Over the last month or so I have amassed too many tasting notes on Irish beers to fit into one of my usual uncomfortably long round-ups. Instead, I thought I would take them brewery by brewery, every day between now and Christmas Eve. Maybe you'll find some inspiration here for when you're shopping to fill out your seasonal stash or seeking gifts for the beer lovers in your life.We begin with White Gypsy, and I owe this set to Baggot Street Wines's occasional offer of free store credit to loyalty card holders. The three-pack of special edition bottles was just what I was looking for.
The first I opened was the Farmhouse Ale: no fancy French terminology here but it is very much a saison. It's clearer than most, a lovely bright amber shade, though the busy carbonation and tall head is fully to-style. It's one of the sweeter, fruitier takes on saison, smelling of lemon sherbet and tasting of peach, lychee, ice tea and clove rock. It's quite a mix, but all clean and distinct. You really can imagine it providing refreshment to farm workers, despite that little kick of smooth warmth from 5.5% ABV. Far from acrid but definitely not too hot or sweet, this is saison just as I like it. From the get-go I'm wishing a longer production run for this one.
Cuilán has brewed many a bock, and one starkly titled Bock was in the core line-up at Messrs Maguire during his tenure at the Dublin brewpub. So I'm guessing there's a bit of recipe history behind White Gypsy's Bock Lager. It's a sizeable 6.5% ABV and a coppery orange shade. Weedpatch noble hops are the frontispiece but the substance is all malt: a big, chewy, biscuit and brown bread effect with touches of golden syrup and honey. White Gypsy's side hustle is as agent for Weyermann and I see this beer as a local liquid advertisement for the Bamberg maltster's wares. This isn't a style that normally floats my boat yet I can't but doff my cap to the way it's been produced here: everything is showroom bright, polished and welcoming. The years of getting bock just right are very apparent. Again, this would be worth a permanent billet, if only because no other Irish brewer is making anything like it.
That leaves the Smoked Wheat. "Bamberg style" says the label, which is a big promise, though personally I've never really liked Schlenkerla's Weizen. This is a medium orange colour and smells meaty, like a barbecue. It has the fruit stylings of a weissbier up front, though more orange than banana. The dry, slightly acrid, smoke element follows it quickly and takes over in short order. This works rather better than the Schlenkerla one does. You sip slowly and take stock of the different flavour elements as they arrive, but all is calm and orderly with no clashes. I wasn't wowed but I enjoyed the simple yet distinctive elegance here.
One extra bottle outside the set: Dunkel-Weiss. Again it's not a style I have a lot of time for but I'm always up for an Irish version. And it's fine. Spot on. Properly dark brown, big bodied with lots of caramel, cola and brown banana. The one surprise was that the ABV was all of 6.2% ABV -- it certainly doesn't taste hot or heavy. It's perhaps a little drier than the typical example, finishing on a burnt-toast crispness. I am not suddenly converted to the wonders of dunkelweisse, but this is very decent.All of these are expertly crafted and, in a time of silliness with regard to beer styles, are a reminder of saner times. Long may that continue.
Come back tomorrow to see who's behind door number two.
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