Undead Inside, Forest Fruit Ale, White Hag, 4.8%

I was drawn to this ale by the label design – well it was Cinco De Mayo when I saw it on the SuperValu shelf.

Only noticed the White Hag Brewery logo eyes later on.

Pours a hazy red.

More fruity than tart on the aroma.

It’s a pleasing combination of sweet summer fruits, a touch of tart sourness & a dollop of almost saison earthiness bringing up the rear.

A lovely little brew to wind up the day!

Sláinte

White Hag Brewery website here

Stone Brewing Buenaveza Salt & Lime Lager, 4.7%

The snazzy skull logo made me buy this beer.

Turns out I’d enjoyed it before at Tequila Jacks in Cork.

Now it isn’t Mexican – it’s brewed in the US – yet appears to have a fairly worldwide distribution.

As the drinking experience goes – I must admit the can design is far more exciting.

It’s a fairly standard lager affair with only a slight lime influence coming through for me & I couldn’t pick up on the salt.

It’s an OK lager though – best served chilled.

Sláinte

Stone Brewing website here.

Musings On The Re-turn Deposit Return Scheme Via The Garden Brewery, Uvala House Sour, 3.5% & Valovi Florida Weisse Pink Guava Stawberry & Lime, 6.9%

The Re-turn Deposit Return Scheme has been in action for a few months now.

From what I can see people are taking to it. I’ve encountered queues waiting to use the machines, kids picking up litter to get some credit to spend, sports clubs collecting for funds – which all seems positive to me.

Yet the distractors, dinosaurs & deadweights are still out there with their moaning & groaning about it’s implementation.

Sadly some of these voices emanate from Irish Beer.

Rather than engage with the positives of the scheme & encourage it’s use – they snipe negativity from the sidelines.

I expect any company I purchase from to have a positive attitude towards reducing waste & increasing recycling rates – if Irish Beer isn’t willing to demonstrate that I’m happy to pick up beers from a Croatian company – available in my local petrol station shop – that judging from the plethora of labels on the side of their cans seem willing to embrace recycling.

And Irish Beer is moaning about re-labelling?

It’s my opinion companies are more worried about their profits than showing willing to engage with Re-turn – a not-for-profit company attempting to reduce waste & recycle more.

But with beer it’s all about the taste – so I poured a couple of glasses.

Uvala House Sour, 3.5%

A pale yellow colour with a decent head. Fresh fruity & tart aromas. Clean, citrusy & fresh palate with a dashing of dry tartness on the rear. Reminds me more of gooseberries rather than pineapple – but a very nice drinker!

Valovi Florida Weisse Pink Guava Strawberry & Lime, 6.9%

This one has a cloudy orange appearance. Much heavier aroma, strawberry, mango, touch of citrus & juicy tropical fruits. Rich palate feel, crowded with fruits. Gentle tart on the rear to counteract the sweetness. Doesn’t feel like 6.9%. Very entertaining.

Thoughts

Really enjoyed these beers. Sour is a style I’m partial to & Garden Brewery certainly deliver gorgeous examples of this genre. It’s an added bonus I can get my deposit returned too.

If a Croatian Brewery can get it together – why can’t Irish ones do similar?

Sláinte

Re-turn website here.

Garden Brewery website here.

Steinburg Radler, 2.1%

I picked this Radler up in a Mercadona Supermarket en España.

Steinburg appears to have originated in Belgium.

Most Radlers benefit by being consumed cold – & Steinburg is no exception.

There’s a degree of fresh citrus on this one – yet still lacks that little bit of zing found in others.

Refreshingly revitalising in the heat nonetheless.

Sláinte

White Hag, Púca, Berry Hibiscus & Ginger, Dry Hopped Lemon Sour, 3.5%

I’ve already enjoyed Púca Whiskey from Aldi & Blackwater Distillery.

Púca Irish Whiskey c/o@WhiskeyPundit

I couldn’t refuse this Púca Sour Beer from White Hag.

This Púca poured a rather a vibrant cloudy orangey colour. Not exactly an ordinary golden beer vibe.

