Back slaps and barley wine

My reflections on 2021-that-was are dogged by the question of whether this was Another Weird Year or the beginning of The New Normal. Regardless, I am sticking doggedly to the old categories laid out by Mark and Andy 600 years ago, and will endeavour to fill each one, however meaninglessly. If you're looking for relevance and insight you are very much on the wrong blog.

A tradition of my own dictates that the meandering musings be accompanied by a beer, and this year's was shipped to me by Eight Degrees as a kind gift. Irish Oak-Aged Barleywine is the fourth in their five-beer Original Gravity series. It's a beast of a thing at 12.2% ABV and one noteworthy aspect is its use of Irish oak for the ageing, something we also saw from Wicklow Wolf's autumn Locavore barley wine last month. In the glass it's a pleasing russet shade and has a gorgeous vinous aroma, all Madeira, Tokaji and similarly sweet, luscious styles. Though it poured thickly, the texture is light on the palate, and only the heady alcohol vapours give the drinker pause; a reminder that this is very much a sipping job. The flavour opens with a sharp pinch of wood, sappy and resinous, before smoothing out into the sweet wine detected in the aroma. This would run the risk of turning cloying were the texture thicker, though there's also a certain balancing bitterness from Nugget and Cascade hops. The specs tell us they're working at a massive 82 IBUs though only just making themselves heard. I think I enjoyed the base beer a lot more than the barrel effects. An additional can will be aged to see if that sappiness fades eventually. Overall, though, this is an excellent relaxing beer for a winter's afternoon. Not that I get to do any relaxation, as I move on to...

The Golden Pint Awards 2021

Best Irish Cask Beer: BRÚ Brown Ale
There's always at least one winner-by-default in these, and they're starting early this year. The pub situation being what it was, this is the only Irish cask beer I drank in 2021. Still, it wouldn't get an award if I hadn't enjoyed it so BRÚ is fully deserving of the accolade.

Best Irish Keg Beer: Four Provinces Gob Fliuch
A year after its launch in cans, the Four Provinces mild arrived at the brewery pub on draught for the first time, albeit only for takeaway pints, initially. During the summer it became my Friday evening ritual and one of the highlights of the week. This is still a magnificent beer, and that it's comfortingly familiar and brewed on my doorstep is also in its favour.

Best Irish Bottled Beer: Land & Labour Lúnaberry
I mentioned last year that this has become the true prestige category of the GPAs. Bottles are for the special stuff. There were several candidates but when I took stock of my memories of each, the blueberry lambic-a-like from Land & Labour was the one which left the strongest lasting impression of excellence. It's L&L's first appearance in this category but from what I've tasted in 2021 I'm reasonably sure there will be more in future.

Best Irish Canned Beer: Western Herd Flora & Fauna
It was April when this one made me think "that's a Golden Pints winner right there". I have since run the due diligence; there were quite a number of candidates for this award, and an extremely honorable mention must go to Brewmaster Imperial Nitro Stout, but I think Flora & Fauna holds up as the greatest achievement of the canned arts on this island in 2021. I knew nothing about it when I drank it, but in the gap between me drinking it and publishing a review one month later, the plaudits were already pouring in. The apotheosis of the West Coast revival, this brought me back to a time when big and punchy American hops on a clean malt base, served brewery-fresh, was the most perfect thing ever produced for humans to drink.

Best Overseas Draught Beer: De la Senne Zenne Pils
Another category awarded based on the feel of the memory rather than any detailed analysis of the field. I was surprised to find a pils by the pint on my visit to Brasserie de la Senne but utterly thrilled by what I was given. I saw little sign of this becoming a ubiquitous flagship around Brussels but it absolutely deserves to be one.

Best Overseas Bottled Beer: Cantillon Carignan
Yeah, my holidays were largely in Brussels this year, at a time where there was some slight semblance of old-normality about the place. So I drank large bottles of fruited geuze in the Cantillon brewery bar, and they were absolutely delicious, and the Carignan grape one was my favourite of those. Were I giving out silver and bronze medals, other beers from the same session would likely feature, but that would be boring.

