Widmer Brothers Brewing Company - Hopside Down IPA !!!

Hey Everyone, 

Sorry it's been a while things have been crazy busy recently; but we're back. 

Today's beer review is a must try beer, one that you should go out and get ASAP as you really won't regret it. Today's beer is from Portland, Oregon, United States of America; hope you all enjoy :D

Beer Name:
Hopside Down IPA - Rotator IPA Series

Brewery:
Widmer Brothers Brewing Company

Brewed and Bottled:
929 N Russell Street,
Portland,
OR 97227,
United States
http://widmerbrothers.com/

Alcoholic Percentage:

6.7% Vol

Measure:

355ml

Taste:

Strong Hops, Slight Bitterness, Deep Full Flavour, Crisp, Smooth

Colour:

Light Orange

Odour:

Strong Hops, Slight Citrus

General Thoughts:

Widmer Brothers Brewing Company's Hopside Down IPA is a light, crisp beer with the characteristics that you would expect from a lager/pilsner style of beer, however it packs the deep, full flavours of a great IPA. Hopside Down IPA is light in colour with a deep, rich hops flavour that you would come to expect from a traditional IPA. There is a real hard hitting punch of hops that I love in a beer and is something that I would certainly be looking for in an IPA. There is a slight bitterness to this beer with a mild citrus note, this gives the beer a real moreish quality; making you want to go back for more and more. The overall feel of the beer is a smooth, light, well rounded beer; balanced with the strong hops flavour, giving the bitter notes, but with a slight sweet edge to give an overall well balanced beer. Hopside Down IPA also backs a punch when it comes to Alcohol Percentage, coming in at 6.7% ABV. This however isn't a problem for this beer as it doesn't feel like you are drinking a beer that is that strong in alcohol, which is a great attribute. Overall Hopside Down IPA is a really well balanced IPA with bitter notes and a strong, developed hops flavour. This beer will not leave you disappointed and I recommend going out and getting yourself a bottle as it is a truly fantastic beer. All in all I think that Hopside Down IPA is a must buy beer and one you can enjoy anytime.

Price:

€2.79 (Avg Price - from Super Quinn)

Shane

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Kinsale Brings a Brand New Craft Brewery to Town :D

Hey everyone, today's post is a really exciting review of a brand new Craft Brewery from Kinsale, Co. Cork, Ireland. Hope you all Enjoy :D

The Blacks Kinsale Craft Brewery
From Humble beginnings comes a fantastic new brewing company down in Kinsale Co. Cork. Like most of us avid beer drinkers and brewers there is always a dream to produce and supply the public with your own beer, for the Blacks Kinsale Craft Brewery this is no longer a dream. This new brewing company started off with a little brewing time in another fantastic brewers headquarters down in Cork,  the Eight Degrees brewery. This gave the guys a chance to start making their first beer, their Pale Ale, which allowed them to get their new beer out to the public as quick as possible. This brewing time acted as a great learning tool for the guys and allowed them to really harness in and perfect that first beer that would be presented to the public. 

As with us all there was deliberation as to whether to start off with a safe Pale Ale or to really push the boundries and make a beer that they love and one that they would want to drink, so this is what they did. They put aside all the boring, plain, pale ales that are out there and really started to work on a recipe that would wow all of its drinkers. This Pale Ale has a great balance of Citra and Cascade hops bringing a whole new dimension to the beer. Several batches of this beer where made in order to really bring a brand new, quality Pale Ale to the public and boy have they made an impression. 

This is what the guys over at the Blacks Kinsale Craft Brewery had to say about their Pale Ale:
"This beer is mostly about the hops but there is some nice biscuit like character in there as well. Being based in Kinsale we also wanted to make a beer that could be paired well with food, and give local restaurants a gourmet beer option for their menu's. The beer works really well with seafood as well as going great with spicy food and anything from the BBQ.  I think the profile and bitterness level is spot on for a Pale Ale but we look forward to bringing in more bittering and hops in our IPA series." 

I was lucky enough to give this Pale Ale a try and I can't tell you how blown away I was with it, it is absolutely fantastic. Here is a full beer review really giving you all an idea of the true character of the Blacks Kinsale Craft Brewery's Pale Ale.

