Blog Tracker
12-12-2022, 09:20
Visit The Beer Nut site (https://thebeernut.blogspot.com/2022/12/whatever-youre-into.html)
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjagP2XPAONdvwX5nX66qIul-MXAfYy1KEiQcD8uRtGHzp-opk2LC7VBEjb9d9POan_vzzbKNEowmoeO5sb4o0Y9cYA0UI5oQ ZQj-ziYVuIv5837LPgrSulsCv7EGrkSaGe1q03PW46HV4xoyeXgNJY I5zpxH1zvp19Eq-UA6uHLDg3_Du6I64/w187-h200/galway_bay_boundary_beers_that_nobody_asked_for_pe tite_saison.jpg (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjagP2XPAONdvwX5nX66qIul-MXAfYy1KEiQcD8uRtGHzp-opk2LC7VBEjb9d9POan_vzzbKNEowmoeO5sb4o0Y9cYA0UI5oQ ZQj-ziYVuIv5837LPgrSulsCv7EGrkSaGe1q03PW46HV4xoyeXgNJY I5zpxH1zvp19Eq-UA6uHLDg3_Du6I64/s2415/galway_bay_boundary_beers_that_nobody_asked_for_pe tite_saison.jpg)I have a real fondness for how Galway Bay Brewery, a big player in this country's independent beer scene, tends to follow the interests of its head brewer in its output. I guess it's because the core range, vertically integrated into its pub chain, is the main part of the business, whereas the stuff I buy and review is a tiny fraction. Regardless, it's charming. So we get lots of lagers and today it's nods towards Belgium and American IPA back when it was good.
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI2bIndT7TzqUPCAqt5geIOarCDIm_QaEBSesV89cbKR uxweoDt85u3qC1TLgeInZ1r--taWWai0yUVDKopcifcAypg_eOLCNg6xKgaxLJSK_RT5n5IxSq0 G7b_2Op3PR3aAq1by_oM2NJQV8pZZbAEJzCg3QvvVgZOmJ4uPJ JovpBfcNIsMI/w158-h200/galway_bay_the_bots_are_back_in_town_belgian_pale_ ale.jpg (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI2bIndT7TzqUPCAqt5geIOarCDIm_QaEBSesV89cbKR uxweoDt85u3qC1TLgeInZ1r--taWWai0yUVDKopcifcAypg_eOLCNg6xKgaxLJSK_RT5n5IxSq0 G7b_2Op3PR3aAq1by_oM2NJQV8pZZbAEJzCg3QvvVgZOmJ4uPJ JovpBfcNIsMI/s2855/galway_bay_the_bots_are_back_in_town_belgian_pale_ ale.jpg)We begin with Beers That Nobody Asked For, a Boundary name on a Boundary collaboration. It's a petite saison: golden, hazy and 3.8% ABV. The aroma is a mix of sweetly fruity bubblegum and savoury herbal spice. The latter is, I assume, down to the lemongrass advertised on the label. Seems like it might be a bit busy but the flavour is altogether more restrained, presenting a dry pithy note: a little grapefruit and a little straw. The strength is apparent from the mouthfeel but it's not unpleasantly thin, being instead light and drinkable in the table beer fashion. There's not much by way of complexity on offer here -- it's made for quenching thirst more than offering bloggers something to analyse. But analyse I have and it's too late to change that now.
Continuing the Belgian theme, this bottle of The Bots Are Back In Town was a kind gift from the brewery on the first night of the revamped Against the Grain when it refused to come out of the shiny new taps. It's described as a Belgian pale ale and the packaging format is intended to hold in considerable carbonation. I poured carefully and sure enough a stiff mass of froth formed quickly over the subtly hazy straw-coloured body. A light and fresh aroma of peach, pineapple and pepper tells us we're definitely in Belgium, via Oranmore. There's more of a citrus tang in the flavour, but in the old-world fashion of big jaffa oranges and grapefruit marmalade. Beside it is a funky farmy spice with more than an echo of fine saison about it. Pleasingly, the fizz doesn't get in the way of any of this -- the texture is soft and the whole thing very approachable. It doesn't have the flavour intensity of, say, De Ranke XX Bitter or Taras Boulba, but it's still very good: both 4.5% ABV and built to savour slowly.
