Saturday, August 29, 2009
Provide me with a choice or Dammit i won't go into your Pub
this weeks Blog is about the selection of beers (or lack thereof) in two of my local pubs, these pubs are not worlds apart, they are just a 200m walk from each other, their clientele are approximately in the same age and wage bracket, yet one pub refuses to bring in the beer i have been asking for with years lets call this pub 2 with the other pub being pub 1, it's not too much of a request, all i want is some bottles of a wheat beer for summer drinking.
It is not the lack of beer that annoys me today, what annoys me today is the fact that Pub 2 have been refusing my request for approximately five years without even flinching, so i then moved to pub 1 who after the relatively small time frame of about two months have brought in two widely available wheat beers in the form of Paulaner and Erdinger. this has led to me now exclusively drinking in pub 1 for at least six months, it has been mutually beneficial for both I and the pub owner who is very pleased with the sale of Paulaner.
Here is the really annoying bit, the owner of pub 2 has been stopping me in the street asking why i do not frequent his bar any more, when i tell him in plain English he says "i can't sell that here nobody would buy it" My face fills with rage every time, Why ask me? if he knows why i don't drink there and is unwilling to do anything about it!!!!
Sorry about the rant,
BTW both of these pubs are in east cork, i will not name them here on principle, if you wish to find out who they are please feel free to e-mail me.
CHEERS
KEITH
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
No posts recently, sorry about that.
a combination of work, family commitments and brewing have got in the way o my posting.
thank you all for your patience, i will be back posting soon.
CHEERS
Keith
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Belgians!! Born in the USA?
Appearance: honey like in colour, with a lovely head that disappears quite quickly.
Smell: typically belgian tones with some banana and orange in there, mainly banana.
Taste: sweet with not too much hop character. ( i couldn't even notice the alc content even though it is 7%)
Mouthfeel: has plenty of carbonation that is not immediately noticeable from looking at the beer (no head) it is light and very enjoyable, i would definitely drink this again.
My second beer of the night is again from Goose Island, Pere Jacques 2009 is a very nice beer made in the style of a Belgian dubbel,
Apperance: a reddish amber colour, lighter than most belgian dubbels that i've had. slight tan head to begin with which once again Quickly disappears to leave just a little few patches of bubble where the carbonation is rising.
Smell: once again a very belgian scent with ripe summer fruits and banana evident with a hint of malt at the end.
Taste:Much the same as the scent although it is evident that this beer is more alcholic @ 9% than the last.
Mouthfeel: similar to the previous beer with plenty of carbonation, this beer is more chewy with a stronger and heavier feel than Matilda. nt particularly what i lke in a dubbel but it is very drinkable all the same.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
i'm still alive (after the Munster Meet)
Any how i have decided to write up a blog now on what i remember from the recent Munster ICB tasting session in the Bierhaus Cork. All started well on the evening about half past seven on the 26th June 2009 i and one of the drishane brewery crew Morgan arrived @ The Bierhaus, Here we met several members of the ICB Munster Branch including, Wallicebiy + Brother, Taf, Neils, Ger Cork, Rebel, Paudie and Peter form The Franciscan Well dropped by aswell (if i've missed anybody Sorry but i was probably too inebriated to remember you being there). the session was great, there was a fine selection of beers on show from the homebrewers and Ger Cork brought along some v nice craft brews aswell. there were some stand out beers for me, I really liked Wallicebiy's Shed stout, and Taf's Cider was v nice too (sorry can't say the same for the cranberry drink), as always Neils arrived with some V tasty and V strong Beer (needless to say i loved it).
the evening was peppered with random chatter and some good info on homebrewing techniques, thanks rebel, Wallicebiy, and Peter from The Well for this. all in all i had a great (read Drunken) night, Thanks to everyone involved who organises events such as these I.E. Rebel, Ger Cork, Dave from The Bierhaus and thanks to everyone for coming along to make the night such a success. Cheers Everyone
that's it from me until next time.
Cheers
Saturday, June 13, 2009
What should i do?
1.
4.75kg maris otter pale malt
0.10kg crystal malt
0.20kg Honey
16g Centennial whole hops Approx 10% @60
50g Cascade whole hops approx 5.5% @15
50g Cascade hhole hops approx 5.5% @5
Safale s-04 yeast
2.
3.54kg maris otter pale malt
0.04kg crystal malt
0.88kg Honey
23g Centennial whole hops Approx 10% @60
15g Cascade whole hops approx 5.5% @15
15g Cascade hhole hops approx 5.5% @1
Safale s-04 yeast
has anyone any suggestions or opinions on which i should do?
