A Scatter Of Ales

I’m enjoying werking my way through the range of And Unions brews at the moment. The latest one I’ve come across was Hand Werk in darkest Ballymahon. It’s supposed to be a session IPA but at 5.5% they’re taking liberties with the description. Crazy Germans. It’s a decent, well balanced Ale but I think I’d rather another bottle of Friday from the same stable.

Northbound’s numerical obsession continues with 47, a reference to the IBUs this time round. It’s hopped with Nelson Sauvin and Cascade hops. It strikes me as an English style IPA, mellow and drinkable. Worth trying.

I picked up my first two Clever Man beers at the weekend in Deveney’s, Dundrum. Their labels are unique, with every one detailing an interesting invention. The American Pale Ale is named after the Little Willie Tank that features on the artwork. This beer is hopped with Perle and Simcoe, I thought the Perle an unusual choice for a Pale Ale as the last time I knew I was drinking it was in Wicklow Wolf’s Black Perle Porter. Maybe it’s commonly used in Pale Ales? I don’t know. Anyway, not a bad first impression of the brewery, a decent Pale Ale. I’ll tell you about their Turf Smoked Stout in the next post. In the meantime you can check out what another man thought of it:
http://theglasssandwich.blogspot.ie/2015/12/stick-on-some-turf-cleverman-smoked.html?m=1

And lastly, my first proper Christmas beer of the year! To Øl’s Frost Bite. D’ya know the way us craftwankers do be talking about orange peel and piney aromas? Well, this crowd went all out and threw in orange peel and pine needles. I’d say they had great craic cleaning their kit after that. It smells gorgeous, as you can imagine. I didn’t think a Pale Ale could fit the bill of ‘seasonal beer’ but they managed it very well indeed. Highly recommended. Sláinte!