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipekEoIdjfsELvZgEywddoeb8aNBjWiGQT7NoMnKMOuh ckEOdJkPISXGcv1npUENR2jrk9LknwgN_uK7RFlOvHRGtulMnA pL9XEz-PwagpNdmT_6i5HfBTJZ4-9R9_-EitYtQokzfWUWGNiSkh7zj6GwVDhTkX8pdLGnaXT3mX9wYmQs--ak4/w145-h200/galway_bay_oregon_grown_west_coast_ipa.jpg (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipekEoIdjfsELvZgEywddoeb8aNBjWiGQT7NoMnKMOuh ckEOdJkPISXGcv1npUENR2jrk9LknwgN_uK7RFlOvHRGtulMnA pL9XEz-PwagpNdmT_6i5HfBTJZ4-9R9_-EitYtQokzfWUWGNiSkh7zj6GwVDhTkX8pdLGnaXT3mX9wYmQs--ak4/s3115/galway_bay_oregon_grown_west_coast_ipa.jpg)Oregon Grown is back for a fourth round, this time with Columbus, Centennial, Chinook and Cascade. It's an old-fashioned combination but it wears it well, ensuring first of all that there's a steady malt base in place. That gives it an amber colour, retro-clear, and a pinch of toffee sweetness. You don't get much time to appreciate the malt, however, because those hops get very busy very quickly. It's insanely resinous, jam packed full of marijuana, pine and grapefruit zest, opening bright and fresh then finishing on a hard damp-grass bitterness. It's not subtle, nor meant to be I'm sure, but there's a subtle fruity nuance of strawberry and blackcurrant. While the general west coast revival has shown a tendency to fudge things on matters of clarity and bitterness, this one is all-in authentic-tasting.
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ-vI5UNNKcLP1CMfG7ttcXAzgM3HqCwnUV1a5oVMDV065wQfXs_i 5R7p-Wb2DX2oMIhosh521C8up5VH7zu1oS2KZyODXu9W5xv5PdG6rBn u2WN5sf0fIvy7RPtEx0sRVuiuQ6ShiOlT5nHV0g5gQYnhV2oG3 D76CH004ZG0-9fpRg95Xmms/w143-h200/galway_bay_oregon_grown_hazy_ipa.jpg (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ-vI5UNNKcLP1CMfG7ttcXAzgM3HqCwnUV1a5oVMDV065wQfXs_i 5R7p-Wb2DX2oMIhosh521C8up5VH7zu1oS2KZyODXu9W5xv5PdG6rBn u2WN5sf0fIvy7RPtEx0sRVuiuQ6ShiOlT5nHV0g5gQYnhV2oG3 D76CH004ZG0-9fpRg95Xmms/s2860/galway_bay_oregon_grown_hazy_ipa.jpg)But of course they couldn't leave it there, and added a companion fifth Oregon Grown: Idaho 7, El Dorado & Azacca. More importantly than the hop list, this one is hazy, and properly so. It's every bit as New Englandy as the previous one is western. The mouthfeel is full-on creamy and the flavour blends sweet and juicy mandarin with a touch of pithy bitterness and a kick of dank resins on the end. 6% ABV means it's light enough for by-the-pint drinking, and none of the flavour elements builds on the palate enough to make it difficult. I don't know if this pair is where the series ends, but they're an educational set, reminding drinkers respectively how American-style IPA should be, and how it actually is now.