Beer Name:
Pale Ale

Brewery:
Blacks Kinsale Craft Brewery

Alcoholic Percentage:

5.0% Vol

Measure:

330ml

Taste:

Strong Hops, Smooth, Slight Sweetness, Bitter After Taste

Colour:

Deep Orange

Odour:

Strong Hops, Slight Citrus, Slight Tropical fruits

General Thoughts:

The Blacks Kinsale Craft Brewery Pale Ale is a great, full bodied Pale Ale, which packs a real hops punch, which I love. There is a bitterness that comes from the two hop varieties used in the beer, Citra and Cascade, this gives the beer a real moreish quality, making you want to keep going back for more and more. The Blacks Kinsale Craft Brewery Pale Ale is a real easy drinking beer, smooth and full of well rounded flavours, ranging from slight tropical fruit notes, to citrus notes, all the way through to the mouth watering grapefruit flavours. There is a slight bitter after taste which helps keep the drinker interested. There is little to medium carbonation in this beer, making it nice and refreshing, perfect for those summer nights and days, drinking in the sun while cracking out the BBQ. This beer really blew me away, for a breweries first attempts at a mass produced craft beer, this just knocks you for six. I was absolutely amazed by it and really cannot wait to get out to the shops and get myself a crate of this fantastic beer. If a brewing company can make a beer like this on their first attempt then I am really excited about what the future has in store for the Blacks Kinsale Craft Brewery and what other new beers will be coming our way in the future. I know one thing, I cannot wait to get my hands on them. All in all a fantastic start to the Blacks Kinsale Craft Brewery's beers, not only making a great beer, but one that is truly different and memorable.

Some Important Information:
The official launch of the Blacks Kinsale Craft Brewery Pale Ale is Friday 28^th June in The folk house in Kinsale. Many local pubs and restaurants are stocking the beer so far and they hope to have it in most places by the end of June.

They will also be rolling out the Pale Ale to other Cork Venues and Dublin Venues in the next couple of months, more on this will be available in the coming weeks.

Shane

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Odell Brewing Company: IPA !!!

Hey Everyone, Hope you've all been enjoying some fantastic beers over the weekend in the sun, Today's beer comes in from the USA, I hope you all enjoy !!!

Beer Name:
IPA

Brewery:
Odell Brewing Company

Brewed and Bottled:
800 East Lincoln Avenue,
Fort Collins,
Colorado,
CO 80524
USA

Alcoholic Percentage:

7.0% Vol

Measure:

355ml

Taste:

Strong Hops, Smooth, Slight Sweetness, Bitter After Taste

Colour:

Light Orange

Odour:

Strong Hops, Slight Citrus

General Thoughts:

IPA by the Odell Brewing Company is a fantastic, smooth beer with real full developed flavours. This beer is deep in flavour, strong in hops and also has a nice malt note to it. There is also a slight sweetness to this beer which helps to balance out the strong hops flavour that you get in this beer. This slight sweetness helps to mellow the bitterness from the hops giving an overall, smooth, developed flavour. IPA does have a slight bitter after taste, however I think this is a great attribute in a beer as it makes you want to go back and drink more and more of the beer. One of the surprising things about IPA from the Odell Brewing Company is the real balance in alcohol flavour. This beer comes in at 7% ABV, however this beer is so well balanced you would never think it was that strong. This beer really doesn't taste as strong as it is which is a real bonus. All in all IPA from the Odell Brewing Company is a great, all rounder that is well balanced in deep hops flavour and also allows for a slight sweetness to round the whole beer off. If your looking for a good example of an IPA then this is definitely a beer you should try. I would really recommend this to you all as it is a really nice, smooth drinking beer.  

Price:

€3.00 - €3.50 (Based on Average)

Shane

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Arrogant Bastard Ale !!!

Hey Everyone, hope your all having a great weekend so far, today's post is an exceptional beer, one that I wish I could get my hands on more of, Today's Beer is from the Stone Brewing Company. Hope you all enjoy :) !!!

Beer Name:
Arrogant Bastard Ale

Brewery:
Stone Brewing Company

Brewed and Bottled:
1999 Citracado Parkway
Escondido,
California,
CA 92029

Alcoholic Percentage:

7.2% Vol

Measure:

650ml

Taste:

Deep, Rich, Smooth, Strong Hops, Slight Bitterness

Colour:

Light Brown / Slight Red Tint

Odour:

Slight Hops, Slight Malt, A Little Sweetness

General Thoughts:

