Some Sheelin Brews

As I mentioned a few weeks ago, new Norn Iron brewer Sheelin has started supplying to the market. Brewer George Cathcart called in on his way home from a delivery run for a chat and to leave me some samples. More on those later but first a bit more about the brewery.

George had been home brewing for seven years before taking the plunge and going commercial. As with all sensible start-ups he began with a 1 barrel brew kit to perfect his recipes and he'll continue to use this for one-offs and festival specials (something special lined up for Christmas already). He does also have an 8 barrel brew kit which is enabling him to meet the demand on the back of the article in Easyjet magazine.

That high demand has seen his wife Vicky handing over the keys to the cafe they were also running to focus on the brewing side of the business for the time being, with demand growing even in the few short weeks since we last spoke. With an energetic 16month old to look after George and Vicky certainly have their hands full!

George and I have a fair amount in common, a love of good beer and good food (and the pairing thereof) but we're also both chemists, albeit heading in slightly different directions. George's fascination with microbiology and biochemistry has led to him creating a yeast bank of some 30 viable strains of yeast; allowing him to pick the most suitable strain for the job in each of his four core range beers and having plenty at hand to pep up those specials!

So what of the core range? On the face of it its the usual Irish "holy trinity" of red, blonde and black with a pale ale, so what's different? All the beers are brewed at a sessionable 4.5%, allowing for them to be drunk by the pint, but George is also aiming at the beer and food pairing market; so the beers have been brewed with a lower bitterness level to increase potential matches and appeal to the widest audience. Those specials will be where us beer geeks get our kicks, with higher strength brews, speciality yeasts/grains and perhaps even a spot of barrel ageing?

George left me samples of his blonde and his stout. The blonde ale is very much what you might expect, though without the almost metallic hops or biting carbonation you too often find in the the style. Instead there are some pineapple yeast esters and some doughy malt flavours that I normally associate with a Kolsch. I'd finished the beer within a few gulps, which is always a good sign and nothing about it would put off those used to the cold and fizzy, though the carbonation is noticeably lower than those mass market products (which can only be a good thing in my mind!).

The stout is a different beer entirely. Again, with the low hopping rate, the beer is very "mild" and I've even suggested to Gorge that the style designation be kept vague to prevent preconceptions of something dry and roasty which this beer isn't really. I see it as a proper mild (albeit at the higher end of the ABV range) with licorice toffee and burnt toast at first seguing into roast coffee beans and milk chocolate in the finish. Its fairly sweet and I reckon a dose of late hops for flavour  (Bramling cross perhaps?)* would really make the beer zing and I'd love to see this on cask.

So how about food pairings? Well the blonde would work well with light meats and fish and mild cheshire cheese whereas the stout would give an extra dimension to any red meat or game stew, dark berry fruits and sweet and creamy blue cheeses. Look out for the beer in the province to try for yourself.

George hopes to have his third beer, an IPA available in cask for the Belfast beer festival in November. Hope to see you all there. My preview post will be up sometime towards the end of October but to whet your whistles there will be plenty of seasonals from around the UK, a few unusual beers and of course a growing contingent of Northern Ireland breweries and cider makers in attendance.

*I suggested as much to George and he let slip that he's been growing a few bines on the sly, one of which is Bramling cross - the first hops in Northern Ireland in a long time perhaps?

Dropped from the sky

Scotland is awash with new breweries at the moment, all doing their own thing. Fallen is no exception, starting in 2012 and currently brewed at Traditional Scottish Ales facility they managed to achieve best new Scottish brewery on Ratebeer last year. I bagged a selection of their beers from Alesela (bought with my hard earned of course); here's my thinkings.

Clean, easily differentiated labelling helps the beers to stand out on the now crowded Scottish beer shop shelves.

The blonde ale is the golden girl of the bunch. Very lager-like and that's no bad thing. It manages to do exactly what the label suggests. Pours deep gold with fluffy white head. Nettle like Saaz hops and malt sweetness, pleasing bitterness tempered by malt, medium body and carbonation, some citrus hops ,and dry moreish finish.

Dragonfly is the 4.8% amber ale. Pours hazy midbrown with fluffy off white head. Aroma of citrus pith and mango. Medium carbonation and body, initial sweetness then sharp citrus, dry digestive biscuit and caramel malts and an astringent finish.

Grapevine is outside of the session range at 5.4% but drinks much lower in strength. Burnished gold with slight fluffy white head. Lemon custard and lychee on the nose. Shortcake malt, dry citrus pith finish which is rather moreish. Despite its abv it’d make a good one for a few pints as it develops well down the glass.

