Blog Tracker
10-02-2023, 07:15
Visit The Beer Nut site (https://thebeernut.blogspot.com/2023/02/on-town.html)
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-1gYnIUZ6fpZZRTKQFHp02J3SbSKUiZ2vcAQLK_qDGioZkDgwPa e8KZVeA1Cs9B3A-X-1W3qEe-d6bNUl9c99OGwuwyruTd1E8xWPZgyDF15SsO-PLRA4MYbxz6h94NZfokXmbf09kdM-11V6ZRIT2l9LUyAWcD_74VX0ONKnH9mYrPtSnaU/w155-h200/the_porterhouse_passion_fruit_ipa.jpg (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-1gYnIUZ6fpZZRTKQFHp02J3SbSKUiZ2vcAQLK_qDGioZkDgwPa e8KZVeA1Cs9B3A-X-1W3qEe-d6bNUl9c99OGwuwyruTd1E8xWPZgyDF15SsO-PLRA4MYbxz6h94NZfokXmbf09kdM-11V6ZRIT2l9LUyAWcD_74VX0ONKnH9mYrPtSnaU/s2625/the_porterhouse_passion_fruit_ipa.jpg)Late last year I mentioned (https://thebeernut.blogspot.com/2022/12/a-long-way-from-summer.html) that The Porterhouse had created two summer festival beers but that I only got to try one of them back at the pub. It turns out that either there was an overlooked keg of the other, or it was deemed good enough to be rebrewed, because here it was in late December: Passion Fruit IPA. After the fun of the lime lager I was ready to be impressed. I was not impressed. Although this is pleasingly and unfashionably clear, the fruit syrup is laid on thick and dominates the foretaste making it seem like an alcopop at first. Later that switches to quite a harsh leafy bitterness, so I guess it does at least qualify as both a fruit beer and an IPA: not everything claiming to be one does. But it's very basic and I think would work much better in the less critical environment of the al fresco festival rather than mid-winter in the pub.
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRg-Lbd0-RilumaMel-NIzkS-lJyWgnFqU9z9pYKRM15n2rmhQELmRGzLOjcZ2HfyplqE8MAzgJ 7NPRU_fsEa8yXcdvYTi6XOs4lpfJfaUV7KMhU9Ho1ay4BvndoJ 10_EE1COEW211ng7fiBUXOwhxrbFuW1ZIFPTdOstnXtF5vpxR-pLHNDs/w200-h114/fidelity_int.jpg (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRg-Lbd0-RilumaMel-NIzkS-lJyWgnFqU9z9pYKRM15n2rmhQELmRGzLOjcZ2HfyplqE8MAzgJ 7NPRU_fsEa8yXcdvYTi6XOs4lpfJfaUV7KMhU9Ho1ay4BvndoJ 10_EE1COEW211ng7fiBUXOwhxrbFuW1ZIFPTdOstnXtF5vpxR-pLHNDs/s3918/fidelity_int.jpg)The reason I was out in the first place was the opening of Fidelity, a new joint venture pub from Whiplash and The Big Romance people. They've done a thorough job of tarting up the grotty former Dice Bar on Queen Street and created Dublin's second high-end beer bar, a short stagger down the tram tracks from the first one.
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNeKpyRO8UZWCFwMTH3Md6QUOWBaWv2rRfmwzhu61V44 spd-Rww2CJCRnBZpgQnKaoVhmqH9Rb713ngOFqcBs4GqwhWxWK87Sj SAYqR9JS07Lv70X1w-A2wABak6r-T7MRThPHovOzCQCdBvo64IkPiZ3VDzNygLADjuCivkIWrLbTj6 oOn_Y/w134-h200/whiplash_the_dead_decoction_porter.jpg (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNeKpyRO8UZWCFwMTH3Md6QUOWBaWv2rRfmwzhu61V44 spd-Rww2CJCRnBZpgQnKaoVhmqH9Rb713ngOFqcBs4GqwhWxWK87Sj SAYqR9JS07Lv70X1w-A2wABak6r-T7MRThPHovOzCQCdBvo64IkPiZ3VDzNygLADjuCivkIWrLbTj6 oOn_Y/s3365/whiplash_the_dead_decoction_porter.jpg)The location by James Joyce bridge and the house from his story The Dead seems to have suffused into the beer menu, and my first here was itself called The Dead, a Whiplash porter that tends to get exported more than sold in Dublin. It's a callback to head brewer Alex's time in Guinness and is designed to taste like an old porter from there, made from the closest thing available to diastatic brown malt, given decoction mashing and some oak ageing. It's 5.5% ABV and wears chocolate up front; dark at first, then developing a caramel sweetness with dark fruit character: red grape or raisin. An additional character comes in the form of a mildly phenolic iodine smokiness. I thought I was in for something basic and accessible but there's a lot going on in this and it's well worth taking time over to explore.
