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19-04-2023, 09:41
Visit The Beer Nut site (https://thebeernut.blogspot.com/2023/04/two-big-lads-from-galway.html)
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvwZ3TRP4zJyqHnoSsC1cXd5oSalvMG7-CsTT0qfqfdOw63kGFN3dE1-ucZ81M4mlx6BaOSBSMHb27EzJyLBEfdtz1bdVC4IH6oy6ZF0rb 7Mn6ziUBEJBhQ1DUcsz6bdapv46-bof7M8FUL2P0BOprCE27o0ngHbAy0fNQ4kc1fo-G2Rz9HqQ/w122-h200/galway_bay_richer_sounds_west_coast_dipa.jpg (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvwZ3TRP4zJyqHnoSsC1cXd5oSalvMG7-CsTT0qfqfdOw63kGFN3dE1-ucZ81M4mlx6BaOSBSMHb27EzJyLBEfdtz1bdVC4IH6oy6ZF0rb 7Mn6ziUBEJBhQ1DUcsz6bdapv46-bof7M8FUL2P0BOprCE27o0ngHbAy0fNQ4kc1fo-G2Rz9HqQ/s3385/galway_bay_richer_sounds_west_coast_dipa.jpg)This pair of whoppers from Galway Bay Brewery arrived simultaneously in late March. When I noticed they were on draught side-by-side in Against the Grain, I went in to try them out.
The lighter of the two is Richer Sounds, a double IPA of 9.5% ABV. To my palate, this has a lot in common with the brewery's flagship DIPA, Of Foam & Fury, though I can't be more specific on which version of that recipe. I mean it as a compliment, however. It's very much classically constructed in a 2013 sort of way, starting on a heavy yet clean malt base, one which leaves a lovely warming glow in its wake. Onto this is piled heaps of citrus bitterness, and I picked out sharp lime in particular. There's nothing else fancy that this does, and certainly no flaws or off-flavours. It's simple but very impressive. If it's a retro powerhouse you're after, here's the beer.
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuGyewSKlEsiD0nGej6cEoSeJYnGps1-sd1-Bd-xTS6PyWFtRmUe2vnGUEF0uP_ufGiypit-VmD_7VwL1BpuVcipraMdMRQsMV2gRFgztXiq8ZP9P3OVD6WTpq Zr6yvfzSyq0D1J3IPsvIUMO8yksQJ6DKn--ssPBPGPM-GCLoo3F-KsxLtIY/w94-h200/galway_bay_resin_rye_american_barleywine.jpg (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuGyewSKlEsiD0nGej6cEoSeJYnGps1-sd1-Bd-xTS6PyWFtRmUe2vnGUEF0uP_ufGiypit-VmD_7VwL1BpuVcipraMdMRQsMV2gRFgztXiq8ZP9P3OVD6WTpq Zr6yvfzSyq0D1J3IPsvIUMO8yksQJ6DKn--ssPBPGPM-GCLoo3F-KsxLtIY/s2955/galway_bay_resin_rye_american_barleywine.jpg)Stron ger still is Resin & Rye at 10.7% ABV. They've called it a barley wine rather than a rye wine, so there must have been enough rye to make the name but not change the style. In the glass it's a clear copper colour. The foretaste is pleasingly fruity, offering dry cherry skin and raisin to begin. The malt comes next, toasted and biscuit-like, and then a huge rasp of bitter metal and resin, scraping across the tongue. The brewery had this badged as "American barleywine" so I was fully expecting Bigfoot-like grapefruit notes, but it doesn't have that. It's rounder, mellower and more mature-tasting, suggesting an influence that's English rather than American, to my mind. Regardless, it works, and the result is a very satisfying night-finisher.
In a beer world of relentless hazy IPA, pastry stout and soured fruit beer, Galway Bay has once again shown that the old ways (2013) are the best. I really hope there's a market for products like this because the quality and enjoyment levels are unimpeachable.
