Tasting Independent Pale Ale for The Malt House – completing the set!

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I stopped into The Malt House last night for a swift half after a hard days graft. Behind the bar I spotted the Independent label. Earlier in the week I had their Golden and Red Ales and I was keen to try their Pale Ale as I expected it to be very good. Michelle told me that they were samples sent in for Robert to try. As he hadn’t yet, I was nominated for the onerous task. Don’t tell Robert if you’re talking to him!
One thing I like about the Independent beers is the list of malt and hops on the label. You can still guess what they are if you’re bored! This one has both Pale Malt and Rye and Columbus and Chinook hops from America and Magnum hops from Germany. The American hops are dominant. The beer had also been double dry hopped and I would say it’s an IPA myself. This is the strongest of the beers brewed by Independent at the moment, at 6% unless I am wrong and the IPA brewed specially for The Larder in Dublin is stronger. I suppose I’ll have to go on an arduous fact finding mission. It’s a tough gig! Anyway, Robert and Michelle from The Malt House and anyone else who likes their ales, this gets two thumbs up from me!

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Bristol Beer Factory

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It’s all about the independence this week. The Bristol Beer Factory is fiercely proud of it’s independence and their American style Pale Ale is called: Independence. It’s a well hopped pale ale and at 4.6% you could put away a few of these extremely drinkable beers.

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Their Seven is a traditional English bitter which uses classic Maris Otter malt and Challenger and Fuggles hops. It’s copper in colour and has a decent head. There is some toffee from the malt without being overly sweet. Another great session beer. I think I’ll have to go to Bristol to get it on draft.

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Einstok Icelanic Pale Ale

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This is the second beer I’ve had from Einstok, the first being their white ale. This is a lovely colour and it’s very clear. It doesn’t taste like it has been filtered to within an inch of it’s life though. It starts off with some malty sweetness. I wouldn’t describe the hops that follow as bitter, perhaps crisp would be a better word. It’s a better than average Pale Ale, definitely worth a try. But then as a viking I’m biased.

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The Cider Correspondent Contributes

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The Cider Correspondent has been lax of late neglecting her cider drinking duties. We picked up a bottle of McIvor’s Medium Cider at the weekend. It’s made up in Armagh from the famous apples in that part of the world. She described it as fruity and sweet and without the sharp aftertaste that you get with Bulmers. The verdict? Lovely.

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A Cocktail Infographic

<a href="
Source: Affordable-Online-Colleges.net” title=”A Cocktail Infographic”>A Cocktail Infographic

This might be handy if you like cocktails but can’t afford to drink them ‘out’, prices are in dollars, handy for my American readers, the rest of you will have to get a calculator out!

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