Monday, May 18, 2009
Drishane Brewery: Happy Dog Series, Wagging Tail Ale
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
My connecton how i love thee, Old friends in a new setting, The first brew, Munster see red (scarlet red that is)
Good news, after years of being left out in the wilderness Drishane Brewery has now got broadband, this technological advancement means that i no longer have to sneak around at work to get a blog post written, Yippee. so here's to my new connection long may it last.
This Sunday past 26/April/2009 i found my self in need of a little refreshment, as i was in Youghal, Co. Cork. my hopes of receiving anything except the usual crappy (insert macro brew of choice here) , Luckily i remembered a post by Rebel on ICB which mentioned that a selection of the Franciscan well beers are now on tap in the nook (Treacy's) bar. with this in mind i went in search, what i found pleased me, i hadn't been in the nook for quite some time but knew that the owner Mick was a very driven bar owner who spotted a niche easily hence the taps, quickly i ordered a pint from the young barman, "a pint of friar weisse please" to which he replied much to my shock "no problem I'll get that now" not the type of comment i had come to expect from young barmen serving new beers the usual answers being "whats that some new Budweiser" or "ya what?".
i got my pint and was mighty pleased, not as nice as it is at source but what the hell it was much better than any macro beer available. after this pint i had a conversation with the owner Mick who informed me that the three beers available were 1: friar weisse 2: rebel red and 3:blarney blonde, of these three the rebel red was selling well, the friar weisse was selling OK, and the blarney blonde wasn't really selling at all, during and after the conversation i had a rebel red, this was just as nice as at source and deserved to be the best selling Franciscan well beer in the bar, after this i had a chat with some of the regulars who were all very pleasant and had good craic, i started this chat with a blarney blonde and continued for a while drinking rebel red, all in all it was a good Sunday evening had in the company of three of my oldest friends in the unfamiliar surroundings of one of their new homes.
On another note, a few weeks ago i brewed my very first all grain beer, i tried to keep the recipe simple and added
- 3kg of Maris otter
- 500g of crystal
- challenger hops for bittering
- and 100g of spalt select for flavour and aroma,
all did not go well, i had two stuck mash moments and at least three stuck sparge moments, but all in all in the end it seemed to go quite well, there are various pictures which i cannot post at the moment but which will be up on the Drishane Brewery website tomorrow night don't forget to check them out.
Finally on a very positive note, i have been to see Munster play in Musgrave park in cork, on the night they were playing Welsh rugby team Scarlets, the game was good with Munster winning by 29-10 scoring four tries and gaining the all important bonus point too, sadly though Thómas O'Leary was badly injured in the first half, his fractured ankle means that not only is he out for the remainder of the season but will also miss out on the lions tour, we all hope recovers and i am sure that he will get another shot at the lions in his career.
CHEERS
Keith
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
BIY 2009 (Brew It Yourself) beer fuelled fun
The event was Run by Irish Craft Brewer and Franciscan Well in conjunction with the Bull and Castle gastropub in Dublin. Also in attendance were who i consider to be the best home brew suppliers on the Irish market The Home Brew Company.
The collaboration of all the A fore Mentioned organising bodies made the day a great success (the weather helped a little too). there were many ICB members in attendance who were willing and able to give some sterling advice to any new brewers and also to give advice to each other over the course of the day.
The Main event of the day though was the Beer Tasting, One of the ICB members Aleman Brought along his portable bar setup to which he had connected two Cornelius Kegs of Gorgeous Beer, Along with these two beers SBillings had brought along a Cornelius Keg of beer which too was connected to Alemans Portable bar Setup and was very well received by all who drank it, along with these kegs there was a plethora of bottled beers, most notably some in the corner which went off like a volcanoe when opened, after the Gushing though it was a damn nice Dubbel.
as the beer tasting was progressing so were the two Brews which were being made in the corner, one was being produced by Peter and Paudie of The Franciscan Well and I was making the other, Peter and Paudie were making a homebrew version of the house favourite Rebel Red, and I was Making a very impromptu stout/porter/brown ale without the aid of measuring equipment i still don't know which this is gonna turn out to be. a good few people found this part of the expo interesting although not as interesting as the tasty free beer.
The lads from The Home Brew Company had set up shop near the free beer area and seemed to be doing a good trade in starter kits and high quality all malt kits. BTW lads thanks for Sponsoring the ingredients for my impromptu brew, much appreciated.
At the end of the day we had served a load of mythbusting beer, brewed two batches of all grain and Hopefully started a lot of homebrewers on their way to great beer made in the comfort of their own home/brewing area.
Until Next Time
CHEERS
Monday, April 6, 2009
Drishane Brewery day trip: Gougane Barra and the hungry mountain people of West Cork
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Saint Patricks Day, Cork, Ireland.
