A riot of colour

Limerick's Treaty City Brewery seems to have found a new gear in recent months. Their output of seasonal specials has seen a big increase at a time when others have been putting the brakes on somewhat. Now they've also taken the opportunity to refresh the core range with three bright and distinctive cans, and were kind enough to ship me a set.

Outcast is the first of the new bunch, a very pale session IPA of 3.8% ABV, hopped with Columbus, El Dorado and Idaho-7, in generous proportions, according to the label. I liked the appearance, particularly the way the head looked like it had been freshly poured from a pub tap. The promised juice, or at least an orange squash effect, is right there from the start in the aroma. It's light without being watery, and quite heftily bitter: pithy; maybe even a little waxy. The sweet orange is still present too, tasting like a juicy segment of the fruit rather than actual juice. Where it falls down a little is the murk. There's an unpleasant dirty grittiness, particularly in the finish, which the hops can't quite overcome. This is nearly very good but will have to settle for an OK.

The one survivor from the original range is the pale ale, Harris. It's still 5% ABV, amber in colour, and hopped in retro fashion with Cascade alone. The earthy side of the hop comes out in the aroma, alongside caramel from the big malt base. Just as the appearance is pin-bright, the flavour is completely clean. Interestingly, crystal malt doesn't feature on the ingredients list, but it has that toffee quality which crystal normally brings. On top there's a pinch of lemon and a sprinkling of cedarwood spice. It shows that this is a recipe well-honed over many iterations. The flavour intensity isn't much higher than the previous beer, and I think the alcohol boost warrants a bit more than is delivered here. Again, though, it's fine, and even delightfully old-fashioned. I don't know of any other similar Irish beer on the market at the moment.

The former Shannon River IPA has been superseded by Invasion, coming in slightly stronger at 6% ABV. Once again it's single hopped, this time with Centennial. In the glass it's a clean and clear golden shade, with a wholesome biscuity aroma, which I'm crediting to the Vienna malt. The mouthfeel is nicely full, but far from overdone or sticky, reminding me more of a bock lager than an IPA, which I'm perfectly happy with. Hop character takes centre stage in the flavour, bringing a straightforward sort of bitterness with elements of lemon and pine. It's very much in the west-coast style, and while not madly complex is likely to provide balm for the palate of anyone fed up with haze. Perfect core beer material.

In with this set was one of their specials from last year, Savage Beour milk stout. The brewery has been rightly called out for the sexist imagery deployed on the can and has done a woeful job on social media trying to defend it. I've certainly been disinclined to buy any of their beers while that remains the response.

Turning my attention to the contents, it doesn't smell sweet or milky, but quite dry, with a lot of toasty burnt roast. The flavour is similarly serious, with coffee and high-cocoa dark chocolate to the fore. There's a background complexity going on as well, a little floral, with a hint of coconut too. This isn't the rich and sweet stout I was expecting but I appreciated its balanced restraint.

That's it from me on Treaty City for now. There'll be more if and when they get round to fixing their branding.

In for a Treaty

The Beoir AGM happened in Limerick last month. It's the first year that my attendance was not compulsory, but I had never been to the city, nor experienced its beer scene, so there was no way I was going to miss it. The meeting was kindly hosted by The Wickham Tap, Galway Bay Brewery's new pub and their first outside Galway or Dublin (Kilkenny will follow next month). We also dropped by the handsome Smyth's, the cosy Nancy Blake's and the very handsome Mother Mac's.

The latter three were all pouring The Market Quarter, a new pale lager that was being launched that weekend. In total a group of twelve pubs in that area are carrying it on draught, having commissioned it from local brewery Treaty City to be, according to the Leader, "for traditional drinkers and craft beer enthusiasts alike". I like to think I can speak for both of those demographics and I reckon they've nailed it. It's a light 4.2% ABV and an approachable medium-gold. The flavour bursts with fresh tropical flavours, mango and pineapple in particular, before finishing clean. There's a palate-scrubbing fizz to please the mainstream lager drinkers, but it's not thin or overcarbonated, just great session drinking. I would worry about how well the fruit will hold up if it has to spend more than a short time sitting in the keg, but hopefully that won't be an issue. Well done to all concerned.

Our guide for the day, the redoubtable Cyril, had arranged for us to visit Treaty City Brewing itself, where we got a guided tour by the enthusiastic proprietor Stephen Cuneen. Local, local, local is the mantra. I always feel better about not being able to get my hands on a beer when I learn it's deliberate. I hadn't tasted any of the core beers so happily there was a table of sample bottles. Yes, I brought my bottle opener.

Harris Pale Ale is the one that's been around longest, named after Limerick's most legendary drinker. This is quite a dark amber colour and dry tasting, mixing up metallic aspirin bite with a touch of roasted grain. It's reminiscent of decent dark English bitter and is similarly moreish, despite a sizeable ABV of 5%.

The lightest of the set is Hells Gate Lager at 4.2% ABV. I think there's a sneaky reference to the intended style in the name (don't tell AB-InBev) as it's quite sweet and softly textured, with elements of candyfloss and spongecake. This is balanced with a few sprigs of fresh spinach leaves: no doubt a German noble variety or two at work. It's maybe just a little too sweet for my taste, even for a helles, but it's perfectly well made.

Treaty City hasn't turned out a porter yet so Thomond Red is as dark as it gets. And its pretty dark for a red: a cola brown colour with an almost dunkel-like sticky treacle aroma. The caramel arrives to the party early and I was fully expecting it to talk loudly over the top of the other guests. However it leaves room for some clean, green celery hops, a smattering of ripe summer fruit and a roasty finish that prevents it from getting all sticky in the end. Irish red full house then, pretty much, and probably the most complex offering of the set.

The IPA, Shannon River, was a bit of a let-down after that. They've gone too sweet in this one, resulting in a dark orange colour and buckets of orange candy all through the flavour. There's a certain minerally dry bitterness quality too, but it fights with the sticky malt rather than complementing or balancing it. The whole thing is just discordant, rendered extra loud with the volume turned up to 5.8% ABV.

There's a definite sweet theme running through the range, which is perhaps why the red ale is the best of the lot. This may be to do with local tastes so it's very promising that the newest beer, Market Quarter, doesn't have it. Turn your treacle to tropical fruit, Limerick, and embrace the 21st century.