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixamPtt8b0GEE6-DYHVPl00SmmUz1EHwDc1HG6JhWtROYzF3dm60xh6Xrs9acm6g0 cNLRsvpsP8yjhzk4ZrfBnAifOlHazGYQd8C_QdDPbdWC8XbUXY wTpT_jKjW_yebQFiBH1_SSDA17GkoSRCjYoYbLqgnrzgBEuk45 Z4qFiqV6NdO6LQF4/w158-h200/whiplash_telemachus_barleywine.jpg (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixamPtt8b0GEE6-DYHVPl00SmmUz1EHwDc1HG6JhWtROYzF3dm60xh6Xrs9acm6g0 cNLRsvpsP8yjhzk4ZrfBnAifOlHazGYQd8C_QdDPbdWC8XbUXY wTpT_jKjW_yebQFiBH1_SSDA17GkoSRCjYoYbLqgnrzgBEuk45 Z4qFiqV6NdO6LQF4/s2865/whiplash_telemachus_barleywine.jpg)Before departing, a glass of Telemachus, a 10.5% ABV barley wine aged in Marsala barrels. There's a strong liqueur aroma leaving no doubt about that strength, as well as burnt caramel and dark sherry. The texture is fantastically smooth while the Marsala dominates the flavour so intensely it almost doesn't taste like beer at all. There's lots of luscious soft grapes, loads of booze and a slight chocolate sweetness. This is definitely one to finish the night on, warming the belly as it coats the palate.
Fidelity is a most welcome addition to Dublin's beer scene. I'm envisioning regular two-stop crawls between it and UnderDog in 2023.
More... (https://thebeernut.blogspot.com/2023/02/on-town.html)
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-1gYnIUZ6fpZZRTKQFHp02J3SbSKUiZ2vcAQLK_qDGioZkDgwPa e8KZVeA1Cs9B3A-X-1W3qEe-d6bNUl9c99OGwuwyruTd1E8xWPZgyDF15SsO-PLRA4MYbxz6h94NZfokXmbf09kdM-11V6ZRIT2l9LUyAWcD_74VX0ONKnH9mYrPtSnaU/w155-h200/the_porterhouse_passion_fruit_ipa.jpg (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-1gYnIUZ6fpZZRTKQFHp02J3SbSKUiZ2vcAQLK_qDGioZkDgwPa e8KZVeA1Cs9B3A-X-1W3qEe-d6bNUl9c99OGwuwyruTd1E8xWPZgyDF15SsO-PLRA4MYbxz6h94NZfokXmbf09kdM-11V6ZRIT2l9LUyAWcD_74VX0ONKnH9mYrPtSnaU/s2625/the_porterhouse_passion_fruit_ipa.jpg)Late last year I mentioned (https://thebeernut.blogspot.com/2022/12/a-long-way-from-summer.html) that The Porterhouse had created two summer festival beers but that I only got to try one of them back at the pub. It turns out that either there was an overlooked keg of the other, or it was deemed good enough to be rebrewed, because here it was in late December: Passion Fruit IPA. After the fun of the lime lager I was ready to be impressed. I was not impressed. Although this is pleasingly and unfashionably clear, the fruit syrup is laid on thick and dominates the foretaste making it seem like an alcopop at first. Later that switches to quite a harsh leafy bitterness, so I guess it does at least qualify as both a fruit beer and an IPA: not everything claiming to be one does. But it's very basic and I think would work much better in the less critical environment of the al fresco festival rather than mid-winter in the pub.
