Home-Porterhouse Plain

The Porterhouse is a brewpub based in Dublin that puts out some of its beer in bottles, so I took the opportunity to pick up a few of their selections and enjoyed this porter during this weekend's exciting rugby match where Ireland took down the French.

It pours a deep brown color with garnet edges and is neither black nor opaque, just dark. It had a rocky, multi-fingered, light tan head. The aroma is mostly of chocolate but there is some coffee and burnt roast as well. The taste is chocolatey up front but that turns into a burnt, acrid bitterness on the back end. It isn't unpleasant but had a bit stronger of the black roast character than many of the other porters and stouts I have had in Ireland. It is a decent beer offering a bit of the diversity roasted malts can add to a beer and was pretty easy drinking with a medium body if you like that roasty bitterness on the back end.

Dueling Dubbels

This week I had the special opportunity to put two Belgian Trappist Dubbels, some of the best in the world, head to head against each other. The first is Chimay Red, the second in Westmalle Dubbel. Two beers, same style, completely different profiles. One quick disclosure, I do not have a chalice or goblet from which to properly enjoy these, so I substituted a similar glass to still try and retain how the monks wanted their beer enjoyed.

Starting with the appearance, the Chimay poured a redish brown, almost coppery color, while the Westmalle poured a much deeper purplish ruby color. Head was another major difference. The Chimay poured a very limited dissipating white head. The other poured a fluffy tan head that stood up well to time. As for the aroma, the Chimay smelled malty and grainy with a hint of yeasty spice and fruitiness. There is also a hint of darker malt on the smell. The Westmalle had a much more intense smell. It was almost like grape juice. It had a strong dark fruit presence like grapes and prunes. In terms of taste, both started similarly, very fizzy. As soon as it hits your mouth you can tell it is highly carbonated. Then the flavors diverge quite sharply. The Chimay starts with a strong pilsner malt taste that transformers into slightly fruity and spicy flavor, creating a strong gingerbread feel. This coats the mouth with the fizziness leaving a lasting drying note, making you want more right away. It is very easy drinking with a medium light body. The Westmalle develops into a strong dark fruit flavor along the same lines as the aroma. It is very pruney with a hint of chocolate. It too has a drying finish, but even though they have the same ABV this tastes bigger. It does not taste alcoholic, but it has a bigger body more in the medium to medium full range. This one is not quite as easy to drink as Chimay Red, so it lasts a little longer in your glass.

In my opinion, I prefered the Westmalle. It had a more intense aroma and fuller flavor. That being said I was blown away by how incredible both these beers were. I am very fortunate to have a bottle shop with such an outstanding collection just a 5 minute walk from my place.

Additionally this week, I went to Kilmainham Gaol (jail) where we got a tour of the grounds and a bit of history about the 1916 Easter Rising. This is the place where the leaders of the rebellion were jailed and many ultimately executed. It was fascinating to hear how public opinion changed from being largely against the violent uprising to viewing the men as martyrs upon their execution.

Lastly, today I went to Christ Church Cathedral, Dublinia, and the Irish Whiskey Museum. Christ Church Cathedral was cool to see, but was surprisingly small and was not particularly ornately decorated on the inside. Dublinia was a museum of Viking history in Ireland, but as I started out in the museum, it was readily apparent that this was more of a kids attraction than anything. The Irish Whiskey Museum was a fun tour, giving a thorough history of the making of whiskey and some tasting at the end. Personally, I found whiskey is not my drink and tastes a bit too hot for my enjoyment, so I'll be sticking to beer instead. That being said, if you are a whiskey fan, it is well worth your time and money, and if you aren't it is still interesting, just a bit pricey if you aren't there to enjoy the drink.

Stay tuned next week where I will get my hands on some Belgian Sour beers as well as an authentic Kolsch style to preface my time in Cologne.

Counihans- Murphy's Irish Stout

I was in Cork yesterday and couldn't pass up the opportunity to try the local attempt at this common style on the Emerad Isle. Counihans, which arguably took a couple of minutes looking at the sign to get the spelling right, was a classic looking pub, but was bigger than most. It had multiple rooms and floors, but the segmentation into smaller spaces still made it feel coy.

