A lesson in lager

I was very sceptical going in to Franciscan Well's latest collaboration, with their Molson Coors stablemates, Staropramen. I'm not even sure what the name is: the badge says "Franciscan Well Docklands Series Staropramen x Pilsner", so pick the title out of that word salad. Staro is far from the top tier in the Czech lager stakes but does perfectly acceptable stuff by Irish standards.

And this one is more than acceptable, heading fully into good. It's a lovely rose gold colour with perfect head retention, looking built for one of those hefty handled Bohemian mugs. The aroma suggests Saaz and nothing but: moist grass and slightly spicier rocket. That continues in the flavour, joined by quite a strong buttery note, extremely similar to that found in genre-definer Pilsner Urquell. It's set on a wholesome biscuit base while the finish delivers a burst of flowers and minerals, like classy bathsalts.

I've seen a brewer describe collaboration beers as a form of professional education, and I fervently hope that this is the case here, that the folk from Prague came in to show their Cork colleagues how to make pilsner properly. If Archway had tasted like this I would have consumed a lot more of it.

Back to the pub

Normality comes dropping slow. I haven't exactly been rushing back to the pub since they began re-opening, though it's been nice to return to The Porterhouse and 57 the Headline on occasion. One evening in late August I found myself in one of my locals for the first time in a couple of years, and got a bit of a look at the post-pandemic landscape of normal pubs.

I had seen branding for Madrí Excepcional in a few places around town. This Spanish lager has been newly introduced by Molson Coors, perhaps to add a classy side to their portfolio which neither Molson Canadian nor Archway was giving them. Interestingly, it's presented as a "collaboration" with the parent brewery LA SAGRA (why the shouting?), suggesting it's not actually brewed there.

What do you get if the branding appeals and you order a pint? It's clear and an appropriately rich golden colour, so full marks for the visuals. Less so for the taste: I got a substantial whack of diacetyl from this, the buttery taste matched with a slick and greasy texture. And that's pretty much it: there's a lightly crisp biscuity malt base but no hop character to speak of. I'm not especially diacetyl-averse so I wouldn't consider this spoiled, but it's not impressive. If it makes you feel part of a more Mediterranean drinking culture, then I wish you the joy of that, but I can't think of any other reason to buy it.

And then there's Island's Edge. There has been much online commentary about this new stout from Heineken — the company which already brews two of Ireland's three biggest-selling stouts — from the name which clearly came from a very short brainstorming session where "Rockshore" was written on the whiteboard, to the downright offensive claim that the stout sector in Ireland is stagnant and un-innovative. The supposed innovation here comes from the inclusion of basil and tea in the recipe. Heineken had a shortlived tea-flavoured stout on the market a couple of years ago — Kettle Brew — but it disappeared before I got the chance to try it. I guess this is the next phase in that project. So what's it like?

Well, first of all it's a nitrokeg stout, and only 4% ABV so I wasn't expecting a wow-factor from the taste. The brewery has stated that it wants to attract new drinkers by dialling back the bitterness, and that made it extra unlikely that we would end up as friends. There is a pleasant creamy chocolate element here, and the novel ingredients are manifest as a kind of dry leafiness. It seems that when you combine black tea and basil you end up with something that tastes of green tea, which probably shouldn't be surprising. This builds to become a concentrated cabbage effect by the end. It's not a good stout. Although it isn't thin, and it's bland enough so that the odd flavours aren't jarring, it's missing the elements that make session stout worthwhile. No roast, no bitterness; no point, frankly. As with a lot of new-release industrial beers I can see it being a distress purchase for me for a while, until the novelty wears off, if it lasts that long. I don't see what it offers drinkers of the established big stout brands, or the stout-curious, however. 

And that's why I tend to stick to the pubs where they serve the beer I like.

A very movable feast

The late winter snowstorms damaged the beer garden roof of the Franciscan Well brewpub in Cork. It meant that Ireland's longest-running beer festival got shunted from its normal Easter slot to late in April. As it happened I was down in Cork anyway that weekend, for Reuben's wedding, so was able to drop by for a couple of hours on the Friday night. I'm usually in early and out early at this gig so it was a novel experience to roll up late and be kicked out last.