The berry element definitely influenced the taste too with a fresh sweetness. This was countered by a lovely dry tartness coming through towards the rear.

I couldn’t discern what the ginger brought – yet the whole was a very refreshing & entertaining tipple.

Lovely to encounter a few more sour beers on the market.

Sláinte

Update!

White Hag have released a whiskey finished in Púca Sour Beer Barrels!

See https://oconnellsgalway.ie/collections/spirit-of-the-white-hag for details.

White Hag Brewing website here.

My blog on Púca Whiskey here.

My 1st Trip Using The Re-turn Recycling Scheme

A selection of cans had accumulated – plastic bottles are rarely purchased.

Most were purchased prior to the introduction of the scheme on 1st February 2024 & none appeared to display the Re-turn logo.

I wasn’t sure what to expect.

The 1st machine I went to was working & happily accepted 7 of the cans.

A receipt was issued & promptly spent instore.

The remaining cans went to the usual recycling bin.

They consisted of tonic-cans which at 150ml are exempt from the scheme, the Tennent’s purchased prior to implementation & another can bought outside of Ireland.

The ones accepted included a local craft beer firm, a large Scottish outfit & a pan-european beer firm from Croatia.

I find all the I’m-all-for-recycling-but brigade missing the point entirely.

The scheme is an attempt to curtail the wasteful excesses causing damage to the environment & peoples health. It also aims to boost recycling rates of ever increasingly scarce resources.

Carrying on as we have done is no longer an option & we all have to make changes.

Yes there are costs, there is added paperwork for producers, there are inconveniences for customers – but polluting the planet should no longer be acceptable.

I’ve already bought a couple more cans from a Croatian Brewery that appears to be compliant with the scheme. I’ll be thinking twice about purchasing form Irish Breweries that bemoan the scheme.

It does help that the Croatian beer is very tasty indeed!

The Garden Brewery, Florida Weisse, Mango, Lemon & Rhubarb Sour, 5.5%

I’ve not had a Croation Beer before.

So when one turned up at my local petrol station – and a sour at that – I brought it home with me.

Pours a hazy looking pale yellow.

Fresh fruity aromas.

Tastes refreshingly zesty, fruity & summery – with a slight sourness on the rear to offer balance.

Quite drying on the finish.

Summer is definitely coming with this brew!

Sláinte

The Garden Brewery website here.

From ‘A’ to ‘G’ for a glass of ‘B’

The A in question is Athlone – which we left on a dark winter’s morning to catch the ferry.

Glasgow is the G – where we arrived in the early evening dark – having enjoyed a sunny day’s travelling.

B is a glass of Beer at the WEST Brewery situated near the People’s Palace in the Glasgow Green area.

Herself had chosen the venue for an evening meal – I wasn’t complaining!

A large, spacious & airy floor space greeted us with plenty of tables dotted around a long bar. It looked fairly busy with a variety of clientele from young lads ordering steins of lager to couples-with-kids enjoying a family meal.

Founded by German woman Petra – which explains the steins & lagers – WEST Brewery weaves a Bavarian influence with a Scottish mix.

I chose a DRK Dunkel for starters – herself went for Velo Lemon Radler.

I found DRK a rich, dark malty style of lager. Refreshingly light on the palate yet full of flavour which perfectly accompanied my Munich Mac – a classic Scottish mac ‘n’ cheese given bratwurst sausage & bacon with haus fries for that German twist.

The Lemon Radler – herself allowed me a taster – was refreshingly zesty with crisp clear citrus coming through.

I did like all the WEST branded glassware – but wasn’t up for the volume of a stein myself!

WEST also had an extensive array of spirits. I couldn’t resist trying the Pensador Mezcal.

My nose was greeted by a richly pungent mix of earthy agave infused with gorgeous smokiness that delighted my senses. A lovely smooth, oily & viscous palate allowed that smoke to grow before slowly drying out on the finish with a pleasing prickly tingling.

My kinda mezcal!

Herself had ordered another Radler – so I went for a tequila I’d never tried before – Betanga Reposado.