I also had a chance to try their smoked porter, Blackhouse (5%) on keg at Holyrood 9A a while back. it poured dark ruby brown, but with no head I worried it may be flat. Savoury bacon nose and touch of chocolate. Very dry, chocolate malt, roast barley, no astringency, light body but I needn't have worried as carbonation was certainly in attendance. Certainly my favourite in their range; but I reckon all of the other beers would taste fab cask conditioned.

Fallen Brewing Co

@FallenBrewCo

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I don't think I've drunk enough beer to understand that.

above quote from the Lost Continent
I've been reading Discworld books for at least 12 years, maybe longer, though the series itself is actually 30 this year. Ales by Mail have collaborated with local brewer Brentwood to brew a range of Discworld themed beers.

There are three in the range filling the common bitter/ blonde ale pathway but also an oatmeal stout and a honey beer. I picked these up at various times and here are my thoughts:

The core range of three

I love the labels on all of them, very much in the Discworld style with amusing blurbs. They'd certainly make an attractive gift for any Discworld lover, especially being brown glass the beer has longer staying power (less risk of skunking from light exposure).

Bledlow's Silence, 5.5% ABV. Dark amber with minimal cream head. Slight mango aroma, some pleasing bitterness/ low carbonation again though.

Hix's Darkside Ppours flat as a pancake, faintest of heads, dark ruby brown. Rich dried fruits, sweet sultanas, some solvent, molasses, carbonation could make this drinkable but drainpoor I’m afraid. Too near a dubbel in flavour too; so wouldn't be my favourite kind of beer even with carbonation.

Bugarup blonde, is 4% and pours Burnished gold with little in the way of head. Light apricot on the nose, low carbonation, slight bitterness, mild fruitiness. Ok but hop light.

Honey Ale comes in at 4.6%. This is more like it, a bigger 500ml bottle that pours hazy amber blonde with light fluffy white head. Dry dusty herbal goldings nose. Fairly sweet, medium body, low carbonation, digestive biscuit malt, floral dry honey notes and long finish. Good sessionable drop.

Modo's Midden 4.5% Light amber with fluffy off white head and some yeasty dregs. Pithy nose which unfortunately fails to come through in flavour. Good carbonation, slightly sharp citrus. So so and too similar to the Bugarup really.

I'm a little disappointed with these beers. They could have been so much more but instead they all fell short of expectations, with the exception of the honey ale perhaps which is done rather well.

FABPOW: Beetroot Soup and St Stefanus Blonde

@beersiveknown  Food and Beer Pairing of the Week (another Mark Dredge Creation)

 A few months ago a group of bloggers were invited for an all expenses trip to the Brouwerij Van Steenberge in Belgium for the the UK relaunch of their beer. Badged as St Stefanus (@StStefanus) instead of Augustijn the artwork and bottle underwent a redesign. Upon their return they received a glass and two bottles of beer through the post, as did some other bloggers who didn't attend. A whole host of reviews left me salivating to try it; so I cheekily asked if they had any sample packs left. A few weeks later and I'm sat with the package on my coffee table.

The bottle shows the
expected flavour changes over time

As others have mentioned its well put together, a snazzy box replete with carboard holder for two bottles of beer and an attractive stemmed glass. Theres also some beer mats and a bit of the info behind the beer. The bottle as you can see is stylish, with info about how the flavour profile changes over time and a colourful cap. All the bottles are aged for three months before release, so my bottle dated november 2011 is 6months old on tasting. I'll keep the second for another six to see how it changes.

Glorious golden beer with thick head
and attractive glass.

The beer pours an attractive ever so slightly hazy blonde with half inch dense white head that lingers. Slightly dusty with banana esters on the nose it's highly carbonated and full of fruity yeast notes. Fairly sweet without being cloying as some can and a good robust body. It finishes with a spicy earthy bitterness.

Its a long lasting finish and a sipping beer, despite the alcohol being hidden. A very enjoyable beer, its reminded me that I need to get back to Belgian beers this year after a few years off. I'd be keen to try some of the rest of their range, especially if I can find them to drink at home.