As with last year there were two long bars facing each other across the beer garden. It was still packed to capacity when I arrived so I took refuge in the pub. There was a new Franciscan Well beer on the bar there: Archway, a 4% ABV yellow lager. The brewery's connection to the owners of Coors Light is pretty obvious here. This one is bland. It's almost literally tasteless, in fact, with just a wisp of soda water minerality. It's not thin or watery, nor overly fizzy, nor could I detect a single off-flavour. I just couldn't really detect any flavour at all. If I hadn't come to it on a clean palate I'd have been doubting myself.

Off out to the festival bars for something more interesting, then. Black Donkey had a new pale ale, with the jolly name of Happy Out. It's a suitably sunny yellow colour and uses Mosaic and Wai-iti hops. The twist is the use of a saison yeast. The result is massively bright and fruity, a Carmen Miranda hat of pineapple, banana, white grape and more. Though only 4.5% ABV it's quite heavily textured; perhaps a little too much so to be refreshing. The counterbalance is the delicious complexity, a late-arriving peppery spice preventing all that fruit from turning it difficult.

Speaking of fruit, JJ's had brought along a Blueberry Pale Ale which was receiving some comments around the yard, very little of it positive. I thought it was OK, though; fun, even. It was 5% ABV and an amber colour. The opening gambit is shockingly bitter, like overcooked green veg. This calms down quickly and the later flavour is gently infused with real blueberries, tasting sweet and slightly concentrated, like a compote. The contrast works well: it is both a hop-forward pale ale and a fruit beer; gimmicky but not too gimmicky. Experiments like these make festival drinking that bit more engaging.

On the plainer side, JJ's also had GarryOwen pale ale, a little lighter in strength at 4.8% ABV, and lighter in colour too: a clear gold. There was a worrying savoury smoke in the aroma which thankfully didn't come through to the flavour. That was quite sweet, beginning on caramelised winter squash, and increasing to apricot. Apart from this mild fruitiness there isn't much else going on. It's decent, thirst-quenching fare, well suited to being a core beer if that's the brewery's intention for it, but exciting it is not. And let's just leave to one side the brewery's claim that it's based on an 18th century recipe.

Next to them, Baltimore brewer West Cork was pouring their latest, Cape Crusader. This is a 3.9% ABV pale ale. It was kegged but had a cask-like feel: a rounded foamy texture, not too cold, and with soft floral flavours: rosewater and lemon sherbet. A very slight dank bitterness creeps in at the end, ensuring it's not completely anodyne. This one would definitely work well as a session beer, much like good British golden bitters do.

We cross to the other side of the yard next, where neighbouring brewery Rising Sons had two new brews available. Ostara is a sour wheat ale of 4.1% ABV, so I guess like a kind of unsmoked grodziskie? There isn't too much sourness, or wheatiness for that matter. There's a gentle lemon flavour, though not enough to propel it into the sour-and-hoppy category that I generally enjoy. A bit like the previous two beers it's refreshing, simple and balanced, if not exactly thrilling.

There was a bit more going on with the next one, Foux du Fafa, badged as a French saison. Lots of spicy white pepper forms the foretaste, backed up by heavier peach esters which become increasingly apparent as it warms. There's a satisfying chewy density, and yet it's only 5.2% ABV and stays drinkable throughout. This was a much-needed reminder that beer can be easy-going and interesting at the same time.

Cork's other other brewpub, Cotton Ball, was pouring The People's Republic of Cork Lágar. This has been available in the city's pubs for a while now, though never anywhere I've been. It's a very pale yellow colour and shows a lot of the traits of poorly-made lager: a harsh acrid metal bitterness, heavy syrup, rough grain husk and headachey esters. While it's just about drinkable, I think I'd want something cleaner and more enjoyable if my home city's name was going on the badge.

For a nightcap there was O Brother Untitled, an imperial stout from their pilot kit which was uncharacteristically without a name of its own. This was brewed with coffee, finishing at 9% ABV. As one might expect it's thick and gloopy, with a certain amount of chocolate sauce sweetness but thoroughly counterbalanced by multiple types of bitterness, including dark-roast espresso and tobacco. This is an absolutely solid example of the style and I hope it makes it into regular production at some stage.

With the staff sweeping up around me, it was time to leave. I'm glad I made it down this year, and happy that not even climate disaster can damage this hardy perennial festival.