Best Overseas Canned Beer: Sierra Nevada Big Little Thing
Now this was a surprise. Nothing jumped out immediately for the category so I had to do some digging to find candidates. And even though I haven't been fully on board with Sierra Nevada's sequence of Hazy Little Thing brand extensions, it turns out I sang the praises of this one. I don't remember now exactly how it tasted so it's just as well it's still in circulation. I will be giving it another go.

Best Collaboration Brew: Galway Bay / Stu Mostów Boulevardier
This was such a close contender for best Irish bottled beer that I'm delighted to find a different rosette to pin on it. My cynicism over beers designed to taste like cocktails was completely washed away by this one. It's all beer, and a masterclass in complexity and balance, even when bourbon barrels and double-digit ABVs are involved.

Best Overall Beer: Western Herd Flora & Fauna
Like I say, it's a classic; a beer for the ages. I wouldn't dream of using this award as a means of bribing the brewery into keeping it in production, but if that should occur, I won't have any particular objection.

Best Branding: Metalman
The 2010 Golden Pints saw brand new brewer Metalman take an award for their art deco logo before it had even released any beer. The brand got an overhaul this year, moving from the 1920s to the 1950s with the classic science-fiction look of its Galactic Voyager series. It's colourful and dynamic, all action and excitement while still classic and charmingly retro. Since the first ones appeared in the spring I always look forward to seeing each new version.

Best Pump Clip: Flow
Table service has really done a number on the tap badge as a marketing tool. Admiring the array of artwork while my pint is being poured seems like something from a bygone age. I feared I might have to skip this award, except... I really like the goofy wolf logo used by the Wolf foodhall in Brussels. You see him a lot in there and he is used on the mini blackboards attached to the taps of the onsite Flow brewery. I therefore deem him a pump clip, and my favourite of the year. Good boy.

Best Bottle/Can Label: Whiplash The Horror
More than any Irish brewery, Whiplash puts High Art on its cans. Just occasionally, however, Sophie the artist gives us something playful and silly, which is when I tend to take notice. So it is with the wide-eyed Charlie Sheen, captured in a particularly daft bit of that very daft war film. Go get 'im, Chuck!



Best Irish Brewery: Lineman
I say this almost every time I review one of their beers, but Lineman really has a bead on how to make classic beer styles, and they've turned out a particularly pleasing high number of those during 2021. Quality and variety done locally is how this award usually goes, and this year Lineman was a level above.

Best Overseas Brewery: Brussels Beer Project
I came home from Brussels very impressed at how the local brewing scene has expanded in recent years, and how the city really seems to be taking it to its heart. I drank and enjoyed quite a few beers from The Big Two, and I'm sure there are those who think I've picked the wrong one here: unlike De la Senne, BBP has not yet made the move to being a fully in-Brussels brewery. But it's coming, as is their all-new lambic brewery, so I have no qualms about giving them this award, though the quality of the many beers released under their name is phenomenal too.

Best New Brewery Opening 2021: Farrington's
Pickings were slim in this category, but there is definitely promise in what I've tasted from the new brewery in Kildare, so they get the gong.

Pub/Bar of the Year: DeRat
I didn't spend much time in pubs this year. It has simply stopped being the fun it used to be, and Dublin lacking a beer bar with serious variety and turnover means there's not much to attract me and my notebook out. Calling in for one beer on a dismal evening in October was enough to secure this prize for DeRat in Utrecht. It was busy but not crowded, highly convivial and with a fantastic selection. For half an hour I had a glimpse back to how pubs used to be. Should it ever come back, I will not be taking that for granted.

Best New Pub/Bar Opening 2021: The Beer Temple
There's only one serious contender in this category: the takeover of this grand prime location on the corner of Dame Street and Parliament Street by the newly combined Galway Bay and BRÚ breweries. They had a short run at normality during November, and I enjoyed my visits. I look forward to making more of it in the months, and years, to come.

Beer Festival of the Year: PINT Jubileum
Another default winner. The bijou little festival at Bierbrouwerij Mommeriete in Gramsbergen to celebrate PINT's birthday was my only beer festival of 2021. I did enjoy it, though.

