Down on the farm

For years, Kinnegar Brewing carried the strapline "Farmhouse beers from Donegal" -- it's gone from their beers but you can still see it on my pint glass. It was always a bit odd, because "farmhouse style" (howsoever you wish to interpret that) was never really a big thing for the brewery, which has tended to prefer making very clean pale ales and lagers. Its Phunk Pharm wild fermentation facility has been very quiet of late, unless I missed something. The latest additions to the Brewers At Play limited edition series are bringing us back to the farm, however. 

Brewers At Play 46 has landed us something properly playful: a Farmhouse Pale [ale] With Lemon Verbena. And, unusual as that sounds, it's exactly as described. It's a lightly hazy yellow and there's a fun and funky Belgian cut to the aroma and flavour, with a little dry peppery spice, some saison straw and perfumed floral esters. Parallels may be drawn with tripels and strong golden ales, but it's also only 4.5% ABV -- up the Belgian sesh! I honestly wouldn't have identified that there's a novelty herb thrown in as well: the lemon verbena's contribution is perfectly complementary to everything else, adding only a subtle citrus tang, like the dried orange peel in a well-made witbier. Releasing this into the dog days of summer was a genius move. It sits in that same position as witbier, offering just enough exotic novelty to be interesting and enjoyable, while also being crisp, refreshing and extremely drinkable. We don't get enough of this sort of thing in Irish beer generally.

That was followed swiftly by Brewers At Play 47: Raspberry Farmhouse Ale. It's not clear if the recipe is connected to the previous beer, though this one is only 3% ABV. It's a hazy pink emulsion and smells, unsurprisingly, of concentrated raspberries. The first surprise was the texture, which is beautifully full and silky, with none of the wateriness that so often comes with a low strength. The raspberries are present but they don't dominate, and instead there's an off-kilter but fun herbal tang: from the ingredients listing I can see that basil has been included, and that's what's giving this beer its rustic quality. If there's a farmhouse yeast strain involved, then it's not bringing any Belgian qualities to it. It's still an excellent beer, however, and more interestingly complex than your standard sort of summer fruit beer.

The judicious use of herbs is what made these two beers for me. I'd prefer to see more of that kind of experimentation than all the fruit syrup jobs. There's good stuff to be had from the farm, but don't neglect the garden either.