Bullet: the bite

New from the Cork Beer Renaissance™ is Green Bullet pale ale, ostensibly by Mountain Man Brewing in the wild west of the rebel county but the eponymous Phil is doing these first batches closer to sea level at Eight Degrees in Mitchelstown.

It's a mere 4% ABV and looks as light as that vital statistic suggests, being a rather wan pale yellow. The aroma is far from understated, however, kicking off with the heady golden syrup waft of a lager twice its strength. But it's the hops which drive the flavour, starting on a zesty citrus rind note and finishing waxy and bitter with a floral sweetness in the middle. The draught version gave me an overall impression of honey and lemon: slightly medicinal but in a very pleasant way. The bottled one provides a fuller bodied and smoother experience, with more of a malt backbone.

I'd place this alongside the other sharply bitter pale Irish ales like Howling Gale and Bo Bristle IPA, but at a percentage point lower than either, Green Bullet gets extra quaffability credit. A 33cl bottle in the garden was an enjoyable summer refresher, but I really hope we'll be seeing more of it by the pint.