The beer was poured on nitro with a creamy solid white head. The color was an opaque black with deep brown edges. The nose had a stronger roast character than either Beamish or Guinness, and was the most aromatic. Upon taking your first sip it is easily evident that this has the creamiest and densest head of the three. The top looks and feels like a single mass not individual bubbles. The roast flavor on this beer comes in the middle of the sip with the front being dominated by the creaminess of the foam. On account of that, it has a very soft mouthfeel and finishes with a dry but lasting roast character. It had a light-medium body with a solid bitterness on the back end. The most notable thing about this beer was the lacing which came in thick sheets, coating the glass entirely. Of the three, I prefer Beamish the most, but this was still a tasty beer to enjoy in Cork.

On Friday, I went on a class fieldtrip to Glasnevin Cemetery where we got a guided tour of some of the more famous graves and monuments of the cemetery. One of the most shocking figures about it, is that there are 1.5 million people buried there, more than are currently living in the City of Dublin.

Saturday, we took another Paddywagon Bus Tour to Blarney Castle. Our first stop was the Rock of Cashel, a fortified hill once used by the Kings of Munster, but in the 12th century was turned over to the church, and became a holy site.

Our next stop was the infamous Blarney Castle where we climbed the steep narrow steps to kiss the Blarney Stone. Another cool feature about the place is its expansive grounds and gardens with waterfalls, rock formations, rare trees, caves, and much more. Of these, the coolest were the Poison Garden, a place where they grow specimens of poisonous and dangerous plants. Also, the Wishing Steps where if you go up and down them while keeping your eyes closed and mind focused on your wish, it will come true within a year. The gardens are absolutely beautiful making the site well worth your time even if your don't want to stretch back to kiss the stone.

To close the trip we had about and hour in Cork. We strolled through their main shopping street and English Market, housing local produce, meats, breads, and sweets. Additionally, we took some time to enjoy a nice beer before heading back to the bus.

As we will be leaving on our 2 week European tour, hitting the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, and Hungary, these next few weeks of beers from the bottle shop will be samplings of the regional specialties from the places, especially Belgium, to wet my appetite for the delicious beers to come.

Cheers!

McGrattan's-Bru Czech Lager

Sorry it has been so long since my last post. This past week has been pretty busy and didn't leave much time for the pub. McGrattan's was a decent pub, pretty big, but it had pop music playing in the background so it didn't feel very cozy, but wasn't very busy either, so it didn't have the right vibe for what they were trying with the music.

As for the beer it poured a brilliantly clear gold color with a one and a half finger white head, which became almost conical at the top, creating an impressive presentation. It has a malty aroma with hints of herbal and lemony notes. The taste was very similar. It started out with a very soft mouthfeel and the head was very dense and creamy. It had a soft, sweet pilsner malt character. Similar to the nose there is a slight lemony taste, making the beer more refreshing. It finishes cleanly, not too dry, not too sweet.

As I mentioned this has been a pretty packed week. Starting last Tuesday, we went to Dublin Castle. The highlight of that trip was the Chester Beatty Library. It contained rare manuscripts and religious texts from all major world religions, and was very informative. Even better, it was free. It is absolutely a must see for anyone who is visiting Dublin for a few days. After we went and got gelato at a local shop before splitting off to do some shopping for Valentine's Day on Grafton Street.

On Friday, we finally made it to the Guinness Storehouse. Here we got an interactive walkthrough of the ingredients, brewing process, historical advertising and much more. The sensory room was very cool because they broke down the aroma of Guinness into compounds based on if they came from the malts, the hops, the roasted barley, or the yeast byproducts. I even learned how to pour my own pint and enjoyed it with a 360 panoramic view of Dublin from their Gravity Bar.