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQOf7MOZnQNpBxB_istCtA9LL7vACpf99xrKOxQbgv4c tKvWKox0wFrwzEnvQfbyaN1IceY13uKUklnZOXc5Sod_2wBnds-qhJDDNFvQgLE6pvF7ngO29cY3dh55rdrIAycFj7eXfDhIc5nwf ALRtZ7MQK7fmGF4JUyt3CSS3ES_fJOGdga_w/w193-h200/galway_bay_fuerst_wiacek_pda_ipa.jpg (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQOf7MOZnQNpBxB_istCtA9LL7vACpf99xrKOxQbgv4c tKvWKox0wFrwzEnvQfbyaN1IceY13uKUklnZOXc5Sod_2wBnds-qhJDDNFvQgLE6pvF7ngO29cY3dh55rdrIAycFj7eXfDhIc5nwf ALRtZ7MQK7fmGF4JUyt3CSS3ES_fJOGdga_w/s2340/galway_bay_fuerst_wiacek_pda_ipa.jpg)When the ex-head brewer of Galway Bay, Chris, was back in Ireland over the summer they had him help with an IPA, allowing it to be badged as a collaboration with his current employer Fuerst Wiacek in Berlin. The result is PDA, a hazy sunset-coloured one, 6.8% ABV and hopped with Idaho 7, Citra, Mosaic and Nelson Sauvin. It smells simultaneously juicy and pithy, which isn't all that surprising given the combination. The flavour goes bitterer than I expected from that: the Nelson swings in with its hard grassy minerality, teaming up with Citra's oily lime peel. There's room for a sweeter tropical side but it doesn't materialise, finishing tangy and acidic instead. Despite appearances, this isn't really for haze fans. Although the soft mouthfeel leaves it far from the west coast style, the flavour profile is very much in that direction. I wasn't wowed, but I liked what it does. A higher proportion of Nelson might have brought us somewhere a little more interesting but I can't really complain: all four hops have their say.
End-to-end quality product, and now the wonderful smoked Märzen is back (https://twitter.com/galwaybeer/status/1596149754991300608) too. Happy Christmas to me!
More... (https://thebeernut.blogspot.com/2022/12/whatever-youre-into.html)
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjagP2XPAONdvwX5nX66qIul-MXAfYy1KEiQcD8uRtGHzp-opk2LC7VBEjb9d9POan_vzzbKNEowmoeO5sb4o0Y9cYA0UI5oQ ZQj-ziYVuIv5837LPgrSulsCv7EGrkSaGe1q03PW46HV4xoyeXgNJY I5zpxH1zvp19Eq-UA6uHLDg3_Du6I64/w187-h200/galway_bay_boundary_beers_that_nobody_asked_for_pe tite_saison.jpg (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjagP2XPAONdvwX5nX66qIul-MXAfYy1KEiQcD8uRtGHzp-opk2LC7VBEjb9d9POan_vzzbKNEowmoeO5sb4o0Y9cYA0UI5oQ ZQj-ziYVuIv5837LPgrSulsCv7EGrkSaGe1q03PW46HV4xoyeXgNJY I5zpxH1zvp19Eq-UA6uHLDg3_Du6I64/s2415/galway_bay_boundary_beers_that_nobody_asked_for_pe tite_saison.jpg)I have a real fondness for how Galway Bay Brewery, a big player in this country's independent beer scene, tends to follow the interests of its head brewer in its output. I guess it's because the core range, vertically integrated into its pub chain, is the main part of the business, whereas the stuff I buy and review is a tiny fraction. Regardless, it's charming. So we get lots of lagers and today it's nods towards Belgium and American IPA back when it was good.
