The quarter master

This was a surprise. I've been watching on the socials how busy Limerick's Treaty City brewery has been with its limited-edition and special-occasion beers. It seems to have graduated beyond just making a core range for a conservative local market, which is pleasing to see. "Local" has always been of paramount importance, and the latest set pays tribute to four of Limerick city's quarters -- it has a fifth: Market Quarter was a Treaty City beer I enjoyed in Limerick a few years ago. That's not the surprise; the surprise was a box of the new set being sent over to me by the brewery -- much appreciated!

Culture Quarter is first up, a blonde ale and lightest of the bunch at 4.1% ABV. It was looking a bit flat at first but eventually formed a very fine white head over a pale golden body. From the aroma it's obvious that they're trying to hit lager style points: it's clean and lightly biscuity, but also a little lacking in character. Ale yeast to the rescue, and the flavour brings more fruit: cantaloupe, honeydew, kiwi: all the water-filled ones you eat cold from the fridge for refreshment. Not that the beer is watery -- there's enough substance, while staying clean. Microbrewed blonde ale is always a bit of a gamble. There's a lot of space for off-flavours to creep in, while also running the risk of creating something bland and flavourless. This deftly dodges both obstacles. It's a hearty, wholesome and characterful bottle-conditioned ale, while also crisp, clean and easy drinking. Earlier this week I was impressed by Heaney's efforts in this space. This doesn't have the complexity of their effort but still does a good job of being accessible yet interesting.

I liked having an excuse to break out my Hoegaarden bucket: witbier by the half-litre is too rare. Georgian Quarter is the name, a bit of a pounder at 5.3% ABV. It's the right shade of hazy, sunny yellow, though the head formation was a little lacklustre. A farmyard-funky aroma harks back to witbier's origins as a wild-fermented style while an added hint of lemon reminds us how the big corporations have tamed it since. Those two sides fight it out in the flavour. There's a pristine citrus zest with a candied-peel sweetness, and then a rougher, funkier element; spicy gunpowder but also a harsh burnt-rubber effect. I imagine it's quite a divisive beer. A lot is going on and not all of it is good. Happily it all fades quickly with a minimal aftertaste, so it's still enjoyable even if some of the details are not to your taste. As well as that funk, I would ding it for the carbonation too, which is lacking. A beer like this needs proper spritz; flatness is fatal. On balance, I'm glad to see an Irish brewery offering a witbier, but at the same time this style has been perfected by The Establishment so it needs more of polish to compete on those terms.

The pale ale is called River Quarter and is 4.6% ABV. It's what I regard as the standard hazy orange shade of bottle-conditioned Irish small-batch pale ales. The aroma is dank, shading to funky: a little bit growhouse, a little bit pub cellar in need of a good scrub. That set me up to expect a powerful flavour but it's actually rather gentle with a clean pale-grain sweetness backed by mild root vegetables and a mug of sweet tea. This is easy-going and unchallenging to the point of being a smidge boring. I guess it's pub fare and ill-suited to a time without pubs. Unless you were expecting fireworks it's hard to complain about, being rock-solid and completely without brewing faults. Needs more hops, perhaps, but nobody will take offence from the way it is.

Stout is not neglected amongst all this. Medieval Quarter claims to be "US style", raising immediate hopes it'll be like Sierra Nevada's hopped-up classic. It certainly has similar substance, a full 5.6% ABV and pouring out thickly with a classic deep-tan head. Proper old-man stuff, in the best possible way. The case for it being American-ish is overstated. Yes there's a hop profile, but it's quite traditionally bitter and vegetal, not bursting with citrus. The hop side complements well a different sort of bitterness from dark-chocolate and espresso roast. Though nicely weighty on the palate, it's very much a dry beer, hitting that sweet spot of being both filling and refreshing. An echo of the hopping survives into the aftertaste and calls perennial favourite Porterhouse XXXX to mind. It doesn't have quite the same wallop but is constructed along similar lines. This is a magnificent beer and I wish more Irish breweries tackled this sort of thing.

I'm pleased with this bunch, while very aware I got them for free. I can assure you if there were actual stinkers in the set I would say so. The stout is a stand-out and pushed my 20th century buttons in a big way. The brewery gives us a rare glimpse behind the scenes by saying this could have been part of their core range. It should have been.

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.