There has been many a time when i have fallen around various towns and indeed the city as well on this most drunken of days. i have carelessly swigged yellow (or Green) fizzy water and made a complete arse of myself. this year however i was determined to be different. i stayed SOBER all day and even all night not a drop of anything legally considered to be alcoholic passed my lips and boy oh boy was i in for a surprise.
the day started rather slowly with Morgan and I heading down to the Grand Parade in Cork City to check out the food festival which was by then in full swing. Quickly we joined a Queue for some food which we had heard was very good. this food was being served by Barracuda Barbeque Company from Kinsale. I have never had anything like it, Bratwurst and Herbed Potatoes in a Chinese Style takeaway box with some fried onion on top, so simple but abou the best thing i've eaten in a long time, if you see these guys anywhere try the sausage and spud punnet you won't be disappointed.
We the watched the Parade which passed without a hitch, so far the day had been a big thumbs up, after the parade we went and visited th Bierhaus on popes quay in the city, here i had two weihnstephaner non alcoholic beer, it's nothing special but it knocks the socks off Becks any day.
after this we went and enjoyed some more weihnstephaner in the Oval on south main street, followed by heading to Captain America's for some food and cheesy St Patricks Day style Irish Music.
After this it all wen't wrong, usually by this point in the evening i was very drunk on a barstool somewhere or already in bed but this year with sober eyes i saw it all, it was madness, Gardai required at every street corner, the street was a veritable obstacle course with vomit everywhere and drunks fighting in middle of the road, at one point i saw some lad vomit on his burger and then pick it up again before deciding that it was in-edible. i always wondered why the rest of the world saw us as nothing other than a bunch of drunken Oirish Louts now i know, it's because on Our most publicised day the vast majority of irish twenty-forty somethings become a big shiny flashy neon stereotype of what it is to be Oirish.
Next year i'll stay for the food Fair and the well organised Parade, but will exit the city good and early, i'll ignore the news, and refuse to listen to the stories others tell, I'll imagine that the world see's us as a, well educated, funny, pleasant, population and not just a bunch of drunken idiots.
Saturday, March 14, 2009
beer tasting, Baltika 8, Baltika 6, Fullers ESB, Black Sheep Emmerdale Ale
First up Baltika 8 Hefe-Weizen:
powerful spicy nose with hints of citrus fruits,possible clove. this fades with time.
On first taste there is little or nothing to talk about except a mild clove aftertaste which doesn't really last,a few tastes later and i'm afraid that there is little more to add except a rather unpleasant tang before the clove.
this beer has little to no body and feels very light in the mouth, i am not impressed, having tried various Baltika beers in the past i feel that this has generally summed up the brand for me, not good.
@5% alc by volume i was expecting more from this beer but was sorely disappointed. My final word: i definitely would not buy this beer again, just plain nasty.
Next up is another from Baltika their Baltika 6 Porter:
Good malty nose with a distinct lack of roasty aromas.
on Initial tasting there is a strong malt flavour slightly bittersweet, unusual but not bad aftertaste which once again fades Quickly, this is definitely a porter but seems to me to lack any special destinctivness that would set it apart from any other standard porter.the same unpleasant tang as the baltika 8 appears after the third swig. it may be something to do with the ingredients or por storage i'm not sure.
once again there is little body to this beer a bit too easy to drink for such a malty flavour.
with it's 7% alc by volume this is the strongest beer of the post but it sure doesn't feel like it. my final word: of all the baltika beers i've tried this is the best although it still falls short of the mark when compared to some of its competitors.
Next up is a beer made Fullers this beer i liked Fullers ESB:
light floral nose with fruity berry like aroma with a not too heavy malt backbone.
good hop profile (from which my inexperienced palatte cannot distinguish one hop from another) with a light lasting bitterness smooth and easy to drink.
this beer has good body which is not overly heavy nor overly light, i see this beer as an evening beer, maybe not session strength but close enough.
@ 5.9% alc by volume this beer is perfect for chilling out in the evening and reflecting on your day, my final word is: a superb beer which excels in many areas but fails to point out in which one it excels most.
the final beer of my post is a Gimmick from Black Sheep Brewery it is their Emmerdale Fine Dales Ale:
light to nonexistant aroma with little or nothing to offer me, very faint scent of malt.
Bland and uneventful much like the show itself, I keep waiting for the Plane to crash and kill off the dullness but alas it hasn't.
body is once again pretty standard not great not terrible, once again i'm not impressed but in regard to this beer i'm not sorely disappointed, In My Opinion this is a gimmick beer, designed for the masses of bland, soap opera watching, yellow water swilling, people.
the Alc content is pretty average too 4.2% by Volume but that was to be expected, my final word: probably fine for the wollpack but certainly not for me.
well that's me for this post if you have been affected by any of the views or opinions expressed in this post please leave a comment.
if you feel that i have been too harsh on a particular beer or not harsh enough please feel free to leave a comment.