Now this was a perfectly fine tequila – soft smooth agave, warm caramel & vanilla, soft prickling on the finish – but after the intensity of Pensador with it’s almost 10% extra ABV – I should have enjoyed the drinks in reverse order!

I would have loved to stay for more – but a bus back to the hotel beckoned.

WEST is a fabulous place to enjoy a tasty meal paired with an exciting array of beers & spirits.

Highly recommended!

Prost!

WEST Brewery Beer Hall website here.

Newcastle Brown Ale, 4.7% & Whiplash Tamper Tantrum Robust Coffee Brown Ale, 5.8%

Following on from my Northern Haul is a Brown Ale face off!

Favourite from my youth Newcastle Brown Ale & a modern Irish Craft Beer from Whiplash with the puntastic name Tamper Tantrum.

Colour

Both display a lively head which dissipates quickly leaving Newcastle a dark golden brown & Whiplash a purply black.

Nose

Newcastle displays a dark maltiness. Whiplash rich chocolatey coffee.

Palate

Quite an easy going not-quite-as-robust-as-I-remember mouthfeel with noticeable carbonation on the Newcastle. Whiplash is darker, heavier & laced with coffee.

Overall

The Newcastle was very palatable & still retained a degree of flavour to keep me entertained. Found the fizz a bit too much to start with but gradually disappeared when left for a while.

Whiplash was a different beast altogether. The coffee dominated when what I was really looking for was those rich malty Brown Ale notes.

Thoughts

An enjoyable trip down memory lane with Newcastle Brown Ale. Still an easy enjoyable drinker after letting it sit for a bit.

Tampur Tantrum was more of a monster, one-of- kind of brew to be savoured, sipped & ultimately not repeated. The over-the-top coffee didn’t float my boat.

Go on Newcastle!

Sláinte

Vault City Iron Brew Beers, 4.8% to 6.4% & Taylors Haggis & Black Pepper Crisps

There’s a few iconic items that immediately scream out Scotland.

Irn Bru is one, Haggis is another, so I thought I’d combine the two of them in this beer & crisps tasting.

I was captivated by the bright colourful labels of the Vault City Iron Brew series of beers when I spotted them in Villeneuve Wines off-licence in Peebles.

Villeneuve Wines image courtesy Yelp

A later purchase of Taylors Haggis & Black Pepper Crisps joined the beer trio.

Vault City Iron Brew Float, 5.5%

The cheeky 1930’s style woman fronting the can with Loch Nessie floating in the distance captures a lot of Scottish themes.

Pours a bit like the original non-alcoholic Irn Bru – orangey. Even smells similar to the popular beverage. The taste is an odd mixture of sweet orange with a smidgen of sourness & a rather drying finish.

An entertaining novelty brew.

Vault City Fiery Ginger Iron Brew, 6.4%

This one sports an angry Highland Cattle – they’re normally placid – with a tartan bedecked ginger gentleman & is presented at a higher ABV.

Again the aroma & colour is very Irn Bru like. The taste is a mixture of Irn Bru with a mild ginger element. Not as fiery as the cartoon imagery suggested.

A fun product that didn’t quite prove as pleasing on my palate.

Vault City Iron Brew, 4.8% & Taylors Haggis & Black Pepper Crisps

Another fun image of a large Scot’s laddie ironing tartan with the iconic Forth Railway Bridge in the background.

This one proved to be the most Irn Bru of the trio for both aroma & taste. Quite bright, orangey & bubbly.

The most fun drinking too!

Taylors Haggis & Black Pepper Crisps did give a hint of haggis on the flavour. Yet crunching away on them isn’t the haggis texture I’d be after in the real item. They did make for an enjoyable combo tasting & drinking experience as part of my Scottish adventure.

Thoughts

I did enjoy tasting this highly stylised trio of beers with the accompanying crisps during my travels in Scotland. It didn’t appear any actual Irn Bru was used in their making & for my palate at least – the Iron Brew version pleased me the most.

Sláinte

Vault City website here.

Irn Bru website here.