I first encountered Four Provinces last Summer at the European Beer Bloggers Conference in Dublin. Their Hurler Copper Ale was a relatively new on the scene. Last week The Hurler and The Piper arrived in to my local O’Brien’s as part of the new Irish beers they are stocking. The Hurler is a fairly light sessionable ale at 4.2%. It’s hopped with Chinook and Cascade but they didn’t go nuts so it’s still a very accessible beer. It’d be a good one to bring to a barbecue.
The Piper is an English style IPA ironically enough with the amount of Gaeilge on the label! It’s darker than your usual IPA, with a kind of reddish amber hue. They weren’t as shy with the hops this time round. It’s got some grapefruit bitterness which make it very refreshing. I really enjoyed it.
Yesterday I spoke with one of the men behind the beer, Feargal, a teacher by day and brewer by late afternoon and early evening. He and Andrew, a pharmacist by day and, well, you know the rest, have spent the last two years producing this pair of ales. At the moment they are concocting the draught at Trouble Brewing while the bottles are being contract brewed at Brú. They should be up and running at their own facility in Kimmage by December. They’re planning on carving up Dublin city between themselves and Five Lamps! Pick up a pair for the weekend. Sláinte!
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