If you feel like leaving a comment please do
Saturday, February 28, 2009
I Have nothing to blog about !!!!! except beer (Clotworthy Dobbin/Hopfen Weisse)
the massive Overspend has also crippled my ability to socialise as much as i once used to so trying new beers has become a once or twice a month thing.
I've tried a beer which is loved by many a beer drinker over on http://www.irishcraftbrewer.com/ . this beer is called Clotworthy Dobbin and is brewed by a Belfast Brewery "whitewater" . to be fair I've tried this beer twice now just in case my palette had been adversely affected the first time, sadly it was not affected as much as i had hoped.
After much praise for this beer i was left gobsmacked by the lack of taste, don't get me wrong the beer is very good just not as good as i thought it would be, there was a good spicy nose off the beer once poured into an appropriate glass an there was a taste of honey and a very slight grapefruit tang off the hops. Like many "great" films i personally think that this beer has been overrated and over hyped. my final thoughts on this beer are "very good if not exceptional, i would happily buy this beer again".
My other Beer to talk about has swiftly become one of my favourite beers, this is the ever beautiful Hopfen Weisse from Schneider/Brooklyn, this beer has an immense presence when poured with the Huge Citrus Nose hitting you before you have even attempted to sample it. it is hard to describe why i like this beer it could be the shade of amber it pours or the fluffy head which forms on top or maybe it is the US hops i don't know but the overall experience is mind blowing plenty of spices and interesting flavours to keep anyone happy. my final thoughts "yes please barman I'll have another".
That's all for now thanks for reading
Cheers
Monday, February 2, 2009
Update Finally Complete
the Updates are small but until i get a better internet connection i'm afraid thats how it has to be.
Among the changes are:
new pictures: these pictures depict the drishane brewery daytrip to the cork city gaol (jail) and some random night out pics that have been taken over the last month or so.
Change of Blog: yes it's true this is now the official blog of the drishane brewery crew. after much deliberation we felt that this was the best platform on which to run the drishane brewery blog.
That's about all the changes for tonight but with the blog now onine here obviously we will be able to keep you updated on a much more regular basis.
I would like to thank The Beer Nut for his much appreciated encouragement on our joining the blogosphere.
once again that's all for tonight i'm gonna go enjoy a bottle of I Dunno Either now
CHEERS
Support Local Music
Just thought i'd bring ye up to speed with the local music scene by throwing up a link to the new video for James Mc Grath, this is a great song that James Recorded @ Claycastle studios in youghal. As always we @ the drishane brewery like to support any Local talent on the music scene.
the video can be seen @ http://ie.youtube.com/watch?v=0hxRADhiCjQ
Also Why not Visit James's website @ http://www.jamesmcgrath.com/
that's all for now, happy listening
Cheers
Saturday, January 31, 2009
not much happening lately in the drishane brewery camp, no outings planned for this weekend but we will be doing an update to our site including new pics and possibly some video's.
on another note i have absolutely no idea whether anyone has actually found this blog yet so if you have let us know.
on a lighter note Morgan one of the drishane brewery crew has injured himself while comically falling over while drunk. the doctors have said that it my be a chipped bone i'm not sure which one but it's definitely connected to his left arm somehow.
ok that's all for now i'll probably post again tonight when the site update is done
CHEERS
Monday, January 26, 2009
Interesting couple of days in the drishane brewery camp, this Saturday we embarked on a drinking session in the bierhaus in cork city(great bar). had a good fill there including the ever georgeous drink "Ayinger Celebrator" one of my favourites- being had at the end of our stay there, afterwards we travelled to the Quad Bar on Tuckey St where we had one too many Paulaner and stumbled home with a quick trip to Hillbilly's fried chicken on the way home.
On Sunday morning/afternoon we arose to go view the Munster Rugby match which was fantastic a good solid win, after which we paid a t to the Cork city gaol (old Cork city Jail), very interesting tour there with some creepy parts like locking yourself into one of the Cells for a few minutes, after our antics on saturday night we didn't really feel like having more beer on sunday which is just as well as i would be driving later in the evening and I don't agree with drinking even one pint and driving afterward.
All in All a good time was had, and hopefully some pictures will be posted on www.drishanebrewery.info in the near future.
CHEERS
Saturday, January 24, 2009
This blog is mainly to promote the Drishane Brewery Website www.drishanebrewery.info before you all leave i would like to point out that the drishane brewery is not ctually a commercially operating brewery but is a front for a homebrewer (me) and his buddies who like to drink his free beer (the lads). the website is often used to post pictures of my latest project or brew and to post some usually silly and shaky pictures of the drishane brewery crew doing what we do best (getting drunk and having a laugh).
Hopefully what this blog will be used for will provide an amusing insight into Our world including stories about the nights out and naturally about the beer. anyhoo that's all for now folks
Cheers!