Arrogant Bastard Ale is a fantastic beer, one of the best beers that I have ever had the pleasure of drinking. This beer is deep, full of flavour and really moreish. This beer has a strong hops flavour, mixed with a great level of malt flavour and a slight sweetness. There is a bitterness to this beer from the hop content of the beer, however this is a pleasant bitterness and one your glad is there to balance out the little sweetness to the beer. Arrogant Bastard Ale is a strong beer coming in at 7.2% ABV, you would expect a beer of this strength to not only taste really strong in alcohol but also to be overpowering. Due to some exceptional brewing this isn't the case at all with this beer, this beer doesn't seem overly alcoholic at all and is so well balanced and deep in flavour you won't find it overpowering either. This for me is a beer that I wish I could get more easily and would drink more often if I could, unfortunately it isn't easy to get which will make it all the better and more special when I can get my hands on it. The other plus point to this beer is that it comes in a big bottle so you get much more for your money, making this a win win situation. On the whole Arrogant Bastard Ale is one of the best beers I have ever tasted and really have to commend the Stone Brewing Company for making an exceptional beer. Deep, Rich, Full flavoured beer, perfectly balanced, with that moreish quality making you want to return time after time. All in All an exceptional beer, Thank you Stone Brewing Company !!!  

Price:

€3.00 - €4.00 (Based on Average)

Shane

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Honker's Ale !!!

Hey Everyone, Its mid week and probably about now that were all wishing for the weekend, well why not have a midweek beer to help bring the weekend a little closer. Today's review is from the Goose Island Brewery, Hope you all enjoy !!!

Beer Name:
Honker's Ale

Brewery:
Goose Island 

Brewed and Bottled:
Goose Island Beer Company
Chicago, 
Illinois,
USA

Alcoholic Percentage:

4.3% Vol

Measure:

355ml

Taste:

Light, Refreshing, Slight Bitterness, Slight Hops

Colour:

Slight Cloudiness, Dark Orange

Odour:

Slight Hops

General Thoughts:

Honkers Ale is an interesting beer, light and refreshing with a slight hops flavour. This is a very easy drinking, palatable beer, one that you could enjoy many of. There is a slight bitterness to this beer coming from the hops, which also leaves a slight bitter after taste, this helps to give the beer that moreish quality, making you want to go back for more. Honkers' Ale is a subtle beer with subtle flavours, there are no out there flavours, that burst onto the scene, making this any different from other beers out there, however saying this it is still a very enjoyable beer. This beer is also mellow in character, therefore its not overly heavy in flavour or overly rich, you kind of know what you getting with this beer, a nice easy drinking beer with all round nice, slightly hop flavours. There is little to no carbonation to this beer, which helps make this beer so easy to drink. All in all Honker's Ale is a nice all round, mellow, refreshing beer, with slight hops flavours and a slight bitterness. This beer is easy to drink, however doesn't stand out from the crowd, therefore if your looking for a "Wow" factor beer, this wouldn't be it, but if your looking for an easy drinking beer that you could have mid week to take the edge off the week, then you would not be disappointed. Overall a nice beer, that you could find yourself drinking many of, but not a beer that really packs a punch.

Price:

€2.50 - €3.50 (Based on Average)

Shane

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Southern Tier 2 x IPA !!!

Hey Everyone, Today's beer review is from the Southern Tier Brewing Company. Hope you all enjoy !!! Also looking to read some other beer reviews why not check out The Beers page !!!

Beer Name:
2 x IPA

Brewery:
Southern Tier Brewing Company

Brewed and Bottled:
Southern Tier Brewing
Company,
Lakewood,
New York,
USA

Alcoholic Percentage:

8.2% Vol

Measure:

330ml

Taste:

Strong Hops, Refreshing, Citrus, Bitter After Taste, Smooth

Colour:

Golden / Amber

Odour:

Strong Hops, Slight Citrus

General Thoughts:

2 x IPA is a great beer, light, refreshing and smooth, with a strong hops flavour. This beer has a high hops flavour giving it a slight bitterness, however this is well balanced with a slight sweetness, giving this beer an overall pleasant feel. One of the best things about this beer is that it doesn't taste overly alcoholic, which is a big surprise considering it comes in at 8.2% ABV. This may not be a beer that you could drink all night as it is very strong, however it is a beer that you can enjoy with your mates on a special occasion or as a final beer of the evening. 2 x IPA is also surprisingly light considering its strength, this again goes in its favour, in my eyes making it a great beer. There is little to no carbonation to this beer, giving it that moreish quality, which is helped along by the slight bitter after taste that you get from the hops flavour of the beer. This beer doesn't taste overly bitter either compared to other IPA's that are out there, so if you are an IPA fan but looking for something that is strong in hops flavour, with a slight sweetness, balancing the whole beer out then this is the beer for you. On the whole  2 x IPA is a brilliant beer, light, refreshing and bursting with full, deep flavours, making you want to go back for more and more. This is a beer that I would really recommend to anyone that is an IPA fan as it ticks every box in that beer style, if your new to craft beers, then this may be a good transition as it is not overly bitter, which you can get with other IPA's. All in all a fantastic beer that I would highly recommend.

