I fell in love with the Mountain Man the first time I laid eyes on him. He scowled at me from the label which adorned an ale from Cork.
The Green Bullet Pale Ale and his brother the Hairy Goat IPA are well served by some inventive myth making on the bottle. I have given out about over zealous marketing in the past but this is an exception because a) it works and b) the beer is very worthwhile.
I had the Green Bullet Pale Ale with a jalfrezi and more than just put out a fire it was able to hold it’s own in the face of strong flavours. This could be attributed to the Green Bullet hops that don’t give the beer it’s name.
The Hairy Goat IPA is a tad more bitter with some piney hops. Chinook and Williamette make this a bit like an IPA from the American West Coast but it’s not as intense as so many of those are. I like it.
Coming up to the other capital city, Dublin, one of the newer breweries is Stone Barrel. I had one of their beers at the Alltech beer fair and this is the other one they have out, it’s called ‘Boom’ and it’s described as a Session IPA. I’ve not heard of a session IPA before but for me there were similarities to the Hairy Goat. They are both 5% or thereabouts, there are some hops but they don’t slap you around the chops. You would have a fair good session if you were knocking these back!
This weekend the Irish Beer and Cider Festival takes place in Dublin’s CHQ so I am planning on sampling a few new beers at that, what better way to start St. Patrick’s long weekend?