Beetroot soup with beer bread

Its still cold so I was after a soup again. I had a great beetroot soup starter on cheese school so decided to try it out myself. The fact that I found some reduced fresh beetroot at the shops sealed the deal. I looked up a recipe online and added some English goats cheese instead of feta plus a good pinch of chilli flakes. (Caution: grating beetroot leads to purple hands!) Served with home made beer bread its great on its own but with the spicy fruitiness of the beer the sweet and earthy flavours of the beetroot and sweet oven-roasted tomatoes. Those sweet goaty flavours with a hint of pepper are really allowed to shine through too, the carbonation scrubbing the tongue to refresh the palate.

A glance at the ever-reliable Brewmaster's table suggests that I'm not the first to pair a Belgian with beetroto, though actually it appears wheat beers are a more common choice. I can certainly see that working with this dish too, as goats cheese and wheat beer (especially weiss) goes very nicely together too.

Other beers to try: Bristol beer Factory Weisse, Thornbridge Weisse Versa, Schneider Weisse, Duvel, Piraat.

Clanconnel Brewing Beers

Northern Ireland doesn't have many breweries (5 now though!) so my task of reviewing each isn't too onerous. The difficulty is finding somewhere that stocks them! Luckily the fantastic Vineyard in Belfast keeps a good range; so when I had the use of a taxi I made the most of it and brought a big box full home, including the three beers which I am reviewing today.

Clanconnel Brewery is a fairly new (just over three years old) venture based in Waringstown County Down. They brew a range of but three beers, which seem to be the necessary portfolio for any Irish brewery, a stout, an Irish red and a blonde.

From the pictures below you can see that the labels have a simple yet recognisable design across the range, with only the background colour varying. By pure coincidence I read this post last night written for #TheSession by Nick at lautering.net. The logo is a crested crane, which is the family crest of the Waring family, for which Waringstown is named. The family motto "neither by violence or cunning" also applies well to the brewery whose beers speak for themselves with no need for subterfuge or flashy gimmicks.

Weaver's Gold, McGrath's Irish Black, McGrath's Irish Red

Clanconnel McGrath's Irish Red

First up is the McGrath's Irish red. According to the Clanconnel website:

"McGrath's Irish Red is named in honour of the 'Mighty' Master McGrath, the greatest greyhound to have ever raced and who won the hare coursing Waterloo Cup 3 times in 1868, 1869 and 1871.

Owned by the 2nd Baron, Lord Lurgan of Lurgan, Co Armagh Master McGrath became the town's most famous sporting hero being renowned both nationally and internationally. During his racing career he was defeated only once in 37 course meetings."

The brewery are interested in promoting local history and there is a good write up on their website about the history of the local area. 

On to the beer. It pours a russet-brown with fluffy off-beige head. The aroma is at first musty, a bit like an old attic but gains a more pronounced booze soaked dried fruit character after a few moments. The body is fairly dry, with gentle carbonation with shortcake, candy sugar and custard(!) flavours. Astringent yet sweet on the finish. This is one that I'd like to try on cask.

Clanconnel Weaver's Gold

Weaver's Gold (4.5%) is a different beer entirely. Named for the historic linen history of the area, this beer  pours a lovely burnished gold with pillow-y white head. Aromas of pineapple and lychee waft enticingly out of the glass. On first sip these flavours jostle for the attention of the tongue but soon disappear to be replaced by the shortcake maltiness of the Irish Red and end with a brief bitter spike leaving a clean palate and a need for another glug. I would have liked the hops to have lasted a bit longer. This is the beer using American hops and its definitely apparent, but their flavour is all too brief for my liking. Again I'd try this fresh to see if more of that hop flavour is retained. I definitely see it as more of a blonde ale than the lager that Tania found it to be.

Clanconnel McGrath's Irish Black

The final beer is one I've tried and enjoyed many times before. McGrath's Irish Black is the 2010 Champion Beer of Belfast and its easy to see why. This is the stout that Guinness probably used to be and wishes it still was. Its the best session-strength stout that I've tried. A good looking dark stout  with a roasted coffee/earthy aroma. Stouts that still retain the aroma profile of porters score highly for me. Fairly thick in body with a light brown head that is retained down the glass.  Chocolate malt flavours preside over the proceedings at first dry and roasted, giving way to a mellow finish and caramelised malt aftertaste.This is a beer that is even better on cask than it is in bottle and I hope to see it at Belfast Beer Festival again this year.

Clanconnel, then, is a good solid brewery, I'd like to see their beers more widely available in the North, though as ever they're fighting an uphill battle against the monolith that is Diageo. It would be great for them to expand the range with a few specials too. I recommend having a pint if you see these on draught anywhere and be sure to visit the Vineyard if you are in Belfast, at £2.04 a bottle these beers are a steal!