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Thursday, March 18, 2010

Irish Beer Fest @ Foley's


...Foley's Irish Beer fest is well underway, and we jostled our way through the craic-seeking crowds last night to sample some new (to us) beers from the Emerald Isle.

First up, Fransiscan Well's Friar Weisse - and our favourite of the night. Not much of a head, but a gorgeous hazy yellow colour, sweet in the body yet clean, and with plenty of almond and banana notes. A seriously easy pint to drink, this refreshing version of a favourite style of mine hit the spot.

An IPA next - and by that I mean White Gypsy's Emerald Pale Ale. It does what it says on the tin, really - a bitter, straw-coloured pale with a smooth body and a decent floral-hop aroma. Again, very good indeed, and a beer whose smoothness belies a 5%abv hit.

Hilden's Scullion Irish Ale brought way more to the table in terms of malt bill - this amber packs a lot of flavour in. Toffee and a little smoke on the nose, but with an intensely fruity taste that dries out quite quickly. Powerful, and even a little warming, but thoroughly enjoyable. Hilden's offshoot College Green Brewery's Belfast Blonde returned us to a paler land, and this was another highlight of the night. Ultra-pale, ultra clean, but with a grassy hop aroma, this is another beer I'd like to drink a lot more of. Wonderful.

It wouldn't have been right to not try a stout, so College Green's Molly's Chocolate Stout got a look in. Although a decent stout - smoky, with about the right balance of roastiness to soft bitterness, I couldn't really discern much chocolate in the body. Still, with all this good beer in front of me, I was more than content.

Do try and get yourself over to Foley's to partake - although I don't know how much will be left by the weekend! And if anyone can recommend any Irish Craft Brewers I need to seek out, please do. I've been fairly impressed so far.

6 comments:

The Beer Nut said...

Look out for the Porterhouse bottles, and especially the Brainblásta strong ale.

Friar Weisse is an interesting beer: no two batches are alike and it can be a Bavarian Weiss one week and a Belgian Wit the next, hitting all points in between at others. Never had it on cask, though. It's probably even more random.

Paul Garrard said...

I had a pint of Hilden's Gael Rua Irish Red Ale last night. It was disgusting. I don't think cellarmanship was in question, I think it was the way it was brewed. In a coal scuttle by the taste of it. Yuk!

Leigh said...

TBN - you know, its funny you should say that because I did like that Lemony edge to the weisse - i can see who it may lean towards Witty flavours. Yeah, nice point. And i had the chance to try the Brainblasta in Porterhouse in London a few weeks back but passed it up - would it be the same thing on tap? Paul - that's a shame!!

The Beer Nut said...

I had a Gael Rua last night and rather liked it. Do you normally like smoked beers, Paul? If Schlenkerla did a pale ale, it would be Gael Rua.

The Beer Nut said...

The bottled Brainblásta is much better than the keg version, I think. It's far smoother.

Leigh said...

A Schlenkerla Pale...now THAT sounds interesting. I guess that could account for that smokiness then. Thanks for the tip, mate.