Saturday was all about sports. In the afternoon, I watched 6 Nations Rugby on TV and watched Ireland handily defeat the Italians. Shortly after, Becky and I went to Croke Park to watch a double header of two Gaelic sports, hurling and Gaelic football. I'm glad I did a little research on how they are played beforehand because without that, I would have been utterly lost. When we got to the park it was raining and cold. As we made our way to our seats, we realized that our amazing seats (about 5 rows back from the field) were just outside of the rain awning and we were getting drenched. Luckily not too many people were there for hurling, allowing us to scoot back a few rows to enjoy the game and stay dry at the same time. Each sport is played continuously in two 35 minute halves, and both are very fast paced. Hurling involves hitting a ball with a stick called a hurley into one of two goals. The first goal is guarded and is worth 3 points. The other is above the first, is unguarded, but is only worth 1 point. Gaelic football is very similar in the scoring, but in terms of how it is played, is pretty similar to rugby. It was a much more guttural sport, and by this time the stadium was a little more packed, intensifying the action. When we finally made it back to our place, my feet were beyond frozen and I even had to soak them in warm water for a while. Overall, the sports were good craic (Irish word for fun), but I would have preferred it a little warmer.

On Sunday, Becky, two of my other roommates, and I took a bus tour to Northern Ireland. Our first stop was at the Dark Hedges, a common site for filming, and was most prominently used in Game of Thrones. Our next stop was supposed to be the Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge along the cost, but unfortunately due to high winds, the bridge was closed for the day. Instead, we headed straight to the Giant's Causeway, a geological wonder formed when lava reached the cold sea coast, creating a field of octagonally shaped pillars stretching down to the water. The coolest part about the place is that you actually get to walk on them. After there we took a photo stop at Dunluce Castle, where in 1639 the kitchen fell off the back of the castle into the ocean, killing 7 servants. This sad tale gives the place a spooky vibe, but it is very picturesque. Our last stop on the tour was Belfast, which unfortunately wasn't too great. In a couple weeks I am heading back there with school to learn about the Troubles, and other than that, there isn't much to do or see in Belfast.

Tuesday, of course, was Valentine's Day, so Becky and I returned to Howth for a longer hike. Due to recent rain the trail was very muddy leaving our boots covered in a thick muck, but just as before the views were beautiful. When we returned from Howth we exchanged gifts before heading out to a delicious Mediterranean dinner and watched a movie before finishing the night.

Home-White Hag Brewing White Sow Oatmeal Chocolate Milk Stout

This beer with a mouthful of a name came in a nitro-carbed bottle, which sounds like a cool effect for a beer, but after the poor it only kind of worked. There was no cascade per se, but it did produce a creamy thin head. It poured a very dark brown, but not quite black and had garnet hues around the edges. The head was very tan even bordering on brown. Definitely one of the darkest heads I've seen on a beer. As for the aroma it was fairly simple, cold espresso with a little bit of your classic roast and dark rich ganache character. The taste was a bit different. It was very smooth and roasty upfront, but being a milk stout has a very sweet backbone running from start to finish. It didn't have a huge body like I expected, but was more medium bodied. There was a hint of oat chewiness, but that component of the brew was not really detectable. It had a sweet long finish that coasts the mouth for quite a while. Absolutely a dessert beer, and quite enjoyable, but it would be hard to include this if wanting to have a few beers. The finish wasn't quite my favorite, but I tend to prefer dryer beers, so that is not surprising. Overall, the name probably suggests more than the beer can offer, but still a very enjoyable beer and always a pleasure to try a new style like a milk or sweet stout.

The Dog House-Southwark Potters' Fields Porter

After Saturday, we couldn't resist coming back for another pint at the Dog House, and this time we backed it up with a massive plate of nachos for dinner. The fez hat you see there are their table markers for food orders. That night at the pub was a little more lively because a 6 Nations Rugby match had just finished as we arrived.

As for the beer, it absolutely blew my mind away. This may be one of the most intense beers I've ever had, which is impressive for being just 4%. Again poured on cask, this beer had a much less dense head than the bitter from the previous night. The head dissipated pretty quickly and didn't have much lacing. The beer itself was very dark, almost black with hints of garnet around the edges. The aroma had so many layers, it is almost hard to describe. Initially, it smells like a rich ganache and intense dark creamy chocolate. Then there is coffee and roasty notes with a hint of licorice as well. The flavor of this beer was just as strong as complex as the aroma. Upfront is a very dry roasty flavor. Then you get a strong chocolate flavor backed up with some licorice spice before finishing very dryly. This one is a bitter beer by anyone's standards. It was smooth, but not as creamy as the ELB, and has a nice medium body. This beer is a nod to Southwark Brewing because they have very successfully made a 4% beer taste just as strong and intense as most 8% beers.

