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

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!

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

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

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

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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

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