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI2bIndT7TzqUPCAqt5geIOarCDIm_QaEBSesV89cbKR uxweoDt85u3qC1TLgeInZ1r--taWWai0yUVDKopcifcAypg_eOLCNg6xKgaxLJSK_RT5n5IxSq0 G7b_2Op3PR3aAq1by_oM2NJQV8pZZbAEJzCg3QvvVgZOmJ4uPJ JovpBfcNIsMI/w158-h200/galway_bay_the_bots_are_back_in_town_belgian_pale_ ale.jpg (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI2bIndT7TzqUPCAqt5geIOarCDIm_QaEBSesV89cbKR uxweoDt85u3qC1TLgeInZ1r--taWWai0yUVDKopcifcAypg_eOLCNg6xKgaxLJSK_RT5n5IxSq0 G7b_2Op3PR3aAq1by_oM2NJQV8pZZbAEJzCg3QvvVgZOmJ4uPJ JovpBfcNIsMI/s2855/galway_bay_the_bots_are_back_in_town_belgian_pale_ ale.jpg)We begin with Beers That Nobody Asked For, a Boundary name on a Boundary collaboration. It's a petite saison: golden, hazy and 3.8% ABV. The aroma is a mix of sweetly fruity bubblegum and savoury herbal spice. The latter is, I assume, down to the lemongrass advertised on the label. Seems like it might be a bit busy but the flavour is altogether more restrained, presenting a dry pithy note: a little grapefruit and a little straw. The strength is apparent from the mouthfeel but it's not unpleasantly thin, being instead light and drinkable in the table beer fashion. There's not much by way of complexity on offer here -- it's made for quenching thirst more than offering bloggers something to analyse. But analyse I have and it's too late to change that now.
Continuing the Belgian theme, this bottle of The Bots Are Back In Town was a kind gift from the brewery on the first night of the revamped Against the Grain when it refused to come out of the shiny new taps. It's described as a Belgian pale ale and the packaging format is intended to hold in considerable carbonation. I poured carefully and sure enough a stiff mass of froth formed quickly over the subtly hazy straw-coloured body. A light and fresh aroma of peach, pineapple and pepper tells us we're definitely in Belgium, via Oranmore. There's more of a citrus tang in the flavour, but in the old-world fashion of big jaffa oranges and grapefruit marmalade. Beside it is a funky farmy spice with more than an echo of fine saison about it. Pleasingly, the fizz doesn't get in the way of any of this -- the texture is soft and the whole thing very approachable. It doesn't have the flavour intensity of, say, De Ranke XX Bitter or Taras Boulba, but it's still very good: both 4.5% ABV and built to savour slowly.
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipekEoIdjfsELvZgEywddoeb8aNBjWiGQT7NoMnKMOuh ckEOdJkPISXGcv1npUENR2jrk9LknwgN_uK7RFlOvHRGtulMnA pL9XEz-PwagpNdmT_6i5HfBTJZ4-9R9_-EitYtQokzfWUWGNiSkh7zj6GwVDhTkX8pdLGnaXT3mX9wYmQs--ak4/w145-h200/galway_bay_oregon_grown_west_coast_ipa.jpg (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipekEoIdjfsELvZgEywddoeb8aNBjWiGQT7NoMnKMOuh ckEOdJkPISXGcv1npUENR2jrk9LknwgN_uK7RFlOvHRGtulMnA pL9XEz-PwagpNdmT_6i5HfBTJZ4-9R9_-EitYtQokzfWUWGNiSkh7zj6GwVDhTkX8pdLGnaXT3mX9wYmQs--ak4/s3115/galway_bay_oregon_grown_west_coast_ipa.jpg)Oregon Grown is back for a fourth round, this time with Columbus, Centennial, Chinook and Cascade. It's an old-fashioned combination but it wears it well, ensuring first of all that there's a steady malt base in place. That gives it an amber colour, retro-clear, and a pinch of toffee sweetness. You don't get much time to appreciate the malt, however, because those hops get very busy very quickly. It's insanely resinous, jam packed full of marijuana, pine and grapefruit zest, opening bright and fresh then finishing on a hard damp-grass bitterness. It's not subtle, nor meant to be I'm sure, but there's a subtle fruity nuance of strawberry and blackcurrant. While the general west coast revival has shown a tendency to fudge things on matters of clarity and bitterness, this one is all-in authentic-tasting.
