Thursday, August 19, 2010

Tongue twistingly hoppy.

The Belhaven Brewery's Twisted east India pale ale is exactly that. The roasted malts in this ale give it the classic refreshing flavor of an IPA and that's what I look for when I want to enjoy a few craft beers at the end of the week. I was disappointed however with how tangy the hops had made Twisted IPA, I was expecting a bitter brew but not tangy and I have to give Belhaven's Twisted IPA 6/10. The plus side of Twisted IPA is that very gracefully blends two types of hops, cascade and challenger, which are two my favorite varieties of hops.
-The Poacher

Monday, August 9, 2010

St.Bernard's doesn't necessarily mean cheap.

I work in Dunnes Stores so I should know but with the majority of Trappist beers on tap in the Porterhouse costing roundabout 6.20 St Bernardus Trappist is in my opinion the best buy. Firstly because it's a mellow tasting beer with loads of flavor with plenty of additional fruity malts. The wheat malts aren't very apparent at first but leave a subtle aftertaste, a signature of many good wheat beers. However I can't find anything extraordinary about this beer so it sits at seven out of ten. On the other hand I think St. Bernardus Tripel is the triple for someone to taste for the first time it's not at that bad!

Sunday, August 1, 2010

Another one well red!

I'm a major fan of red ale so I obviously felt obliged to try the Franciscan Well's brews in the Gingerman. I'd actually go as far as to say that Writer's Red might actually be my new favorite red ale. With a gentle soothing coffee malts with sumptuous fruit notes. Writer's Red oozes craft brewed aroma, the smell of it makes any of the big beer brands smell like cleaning chemicals. Writer's red is a very strong tasting ale with strong hops but the various malts (and don't get me wrong I love the bitter taste of hops) in Writer's red are marginally stronger coming together in a tasting drop giving Writer's red nine out of ten. Not only is this a beautiful beer but it's very light on the stomach and I have not been paid by the Franciscan Well Brewery to endorse any of their products in any way what so ever!
-The Poacher

Thursday, July 29, 2010

Finally, a good case of Writer's Block!

This is the stereotypical beer that people drink at the bar after a hard day at work. Writer's Block is a delicious golden lager. At first sip the lager is initially quite generously hopped however the mellow and gentle citrus-like malts soon come to the fore. The typical golden lager aroma and beautiful barley aftertaste make Writer's Block a rewarding after work tiple at eight out of ten.
-The Poacher

Friday, July 23, 2010

This is the beer that the TV ads mimic!

Blanche De Bruxelles (BdB) is very mellow in both flavor and aroma but also very well balanced. It's mellow and refreshing fruity malt blend well with the wheat malt and mild but tantalizing hops and substantial yeast. What gives this weissbier the eight out of ten it deserves is how genuinely great it looks when you put it down after taking a sip, the modest gravity of the wheat beer makes the bubbles move back to the traditional weissbier head in a whirlpool motion I've only ever seen on ads for shite beer on the telly. Blanche De Bruxelles falls two shots short of a bullseye at eight out of ten.
-The Poacher

Thursday, July 22, 2010

[INSERT WITTY TITLE/HILARIOUSLY RELEVANT PUN HERE]

I genuinely couldn't think of a title for this post in my usual style. Thus I'm ashamed of myself. Other than that Gouden Carolus is a nice beer, betraying it's high alcoholic strength with it's wonderfully fruity aroma. The beautiful yeast in this beer is very surprisingly balanced with it's citrus and fruity malts. This Gouden Carlous is 8.5% proof but it isn't very strong tasting so this beer can actually be drank like water. This beer even screams craft beer and drinking it pats each of it's consumers (in the metaphorical sense) on the back for being a beer aficionado but Gouden Carlous is neither strong tasting nor hoppy enough to completely satisfy my taste buds and I want to follow my heart on this beer and leave Gouden Carlous falling half way to a bullseye at five out of ten. However I like to think myself as as good judge of beer and Gouden Carlous efficiently ticks all the same boxes as the big brand name beers and would not only appeal but satisfy the tastes of the average drinker of any taste and age that don't particularly have a preference for craft brewed beer. Gouden Carlous falls two shots short of the mark at eight out of ten.
-The Poacher

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Just when you thought there was enough IPAs out there,

you were wrong. Mind you this Pale ale was launched during the Easter festival so it's not like we didn't see this one coming plus the Carlow Brewing Company's IPA is in fact the abbreviation for Irish Pale Ale. O'Hara's Red will remain my favorite of the Carlow Brewing Company's beers but I can see the Irish pale ale snapping up that title with many craft beer enthusiasts. This brew has hit a bullseye making this my first ten out of ten. I particularly loved both the strength of the zesty citrus aroma, tongue tingling barley malt and uniquely soothing (which I did't expect from) hops. This beer simply reeks of the dedication put into craft brewing and of the effort put into this beer, the aroma from this beer gave me the sensation of actually being in a brewpub.
-by the Poacher

Thursday, July 15, 2010

Expensive taste isn't necessarily good taste!

