I don't see many cans of Metalman in Dublin these days I'm afraid to see but thankfully for them, it's because demand closer to Waterford is high enough that they don't need to worry about the plethora of competition in Dublin.
It was nice to find a beer of theirs I haven't had before. Fracture is a 6.5% Rye IPA and it's probably the most rye forward rye IPA I can recall having. Rye tends to have a sweetness and slight spiciness to it that you don't get from standard barley malts. A solid beer and another one that doesn't feel the 6.5%!
Third Barrel's Break from the haze is going for a more traditional West Coast IPA feel, though it's a bit darker than most. It feels more like an American Amber in some respects. Perhaps a bit caramel forward for my taste and at 8.5% we are in DIPA territory by an extra one percent.
It's a solid beer though and that extra caramel brings it in to winter warmer territory to me. I very much appreciated the lingering bitter finish which balanced the sweet toffee and caramel nicely.
Not straying too far is Stone Barrel. Get Some is 4.6% IPL which is exactly what you want from the style. Crisp and dry in the way an IPA rarely is with a good amount of hop bitterness.
I always think of India Pale Lagers as the perfect choice for someone who loves IPAs but is just sick of them. In fact, IPLs are probably closer to IPAs of 10 years ago than modern IPAs are if I'm honest.
Except of course Stone Barrel's magnificent Boom which you can just see in the background there.
By the way, I got two cans of Boom with my Smashed Angus burger from 57 The Headline. Burger and chips with 2 cans of Boom for €15 which is superb value. The burger is a mighty Angus beef patty covered in the cheesiest of cheeses and some chopped gherkins and lettuce from memory. Honestly, it's the best damn burger I've had in years. I doubt the 2 cans of Boom will be available for long with the burger and chips so I advise being quick.
Larkin's Lighten Up is a proper 9.5 % no messing around DIPA. I actually cracked this open when Joe Biden was officially announced as the election winner. The face actually reminded me a bit of Trump who could do with lightening up a bit.
While easy drinking, lighten up does feel every bit of its 9.5% after a short while so this delicious supper should be had near the end of the night, after a few more reasonable beers like that Boyne Session IPA in the background. Tropical fruits and juice and tempered by a sustained bitterness and while it looks thick and syrupy, it's anything but. A lovely light and smooth mouthfeel makes this one impressive beer. This isn't a new release as I'm fairly sure I had it about this time last year on tap at one of the Galway Bay bars but it's the first time I have had it in can.
Speaking of Boyne, I grabbed some at the Londis across the road on Friday when I ran out of "drinking beer" since everything I had was over 8% which isn't good on a Friday night.
Honestly, I wanted to try it since they were taken over by Carlow Brewing. Gone are the 330ml bottles/cans, in are the traditional 500ml bottles Carlow uses for most of their packaging. The session IPA is a sold little number with a no quibble bitterness and none of your capri sun. It's exactly what I wanted, a beer for drinking.
Moving back to the previous weekend over Halloween, I cracked open two of the Irish pumpkin beers that were on the market.
White Hag's Samhain (sow-an) , which is the Irish holiday Halloween comes from. This is a heavily spice forward pumpkin ale and a hefty 6.2% to boot. You name the winter spice, it's probably in here. It's basically what you get if you throw mulled wine mix into a beer and I love mulled wine, a lot. sure it was mulled wine which started me drinking again in my mid 20s after not bothering for years as there was nothing worth drinking. I was in Prague at the time so next trying the Czech lager helped a little too.
Ah Trouble Brewing's Pumpkin Brew, how I love you. If I'm honest, I don't think I've ever had a packaged version of this before but every year for the last however many year, I've had many the pint in both keg and cask format and loved every one. This one is a much lighter 4.5% so it has always been sessionable and while it probably has most of the same spices as Samhain above, they are much tamer which makes it more accessible to someone who doesn't want to be overwhelmed.
You know the Bing Crosby song I'm dreaming of a white Christmas?
That idyllic image of a Dickens style snowy Christmas, well at this stage, I'm just dreaming of any-aul Christmas at all. You know, one you can spend with family and friends and not stuck at home following restrictions because of Covid.
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