I’m starting to feel guilty. There hasn’t been any Irish beer featured here in a whole week! Today I’m rectifying that situation. 8 Degrees managed to bag some of the brand new Enigma hop from Australia. It’s a single hop Pale Ale so you get no interference! It’s fruity, it reminded me a little of Tropicana Breakfast Juice. With almost IBUS some would dub it an IPA. I liked it a lot!
Dungarvan are celebrating their fifth birthday and they decided to do something pretty unique to mark the occasion. Nøgne Ø’s Kjetil Jikiun came to Ireland to work with them on this special beer. They used local dillisk and saison yeast to create a Seaweed Saison. Patrick McHugh, manager of my local O’Brien’s in Athlone had drank Kelpie before and I think he was half expecting something similar. He said it had a similar sweetness to a hefe at the start but remarked that it had a salty finish. He wasn’t wrong. This beer also has a peppery dryness from the saison yeast and umami from the seaweed. It’s a smashing Saison. Both beers are available now in O’Brien’s while stocks last. Sláinte!