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRg-Lbd0-RilumaMel-NIzkS-lJyWgnFqU9z9pYKRM15n2rmhQELmRGzLOjcZ2HfyplqE8MAzgJ 7NPRU_fsEa8yXcdvYTi6XOs4lpfJfaUV7KMhU9Ho1ay4BvndoJ 10_EE1COEW211ng7fiBUXOwhxrbFuW1ZIFPTdOstnXtF5vpxR-pLHNDs/w200-h114/fidelity_int.jpg (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRg-Lbd0-RilumaMel-NIzkS-lJyWgnFqU9z9pYKRM15n2rmhQELmRGzLOjcZ2HfyplqE8MAzgJ 7NPRU_fsEa8yXcdvYTi6XOs4lpfJfaUV7KMhU9Ho1ay4BvndoJ 10_EE1COEW211ng7fiBUXOwhxrbFuW1ZIFPTdOstnXtF5vpxR-pLHNDs/s3918/fidelity_int.jpg)The reason I was out in the first place was the opening of Fidelity, a new joint venture pub from Whiplash and The Big Romance people. They've done a thorough job of tarting up the grotty former Dice Bar on Queen Street and created Dublin's second high-end beer bar, a short stagger down the tram tracks from the first one.
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNeKpyRO8UZWCFwMTH3Md6QUOWBaWv2rRfmwzhu61V44 spd-Rww2CJCRnBZpgQnKaoVhmqH9Rb713ngOFqcBs4GqwhWxWK87Sj SAYqR9JS07Lv70X1w-A2wABak6r-T7MRThPHovOzCQCdBvo64IkPiZ3VDzNygLADjuCivkIWrLbTj6 oOn_Y/w134-h200/whiplash_the_dead_decoction_porter.jpg (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNeKpyRO8UZWCFwMTH3Md6QUOWBaWv2rRfmwzhu61V44 spd-Rww2CJCRnBZpgQnKaoVhmqH9Rb713ngOFqcBs4GqwhWxWK87Sj SAYqR9JS07Lv70X1w-A2wABak6r-T7MRThPHovOzCQCdBvo64IkPiZ3VDzNygLADjuCivkIWrLbTj6 oOn_Y/s3365/whiplash_the_dead_decoction_porter.jpg)The location by James Joyce bridge and the house from his story The Dead seems to have suffused into the beer menu, and my first here was itself called The Dead, a Whiplash porter that tends to get exported more than sold in Dublin. It's a callback to head brewer Alex's time in Guinness and is designed to taste like an old porter from there, made from the closest thing available to diastatic brown malt, given decoction mashing and some oak ageing. It's 5.5% ABV and wears chocolate up front; dark at first, then developing a caramel sweetness with dark fruit character: red grape or raisin. An additional character comes in the form of a mildly phenolic iodine smokiness. I thought I was in for something basic and accessible but there's a lot going on in this and it's well worth taking time over to explore.
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixamPtt8b0GEE6-DYHVPl00SmmUz1EHwDc1HG6JhWtROYzF3dm60xh6Xrs9acm6g0 cNLRsvpsP8yjhzk4ZrfBnAifOlHazGYQd8C_QdDPbdWC8XbUXY wTpT_jKjW_yebQFiBH1_SSDA17GkoSRCjYoYbLqgnrzgBEuk45 Z4qFiqV6NdO6LQF4/w158-h200/whiplash_telemachus_barleywine.jpg (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixamPtt8b0GEE6-DYHVPl00SmmUz1EHwDc1HG6JhWtROYzF3dm60xh6Xrs9acm6g0 cNLRsvpsP8yjhzk4ZrfBnAifOlHazGYQd8C_QdDPbdWC8XbUXY wTpT_jKjW_yebQFiBH1_SSDA17GkoSRCjYoYbLqgnrzgBEuk45 Z4qFiqV6NdO6LQF4/s2865/whiplash_telemachus_barleywine.jpg)Before departing, a glass of Telemachus, a 10.5% ABV barley wine aged in Marsala barrels. There's a strong liqueur aroma leaving no doubt about that strength, as well as burnt caramel and dark sherry. The texture is fantastically smooth while the Marsala dominates the flavour so intensely it almost doesn't taste like beer at all. There's lots of luscious soft grapes, loads of booze and a slight chocolate sweetness. This is definitely one to finish the night on, warming the belly as it coats the palate.
Fidelity is a most welcome addition to Dublin's beer scene. I'm envisioning regular two-stop crawls between it and UnderDog in 2023.
More... (https://thebeernut.blogspot.com/2023/02/on-town.html)