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ-vI5UNNKcLP1CMfG7ttcXAzgM3HqCwnUV1a5oVMDV065wQfXs_i 5R7p-Wb2DX2oMIhosh521C8up5VH7zu1oS2KZyODXu9W5xv5PdG6rBn u2WN5sf0fIvy7RPtEx0sRVuiuQ6ShiOlT5nHV0g5gQYnhV2oG3 D76CH004ZG0-9fpRg95Xmms/w143-h200/galway_bay_oregon_grown_hazy_ipa.jpg (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ-vI5UNNKcLP1CMfG7ttcXAzgM3HqCwnUV1a5oVMDV065wQfXs_i 5R7p-Wb2DX2oMIhosh521C8up5VH7zu1oS2KZyODXu9W5xv5PdG6rBn u2WN5sf0fIvy7RPtEx0sRVuiuQ6ShiOlT5nHV0g5gQYnhV2oG3 D76CH004ZG0-9fpRg95Xmms/s2860/galway_bay_oregon_grown_hazy_ipa.jpg)But of course they couldn't leave it there, and added a companion fifth Oregon Grown: Idaho 7, El Dorado & Azacca. More importantly than the hop list, this one is hazy, and properly so. It's every bit as New Englandy as the previous one is western. The mouthfeel is full-on creamy and the flavour blends sweet and juicy mandarin with a touch of pithy bitterness and a kick of dank resins on the end. 6% ABV means it's light enough for by-the-pint drinking, and none of the flavour elements builds on the palate enough to make it difficult. I don't know if this pair is where the series ends, but they're an educational set, reminding drinkers respectively how American-style IPA should be, and how it actually is now.
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQOf7MOZnQNpBxB_istCtA9LL7vACpf99xrKOxQbgv4c tKvWKox0wFrwzEnvQfbyaN1IceY13uKUklnZOXc5Sod_2wBnds-qhJDDNFvQgLE6pvF7ngO29cY3dh55rdrIAycFj7eXfDhIc5nwf ALRtZ7MQK7fmGF4JUyt3CSS3ES_fJOGdga_w/w193-h200/galway_bay_fuerst_wiacek_pda_ipa.jpg (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQOf7MOZnQNpBxB_istCtA9LL7vACpf99xrKOxQbgv4c tKvWKox0wFrwzEnvQfbyaN1IceY13uKUklnZOXc5Sod_2wBnds-qhJDDNFvQgLE6pvF7ngO29cY3dh55rdrIAycFj7eXfDhIc5nwf ALRtZ7MQK7fmGF4JUyt3CSS3ES_fJOGdga_w/s2340/galway_bay_fuerst_wiacek_pda_ipa.jpg)When the ex-head brewer of Galway Bay, Chris, was back in Ireland over the summer they had him help with an IPA, allowing it to be badged as a collaboration with his current employer Fuerst Wiacek in Berlin. The result is PDA, a hazy sunset-coloured one, 6.8% ABV and hopped with Idaho 7, Citra, Mosaic and Nelson Sauvin. It smells simultaneously juicy and pithy, which isn't all that surprising given the combination. The flavour goes bitterer than I expected from that: the Nelson swings in with its hard grassy minerality, teaming up with Citra's oily lime peel. There's room for a sweeter tropical side but it doesn't materialise, finishing tangy and acidic instead. Despite appearances, this isn't really for haze fans. Although the soft mouthfeel leaves it far from the west coast style, the flavour profile is very much in that direction. I wasn't wowed, but I liked what it does. A higher proportion of Nelson might have brought us somewhere a little more interesting but I can't really complain: all four hops have their say.
End-to-end quality product, and now the wonderful smoked Märzen is back (https://twitter.com/galwaybeer/status/1596149754991300608) too. Happy Christmas to me!
More... (https://thebeernut.blogspot.com/2022/12/whatever-youre-into.html)