More... (https://thebeernut.blogspot.com/2023/04/two-big-lads-from-galway.html)
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvwZ3TRP4zJyqHnoSsC1cXd5oSalvMG7-CsTT0qfqfdOw63kGFN3dE1-ucZ81M4mlx6BaOSBSMHb27EzJyLBEfdtz1bdVC4IH6oy6ZF0rb 7Mn6ziUBEJBhQ1DUcsz6bdapv46-bof7M8FUL2P0BOprCE27o0ngHbAy0fNQ4kc1fo-G2Rz9HqQ/w122-h200/galway_bay_richer_sounds_west_coast_dipa.jpg (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvwZ3TRP4zJyqHnoSsC1cXd5oSalvMG7-CsTT0qfqfdOw63kGFN3dE1-ucZ81M4mlx6BaOSBSMHb27EzJyLBEfdtz1bdVC4IH6oy6ZF0rb 7Mn6ziUBEJBhQ1DUcsz6bdapv46-bof7M8FUL2P0BOprCE27o0ngHbAy0fNQ4kc1fo-G2Rz9HqQ/s3385/galway_bay_richer_sounds_west_coast_dipa.jpg)This pair of whoppers from Galway Bay Brewery arrived simultaneously in late March. When I noticed they were on draught side-by-side in Against the Grain, I went in to try them out.
The lighter of the two is Richer Sounds, a double IPA of 9.5% ABV. To my palate, this has a lot in common with the brewery's flagship DIPA, Of Foam & Fury, though I can't be more specific on which version of that recipe. I mean it as a compliment, however. It's very much classically constructed in a 2013 sort of way, starting on a heavy yet clean malt base, one which leaves a lovely warming glow in its wake. Onto this is piled heaps of citrus bitterness, and I picked out sharp lime in particular. There's nothing else fancy that this does, and certainly no flaws or off-flavours. It's simple but very impressive. If it's a retro powerhouse you're after, here's the beer.
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuGyewSKlEsiD0nGej6cEoSeJYnGps1-sd1-Bd-xTS6PyWFtRmUe2vnGUEF0uP_ufGiypit-VmD_7VwL1BpuVcipraMdMRQsMV2gRFgztXiq8ZP9P3OVD6WTpq Zr6yvfzSyq0D1J3IPsvIUMO8yksQJ6DKn--ssPBPGPM-GCLoo3F-KsxLtIY/w94-h200/galway_bay_resin_rye_american_barleywine.jpg (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuGyewSKlEsiD0nGej6cEoSeJYnGps1-sd1-Bd-xTS6PyWFtRmUe2vnGUEF0uP_ufGiypit-VmD_7VwL1BpuVcipraMdMRQsMV2gRFgztXiq8ZP9P3OVD6WTpq Zr6yvfzSyq0D1J3IPsvIUMO8yksQJ6DKn--ssPBPGPM-GCLoo3F-KsxLtIY/s2955/galway_bay_resin_rye_american_barleywine.jpg)Stron ger still is Resin & Rye at 10.7% ABV. They've called it a barley wine rather than a rye wine, so there must have been enough rye to make the name but not change the style. In the glass it's a clear copper colour. The foretaste is pleasingly fruity, offering dry cherry skin and raisin to begin. The malt comes next, toasted and biscuit-like, and then a huge rasp of bitter metal and resin, scraping across the tongue. The brewery had this badged as "American barleywine" so I was fully expecting Bigfoot-like grapefruit notes, but it doesn't have that. It's rounder, mellower and more mature-tasting, suggesting an influence that's English rather than American, to my mind. Regardless, it works, and the result is a very satisfying night-finisher.
In a beer world of relentless hazy IPA, pastry stout and soured fruit beer, Galway Bay has once again shown that the old ways (2013) are the best. I really hope there's a market for products like this because the quality and enjoyment levels are unimpeachable.
More... (https://thebeernut.blogspot.com/2023/04/two-big-lads-from-galway.html)