If your interested in a little history of the IPA and some reviews and comparisons of great IPA's then check out this post Here.

Price:

€3.00 - €4.00 (Based on Average)

Shane

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The Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout !!!!

Hey Everyone, Hope your having a great week so far. Today's beer review is from the Brooklyn Brewing Company. Hope you all enjoy !!! Also looking to read some other beer reviews why not check out The Beers page !!!

Beer Name:
Black Chocolate Stout

Brewery:
The Brooklyn Brewing Company

Brewed and Bottled:
The Brooklyn Brewing
Company,
Brooklyn,
New York,
USA

Alcoholic Percentage:

10.0% Vol

Measure:

355ml

Taste:

Very Chocolaty, Rich, Smooth, Slight Bitterness

Colour:

Black

Odour:

Slight Chocolate, Slight Coffee, Really Malty

General Thoughts:

The Brooklyn Brewing Company Black Chocolate Stout is a really smooth, deep, full flavoured stout, with a strong, rich chocolate flavour to it. If you are a chocoholic then this may well just be the beer for you. There is a slight bitterness to this beer, but no where near as bitter as I was expecting, if anything this beer has a very slight sweetness, making the overall taste and feel of the beer very smooth and palatable. There is little to no carbonation to this beer, which helps with its smooth texture on the palate. Black Chocolate Stout also has a warming quality to it as it is rich and also has a high alcohol percentage, coming in at 10% ABV, however the really pleasurable and pleasant surprise to this beer is that it doesn't taste overly alcoholic at all. This beer also has a real moreish quality, I found myself not wanting to put it down or stop drinking it, just make sure you have a couple sitting in the fridge getting nice and cold. This is an extremely well made beer, a lot of time and effort has gone into making sure that this beer is really well balanced and not so strong that you feel like you can't drink a whole one, if anything this beer makes you want to have one after another. On the whole Black Chocolate Stout is a fantastic, well balanced, deep, rich, smooth, full flavoured stout that will tick every box. This is a perfect winter beer and unfortunately is seasonal, however it is well worth the wait and you should stock up while you have the chance. All in all this is a fantastic beer, one of the best beers I have reviewed this year and I would recommend this beer very highly indeed.

Price:

€2.50 - €3.50 (Based on Average)

Shane

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Anchor's Liberty Ale !!!

Hey Everyone, The weekend is here and it's time to sit back, relax and enjoy. Today's beer review is from the Anchor Brewing Company. Hope you all enjoy !!! Also looking to read some other beer reviews why not check out The Beers page !!!

Beer Name:
Liberty Ale

Brewery:
The Anchor Brewing Company

Brewed and Bottled:
Anchor Brewing Company
San Francisco
California,
USA

Alcoholic Percentage:

5.9% Vol

Measure:

355ml

Taste:

Light, Slight Citrus, Bitter, Slight Bitter After Taste, Refreshing

Colour:

Light Orange, Slight Cloudiness

Odour:

Slight Citrus, Slight Hops, Fresh

General Thoughts:

Liberty Ale is a really nice, refreshing, light beer, with a slight citrus feel to it. There is a slight hops nose and taste to this beer which is great, bringing a slight bitterness to the beer. There is also a slight sweetness to this beer which brings the whole beer together, making it really well balanced and giving the person drinking it an all round taste and feel in the mouth. There is a slight bitter after taste to this beer also which I think is a fundamental attribute to a great beer, making you want to have sip after sip. Liberty Ale is a really enjoyable beer, that is extremely palatable and easy to drink. There is little carbonation to this beer also adding to it's easiness to drink it. Another great attribute to this beer is that it doesn't taste overly strong in alcohol, which considering its 5.9% ABV is a great achievement. If you are a fan of Anchor's Steam Beer, then you will definitely be a fan of this Liberty Ale. It has similarities to the Steam Beer, but in my eyes is a much nicer, more developed flavoured beer. On the whole Liberty Ale is a really nice, light refreshing beer, with nice developed flavours, with a slightly bitter, citrus after taste. All in all I would recommend this beer highly as one to go out there and try, you will all really enjoy it i'm sure of that.  

Price:

€2.50 - €3.50 (Based on Average)

Shane

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