Supermarket of the Year: SuperValu Sundrive
This shop goes through phases of being good at beer and is currently on something of an upswing. On more than one occasion this year I found beers on the shelves which had not yet made their way to the independent off licences. This award is dedicated to whomever it is who keeps saying "Yes" when the Grand Cru van opens its doors.

Independent Retailer of the Year: Craft Central
My time in the city centre has been limited all year, so when I'm looking to pick up beers, efficiency is important. Craft Central / Stephen Street News hasn't quite been a one-stop-shop for me, but it's the next best thing. I have availed of browsing the fridges, click-and-collect and home delivery, and it all just works.

Online Retailer of the Year: Yards & Crafts
February saw Brickyard in Dundrum pivot to becoming an online off licence as well. I've only used them a few times, but it's always been because they have something in stock that I can't find anywhere else. That's the service I need most from an online operation and what makes this one stand out for me.

Best Beer Book or Magazine: Beeronomics: How Beer Explains the World by Johan Swinnen & Devin Briski
I've had this book since 2018 but for whatever reason never made the time to read it. This year I did, and really enjoyed it. The writers are economists, so take the working of the market as the starting point of their examination of beer and brewing through history, from the church's taxes on medieval gruit, through to the grand consolidation which resulted in AB InBev vs. everybody else. The chapter on how TV advertising was responsible for the death of local American beer brands is particularly enlightening -- it's nice that there are still new stories to tell from 20th century beer history.

Best Beer Blog or Website: Boak & Bailey
Our little community of beer commentariat is getting littler, but Jess and Ray are doing steadfast work to keep it together and, where possible, expand it so it's not the same old voices. Their Saturday morning round-ups are essential reading, and they even find the time for the occasional blog post (and beer reviews!) among the newsletter, Patreon and social media material. Being the Head Girl and Head Boy of Beer Blogging College can be a thankless task, so this is just to say thanks, it is appreciated.

Simon Johnson Award for Best Beer Twitterer: @Nickiquote
This reformed beer blogger rarely mentions the stuff any more but there's plenty of good (better) content besides: art, music, dry wit and a rich seam of quality retweets. Nick has kept me amused and entertained all year.

Best Brewery Website/Social media: Whiplash
Two in a row for the Dublin brewery. In my citation last year I complained that they were a little too Instagrammy for my liking, but it's all on Twitter where I can see it now: lots of detail on the many new releases and re-releases over the year, plus of course the iconic artwork. Questions get answered too, which should be taken for granted but not every brewery on social media does it. Well played to all the humans behind the Whiplash accounts. 


Is that enough? I think that's enough. On the cusp of this blog's 18th year it only remains for me to say thanks to you, the reader, for keeping my hit counter ticking over. Have a safe and happy New Year, and I'll be back with the first of 2022's posts on Monday.

Corporate gigs

Everyone's favourite UK pub chains, JD Wetherspoon and BrewDog, brought simultaneous festivals to their Dublin branches in October.

For BrewDog it was the first CollabFest since they opened, shortly before the pandemic shutters came down. By the time I got there only the local collaborative offering was left: Tuck Shop Mafia, a lemony sour beer, brewed with Hope, and a big one at 8% ABV. It was an appropriate hazy yellow in the glass and smelled of bathroom cleaner, so full lemon points for that, I guess. Lemongrass is one of the ingredients and that's the first thing I noticed on tasting, that slightly dry and green rasp. Bittersweet lemonade arrives behind this, forming the main feature: the lemon peel gives it a classy, posh-lemonade feel. An oily citric resin marks the end. While the sour-beer side of the equation is missing, it's otherwise a delightfully clean-tasting job, so perhaps that's where the sour culture contributes. Why it needed to be 8% ABV I do not know: it's a cleansing and refreshing chappie, the sort of beer that should not leave me concerned about the alcohol load. 

It's a bit of a trek out to BrewDog -- it's called "Outpost" for a reason -- so more than a zingy half was needed to justify the trip. I had yet to try any beers from the in-house brewery. As it happened there were three on so I ordered three thirds.

