On the pull

Last month, Smiddy's in Mullingar played host to its first Cask Beer Festival, from the organiser of its Wild Beer Festival. Trouble, Third Barrel, Land & Labour, Wide Street, Ballykilcavan, Brehon, Galway Hooker and Dead Centre all brought and borrowed some beer engines from which to serve a small but well-chosen selection of beers.

There was less cask-hacking going on than I expected, though Hooker was at it, bringing a dry-hopped version of their pale ale and a Stout with Spices and Orange Peel. I was sceptical but loved the result. The base beer provides a straightforward milk chocolate sweetness onto which the spices have added a large and loud ginger cookie effect. It's very Christmassy and tremendous fun. Beers like this can be cloying when they're strong, and unbalanced when they're weak, but things are much more balanced here, and the cask serve smooths it out nicely. It took me a while to find the orange, but there is a very slight fruit cordial element right on the finish. There is a time and place for beers like this, and a winter beer festival is exactly it.

Third Barrel was showcasing a brand new stout, called Afternoon Delight. This is 6.5% ABV and presented as "American" in style. Brewer Kevin said that, despite this, they've downplayed the hopping somewhat, so it doesn't taste like a black IPA. It does a bit, though, which isn't a criticism. I got flavours of Skittles, lemon sherbet and blackberries: all quite sweet, with only a mild roast finish providing dryness for balance. It's good, though, offering punchy flavours on a weighty body and making for very satisfying drinking.

Land & Labour launched a new blend of its Geimhreadh geuze-alike, this one dry-hopped with Tettnang. I didn't get much of a hop kick from it, just a slightly green vegetal rasp in the throat. Otherwise it's a spot-on imitation of a lambic, opening with mouthwatering lemon zest, finishing waxy and bitter, with a soft middle of ripe apricot. It's extremely drinkable, inhalable even, despite the significant 6.3% ABV. This is the third time I've found it at a festival in one form or another, and it's always a highlight.

Launching fresh was Land & Labour's Saison Salamino, also 6.3% ABV. As the name tells us, it's a saison with added Salamino grape pomace. It doesn't look great, being an unsettled and unsettling murky pink colour. There's a strong tannic note to begin, followed by a mild sourness and some farmyard funk on the finish. It's all quite subtle, with nothing bold or intrusive and no spice complexity. I'm guessing it hasn't been barrel aged, but if it has, it could do with a bit longer in there. It's decent overall but felt, and looked, a little bit green still. One to come back to, if there's any left.

One handpump over, Wide Street was pouring its new pale ale, Plush. This is a straightforward American-hopped pale ale, though at more of our sort of strength at 4.3% ABV. On cask, it gave me modern British brewing vibes. The flavour is fantastically zesty, really getting full value out of those Cascade and Centennial hops. While it's sharply bitter, the mouthfeel helps offset that by being smooth and almost creamy. The finish is incredibly long, the citrus kick continuing all the way through. It's simple -- citrus is your lot -- but wonderfully bold and invigorating. It's not what I come to Wide Street in search of, but I'll certainly take it.

I also picked up a couple of new-release Wide Street cans to take away. Roggen Alt isn't a style you see very often, but here's one. It's 4.5% ABV and a murky shade of red in the glass. The aroma shows off rye's inherent spiciness, set on a wholesome warm-bread background. The texture reflects the strength, being light and quite fizzy, even with the malt-heavy aroma. It's quite sweet too, beyond bread into cake, with overtones of treacle and strawberry jam. Despite the appearance it's very clean-tasting. The sweetness fades and it finishes on a dry, crisp, slightly toasted grain note. It's a subtle beer, but a good one -- easy-going but with plenty to explore.

The other was Saison D'Or, the prize-winning recipe of home brewer Paddy Gunn. The name is a misnomer: it's far from gold, being rather a distressing muddy brown. I wasn't sure how much of the expansive dregs I was supposed to pour from the can. Again, however, it tastes much cleaner than it looks. It's quite rich with it, roundly textured, and almost chewy, reflecting the 6.7% ABV. This is used to launch a flavour of sweet white grapes, blackberry and crisp apple. I like a bit of spice in a saison, and that's not on offer here beyond some gentle clove and cinnamon, but I get along well with the fruit. It's not hot or any way difficult to drink. Overall, I approve. This is a jolly decent strong saison and don't let the horrific appearance deceive you.

As with the first Mullingar Wild Beer Festival, this first outing for cask has provided a base to build on; a successful proof of concept. While there were enough new release and special edition beers on the go from which to get a blog post, this fussy drinker would have liked a bigger selection. A shortage of beer engines may have been a factor, but that's easily fixed.