The title refers to Brewdog's Paradox cask aged imperial stout. This is a good brew, don't get me wrong and it can unlike mass produced stouts like guinness be enjoyed in some quantity - if it weren't so expensive of course! The cask maturation was an absolute necessity (which leaves a rare and pleasant aftertaste) to make this a nice beer as the combination of hops and malt in this beer is quite bland as though both adjuncts were cancelling one another out. Instead both of the aforementioned adjuncts (hops and assorted malts) should not only complement one another but should also match their individual contribution to the beer's general aroma. This another reason why I don't like this beer - the aroma of Paradox is absolutely beautiful and the beer itself doe not in any manner whatsoever live up to the expectation of said aroma! This craft beer falls six shots short of a dead deer so I'm giving it a four out of ten and that's mostly because I appreciate all the time and effort the lads in Brewdog put into their fine profession.
-The Poacher

My groins!

Sadly that's not what mein grunes translates as however the organic TAP4 brew from my Oktoberfest favorite, Scheider-Weiss is a lovely bottle of enjoyment. The aroma of this of this beer reminds me of the smell of smoked beans that Batchelors brought out in the nineties. So that's the first thumbs up this wheat beer gets from me. I also think it tastes nicer than the original Schneider-Weiss. Somehow the organic ingredients in this beer bring up to par with my favorite craft beers. Another reason I like this beer other than the pleasant blend of hops and wheat is that I was surprised by how great it tasted. The only real reason I'm disappointed by this wheat beer that I can't use it as evidence that the Reinheitsgebot doesn't always work therefor I leave this beer falling three shots short of the mark or seven out of ten.
-The Poacher

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Wednesday's beer is full of woe.

It's not, I just thought that would be a witty title for a blog post. When I took this bottle home from the Drink Store I had that funky Friday feeling that the red ale I was pouring into the pint glass was going to be a beautifully refreshing craft beer. The funky Friday feeling was actually due to the fact that I was pouring the beer from a bottle of Dungarvan's Coppercoast red ale. Since I'll eventually wind up giving every Dungarvan brew top marks I'll give the verdict now, three shots short of a dead deer in Poacher vocabulary - seven out of ten. My first reason being the subtle caramel flavored malt is potent as is the the fruity aromas and textures creating a nice balance that is further aided by the ale's own malt. Which leads me to the next pint (sorry, I just had to!) this balance creates a strong tasting beer and I love strong tasting, craft brewed ales.
-The Poacher

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

From the creator's of the most expensive beer!

Tuesday's beer is Hardcore Imperial Pale Ale made by BrewDog of Scotland. I was going to take this opportunity to prove that the young creators of this craft beer aren't only out to make high alcohol content beers but I have an old habit of trying the pale ale of each new brand that I want to taste. However the upside is Hardcore IPA is together with Punk IPA is the cheapest of BrewDog's range of beers.
Anyhow this brew, I believe is the Scottish equivalent to the Irish Porterhouse's An Brainblasta. Hardcore IPA may have a relatively high alcoholic volume. What I loved in particular about this craft beer is . . . drum roll please, Maris Otter hops. This very luxurious addition to the brew works very well with the alcohol content, giving the toffee malt a chance to sooth the drinker's tastebuds. I find this gives Hardcore IPA a very pleasing and therefor surprising balance which I thoroughly enjoyed. This beer doesn't feel watery on the tongue in any way whatsoever which is why only drink craft brewed beer now and furthermore I thought the relatively high alcohol content was going to overshadow the taste of the beer but I was surprised by the balanced taste of BrewDog's Hardcore IPA.
So BrewDog's Hardcore IPA falls a single shot short of the mark at nine out of ten.
-The Poacher

Monday, June 14, 2010

Monday's beer is a blonde ale.

I'm a staunch advocate of red ale but this fine brew from the Dungarvan brewery is really opening my mind to the delicious properties of what the Poacher finds is a very brew in the Republic of Ireland-blonde ale! The wonderful brewmasters in the Dungarvan brewery co. Waterford have named this very tasteful ale Helvick Gold and I cannot agree any less with such an apt name. The hops in this ale are strong but not overpowering at all as this brew is well balanced beer evident of it's creator's years of experience and skill in homebrewing. Furthermore, the rich citrus flavour of this beer willfully compliments the barley content which I thoroughly enjoyed tasting with this fine ale! I give this seductive blond a nine out of ten or in the Beer Poacher's language one shot short of the mark!
-The Poacher