Beginning in the middle, that's Saison & On, a down-the-line 5%-er with no silly additions as far as I'm aware. There's a lovely fruity aroma here -- ripe oranges, just on the edge of turning funky. The flavour expands on that with a mixture of pith and straw, finishing on a peppery piquancy. This is really well done, and shows off all the things that saison is supposed to be. Where it differs from the classics is in the texture: there's an almost creamy feel instead of saison's usual dry and sharp quality, and that helps spread the flavour even further. This is a level above what I would expect from a miniature back-of-the-pub brewery on the quays.

Hazy IPA is next, inevitably. Opaque Lake is what they've called it, and it hums of garlic. I genuinely thought it had warmed to room temperature from the smell, but the first sip showed it was perfectly cool. It just smells like hot food. Garlic completely infuses the flavour from start to finish to aftertaste. You get a little contrasting vanilla with that, and a chalky dryness, but nothing good. Where's the juice? This sort of gag-inducing stomach-churner belongs back in the early days of the haze craze before anyone outside Vermont knew what they were doing. As such, it can get in the bin.

The final one, left of picture, is intriguingly random: a double IPA at 9.1% ABV, brewed with grape juice. I was sceptical going in but could not resist trying it. The aroma of deep orange Vinal Tap is weirdly sulphurous, like match heads. That translates to a saltpetre spicing in the foretaste, followed by an intensely sweet fruit candy, mixed tropical breakfast juice, and a big boozy napalm burn. This is no subtle Italianate grape ale; this is BrewDog Hardcore with the bitterness dialled back and given some extra fruit. It's all rather fun. Unlike with Tuck Shop Mafia, one is made very aware that it's a strong beer. There would be a risk of cloying were it not for that dry and spicy side. If this was an experiment, I think it paid off.

With that, it was back inland, up the quays to The Silver Penny. Time was I'd do a full tour of the Dublin Wetherspoons for the festival but the apps were showing precious little festival beer on the menus so I made do with the city centre branches.

It's a number of years since any Irish brewery featured on a Wetherspoon festival list, but BRÚ planted a flag this year, with a cask Brown Ale. It's a genius move, because whatever your opinion on Wetherspoon, everybody loves a cask brown ale. This is 4.5% ABV and a clear dark garnet shade topped with old-ivory foam. The aroma is a gorgeous mix of floral and caramel, with a waft of pipe tobacco for the full oul-lad effect. It tastes plainer. There's a toasty dry roast, a crunch of chocolate biscuit, and then a faint dark berry tang on the end. All of that passes through quickly, leaving no more than a vague chocolate aftertaste. This is a drinking beer, not a tasting beer. I wasn't there to quaff pints, but it would have been ideally suited.

There were two other festival-listed beers on offer but the only one new to me was El Camino, a golden ale from Conwy. It's clear, it's golden, so full marks there. The aroma is dry and waxy but the flavour expands that into a more comfortable honey and golden syrup effect. There's a spicy bitterness which suggests English hops more than the billed Americans to me, and while it's a light 4% ABV and very easy drinking, there's a lovely depth and complexity of the sort cask ale does better than any other format. This is unfussy but absolutely delicious.

Stopping in at Keaven's Port on the way home, I snagged Hogs Back Citrus pale ale, an amber coloured 4.5%-er. This goes big on the chewy fruit candy, all Starburst and Refreshers. Lemon and lime set on a slightly sticky honey base with added pear zing. I guess it's an attempt at blending smooth English cask ale with pointy American hops, and as such it works brilliantly. There's no edge, it's all rounded and easy, but the hop flavour is firmly pronounced in a way one doesn't expect from cask ale normally. Beautifully done.

Nevertheless, I hereby pronounce a saison and a golden ale as the joint winners of this craft-beer/cask-ale face-off. The presence of UK chains in Ireland remains a controversial subject for those who believe our native pubs serve the drinkers well enough. Me, I love to see things mixing up, especially when good beer is a result of it.