Saturday started out by walking past the House of Parliament and seeing Westminster Abbey. We then made our way to St. James Park, which has more kinds of ducks than anywhere I've ever seen before. Many of these were gifts from foreign dignitaries, making this park a sample from across the world. There was even a pelican family there, which has been in the park since the 17th century. Buckingham Palace is just on the other side of the park, offering an easy transition. The grounds are massive, but unfortunately the tourist crowds were even bigger making it tough to snap a clean photo.

We then made our way to Harrods Department Store, and walked through insane luxury. Even their cafe had normal items like lentils costing 5 times the amount they would in a grocery store. Cool to see, but I wouldn't bother buying anything there.

Becky and I were both craving the Borough Market again by this time of the day, so we decided to take the Tube over there. We were initially worried about getting lost on the subway, but it is extremely well laid out, user friendly, and honestly very easy to learn. By the end of the day we were practically pros. For lunch, I decided to get a meat pie from a stand made with British Venison, red wine, and lentils. It was amazing. The crust was very flaky, and the inside so savory and delicious. Becky continued in here ethnic trend and got Indian food.

After day 2 of the market, we took the Tube to the British Museum. There were artifacts there from all over the world including Ancient Egypt, Greece, Assyria, Medieval Europe, and much more. The Rosetta Stone was easy to find, for all you had to do was follow the streaming crowd of tourists eager to snap a photo. The museum had so much to offer, the only problem is I didn't have the time or strength to see it all. Ideally, you could go there once a day and see a new room, but if trying to see it in 2 hours you are way too rushed. I didn't have time to take in all the pieces or read all the signs, and by the time we were halfway through the museum, my eyes were glazed over from seeing way too much. If I ever make it back to London, this place is at the top of my list to see again.

We then started walking down the nearby Oxford Street, but seeing mostly department stores and not fun little shops we decided to take a double decker bus back to our hostel. On the way to the stop we walked through the lively Soho. When we finally made it back, I took a nap for a couple hours before we made our way to the Dog House, just as tired as the day before.

Our flight was set for around 6 on Sunday, so we still had a few hours to see more of the city. First, we stopped by the changing of the guard, but it was so busy we barely caught a glimpse of the guards before giving up and heading for Covent Gardens. This was a fun little market area with a mix of permanent shops as well as some pop-up stands. Our destination there was a famed macaroon ice cream sandwich place called Yolkin, and it definitely stood up to the hype. Our first was salty pretzel, but for the second we had an even better honeycomb flavored one. From there we took the subway to Camden Town, another borough with a unique artsy vibe. It was part musician, part seller's emporium, part weed smoker's haven. There were tons of tourist shops, all clearly selling more than just souvenirs. Also there were so many market stands all throughout the streets selling everything from Ethiopian coffee to handmade crafts. While very busy it was fun to see that part of the city. It was really so different from everything else we saw.

Well that was London, or at least what I saw of it. I loved the city, but am glad to be back in Dublin. It was an exhausting, sight-filled weekend.

Cheers!

 

The Dog House-ELB Foundation Bitter

It has been a crazy packed weekend in London, and sorry I couldn't post thee during the trip, but I wouldn't have been able to include pictures, so I decided to wait till I got home. I had this pint Friday night at the Dog House, a pub near my hostel in Lambeth, a neighborhood in London. It had a pretty fun vibe, and there were practically no seats, but no one was standing at this point so it wasn't crowded. It had fun decorations with tea kettles hung from the ceiling, an upstairs with a pool table, and a fun local crowd.

