By all accounts, the first beer produced by Otterbank in their new brewery in Donegal should be left to age for a while but when you buy a few of them, you might as well crack one open. Otterbank is owned/brewed by Declan Nixon of YellowBelly fame. He’s had Otterbank as a gypsy brand for years and finally took the plunge himself in buying the Boghopper brewery in Muff, Donegal which had just closed its doors. He still brews for YellowBelly of course as Otterbank doesn’t take up too much time due to the aging process of its beers.
This 8.2% mixed fermentation saison is a pretty rare breed in the Irish market. It aged for 18 months in pinot noir and chardonnay oak barrels with a mix of cultures and then blended for a further 6 months in stainless before being bottled and conditioned for another 3 months before being released to the public. Now that’s “Time dedicated to you”.
The beer itself is quite bitter for a saison and there’s a fair bit of bretty horseblanket funk going on. It’s very enjoyable but I reckon it will round out nicely after a bit more time. I’ll probably crack another one open around Christmas time and see how it’s maturing.
Wicklow Wolf time next and first up is their collaboration with Dot Brew. Guardian of the Galaxy is a double black IPA and one I’ve had a few of since its release. The chosen name is due to the cosmic hops used, namely Galaxy, Strata and Comet. The hops really are the star of the show, see what I did there…..?
Anyway, it’s a big 8% dank and dark beer that’s packed full of juicy and aromatic hops and it’s one I really enjoy, in fact I’ll likely crack open another one this weekend and when that’s gone, pick up some more. OK it won’t be for everyone but I love a big BIPA myself.
Apex is the regular Wicklow Wolf stout and is a regular tipple of mine, partly because it’s similar in style to what I brew myself (Dark Stranger) and also because it’s usually available in the Londis across the road. They released a few special versions and the first one is S’Mores.
For those not in the know, a s’more is an American snack which involves melted marshmallow and some chocolate in a sandwich between 2 graham crackers. A graham cracker is similar to a digestive biscuit but not the same. It’s crunchier from memory.
Anyway, the s’mores version of Apex is a big pastry stout which is packed full of chocolate and marshmallow. It almost tastes gooey if that’s even possible. Did I like it? Yeah sure, as a one-off purchase but it’s too sweet for me. Give me a regular can of Apex and day.
You might then imagine a little trepidation when trying the Tiramisu version of Apex because, more cake beer. However while S’mores actually tasted like a liquified s’more, this does not thankfully taste of tiramisu. Now, firstly, I absolutely love tiramisu as a dessert, it’s one of my favourite things to eat after dinner when there’s room. This does not taste like that, instead what we have her is a very respectable coffee stout. I’d go so far to say that it’s one of the best coffee stouts I can recall having. It’s a real cold brew to be honest. At a whopping 8% I can’t imagine having too many of them but this is one I’ll probably pick up again when I see it.
If you ever pay attention to Brewdog on twitter, you probably know the story behind this beer. Apparently a bit of banter between Brewdog James and Aldi led to this beer. Essentially, Aldi brought out a beer called Anti Establishment IPA and it was similar enough in colouring to look like Brewdog Punk IPA. James promised to brew a knock off of their own beer and call it Yaldi Ald IPA and Aldi asked him to send them some samples. James suggested they sell their knock-off of the knock-off beer.
Eventually, Ald IPA became a thing and it appeared on Irish shelves recently. I picked one up to take one for the team so to speak. I didn’t expect much from it if I’m honest. I was pleasantly surprised to find I prefer this beer to Punk IPA. I’m not sure if I’d buy it again, depends on the price as there are really good beers out there in the 330ml can range. Look, it’s a decent, sessionable IPA and basically is what it is. I only saw it as I was in Aldi getting some Rheinbacher Pils for a German themed evening.
