Bréif encounter

Today's beer is a coda to Monday's post about the Mullingar beer festival. This bottle was very kindly suitcased all the way from Cavan by Mr Thomas Carroll. Bréifne Gael Brewing is, I think, Ireland's newest brewery, and possibly the first legitimate one in Cavan in the modern era -- I never saw any evidence that Ó Cléirigh ever troubled themselves with acquiring a licence.

Ór Dubh is the name: "Black Gold" writing a big cheque for a 4.3% ABV stout. It doesn't say if it's bottle conditioned but there looks to be a bit of murk in the brownish black body. A head forms on pouring though fades quite quickly. That doesn't stop it from having a fabulously chocolatey aroma, suggesting the classy high-cocoa sort. It's light and sparsely carbonated, and the chocolate takes a backward step in the flavour. Not that it's any way bland. The vestiges of chocolate meet a raspberry-jam fruit seam and a super-clean dry charcoal roast. So, there's complexity to pick apart for those who indulge, but it's first and foremost a refreshing drinking stout, light but uncompromised, and brilliantly sessionable, as this kind of beer should be.

I've been a bit down on the half-litre-bottle squad of Irish country brewers lately, but this is an exceptional exception. It does taste like homebrew, but in the sense of a brewer who has honed and refined their technique to make the best possible beer. I found it totally devoid of amateur production flaws and poor recipe decisions; managing to be both straightforward and familiar while also top quality drinking. I have no idea if and when I'll get to try more Bréfine Gael beer, but should you happen across any, I'd suggest buying and drinking it.