As for the beer, this was the first time I was able to try cask-conditioned beer. Sure enough, it was poured from a beer engine, and I finally got to try this classic English style. The beer was slightly orange in color, bright, and poured a thin head that held up very well. It also had phenomenal lacing around the glass, all the way to the last sip. It had a yeasty smell, but overall was not very strong. The first sip was very strange having come from high carbonated, cold beers. It was very smooth and creamy, similar to any beers poured on nitro. It also was not ice cold, but rather slightly cool. It had a fairly even flavor, and nothing really stood out about it. It had a thin body, and had a nice drying bitterness on the back end. It was a great opportunity to try real ale, but this beer left me a little unimpressed. There was not much flavor or aroma, and really was just an easy drinking pint where it wouldn't matter if it were your 1st or 4th pint of it.

We arrived in London Thursday night, and our flight was delayed about an hour. Additionally, my ears have the bad tendency of not popping on descent, leaving me with ears that felt like they were filled with water, which after a few hours gets pretty uncomfortable. Finally we made it to the hostel though, but that didn't excite us much either. In our 15 bed dorm room style, the bunks were stacked 3 high, leaving only about a foot of headspace before the next bunk. We were cold, tired, and hungry, so from this point things could pretty much only get better, and by Friday they were.

Our plan for Friday was to walk along the South Bank of the Thames, zigzagging across bridges to see sights on both sides. Given our location we were across from the House of Parliament in 10 minutes, which gave us stunning views and energy for the day ahead. Our first planned stop was to be at the Globe Theatre, but the price of admission was too high to justify it. So we walked along the Millennium Bridge to St. Paul's Cathedral.

St. Paul's was absolutely amazing and worth every penny. The view from the top was breathtaking and albeit a little frightening. The inside too was incredible. The intricate artwork on the inside was beautiful making it hard to move on from this here.

After St. Paul's we walked along London Bridge to go to the Borough Market, which is basically a big farmer's market running Thursday to Sunday each week. There were so many food options that we decided to split up and get something different so we could sample the other person's food. I got a grilled cheese like no other. It was insanely buttery and just melted in your mouth. Becky got an Ethiopian medley, and it was also pretty tasty even though that isn't really my favorite kind of food. For dessert we had an even harder choice. We decided on getting fudge because we were able to get a few varieties to sample. The ones we chose were salted caramel, latte, white chocolate, and toffee. They were all amazing, but our favorite was the toffee one.

We next walked to the Tower Bridge and Tower of London. Both were amazing sites to see, and it was crazy to walk on such an iconic bridge. After that we made our way to Lloyd's of London. Now while this insurance exchange isn't on most tourists' lists, Becky is an insurance major, so we had to check it out. Unfortunately, the building is closed to public access, so the best we could do was a couple pictures of the outside. Nearby is another market called the Leadenhall Market, and this one had lots of fun little shops, but being close to some wealthy businesses made most of the stores a little out of our price range.

At this point we were cold and tired, but still miles away from the hostel. Even so, we carried on walking along the North Bank of the Thames. We stopped briefly at Big Ben to take some pictures at dusk before heading back towards Trafalgar Square. For dinner that night we had Egyptian street food called Koshari, a mix of lentils, rice, a spicy tomato based sauce, and ample herbs and spices. It was so good, and after a long day of walking it warmed us up nicely. The hard part then was venturing out into the cold again to head back to the hostel.

Home-DOT Brew's Session Rye Ale

This beer poured a hazy amber color, which made it appear like a light brown. It had a long lasting 1 finger white head. The aroma was fruity, bready, and spicy. It kind of smelled like those multi-colored mini marshmallows that taste like tropical fruits. Overall, the aroma was surprisingly vibrant for a session ale. The flavor starts out fruity and sweet, but turns into more of a grapefruit flavor. This is backed up with a very drying spice character that verges on being sour, similar to sourdough bread. This complexing flavor was very enjoyable, and the dry finish made you want more. This beer was an incredible session beer that packed way more flavor than its humble ABV would suggest.

Today, I head off for England. It is gonna be a packed couple of days, but I can't wait to share it all with you when I get back. Hopefully I get a chance to review some cask conditioned real ale, as well as some local English brews.

Cheers