maybe laughed too close to the face of ''under the weather'' but definitely worth it!.
The Humming Ale is delicious. Pours a little- to- no head topping a rich golden ale with hints of tawny and red. Very appealing aesthetically.
It smells even better though. I get orange peel and peach notes with a floral hop background. On the palate it has this lovely refreshing carbonation - almost like Champagne fizz. Floral and citrus flavours with hop characteristics and some peach flavours on the finish. Really clean and refreshing.
Really good even without a beer pang!!!
Ruthxx

03 November, 2010

Weaver's Gold, Blonde Irish Ale- Clanconnel

I haven't tasted this since the Festival in August and although it was one of the only I sampled on that night, I had difficulty remembering what it was I liked and more importantly what it was that you all liked.
Aahhhh my memory has been jogged!
It pours as you can see, this golden bright lemon colour with a white frothy head.
The nose is fresh and clean with lemon, grapefruit and some apple notes.
We all tasted it - Tom, myself, 2 World beer customers and Damien, The avid Dutch Gold drinker.
The palate is all lemon. I can't describe this any better than a 'Fat' palate, it has weight in it that's not expected, probably due to the creamy background and the fact that lemon is not a flavour that I'd associate with fatness.
A very pleasant surprise and 4/5 of the tasting crew liked it.
Damien on the other hand wasn't too impressed, I'm working on converting him from commercial can to premium bottle and currently all I'm getting is resistance, this is a nut I plan to crack soon though.
Clanconnel, Weaver's Gold is definitely worth a try - Well done Mark!
Ruthxx

Official Tasting- Saturday November 6th, 2010.

This Saturday!!!!!!
The official Blue Moon/ Grolsch Weizen/ Kasteel Cru tasting is taking place this Saturday - November 6th 2010 in Deveney's of Dundrum.
Our host for the evening is the lovely Des McCann and he will be taking us through the 4 styles with finesse and Molson elegance.
The tasting will commence at 7pm and will run until 9pm.
*All Welcome* (Over 18's only)
Venue: Deveney's of Dundrum, 31 main street, Dundrum, Dublin 16
Date: Saturday November 6th 2010
Time: 7-9pm
Hope to see you all here!!
Ruthxx