Porter – Irish Beer Snob

2016, Beoir, Champion Beer of Ireland, Chili, Killarney Beerfest, Melissa Cole, Mild, podcast, Porter, The Shire Pub, Yellowbelly

IBSC EP0024 – Yellowbelly Fierce Mild & The Wexican

June 12, 2016July 10, 2016by irishbeersnobLeave a Comment

In this latest episode from the Irish Beer Snob team our intrepid duo look back on the recent Killarney Beerfest which took place the weekend of 27th to 29th of May in beautiful sunny Killarney, in South West Ireland.

It also included the Beoir (www.beoir.org) Champion Beer of Ireland Awards. A full list of the winners in each catergory can be found here

While reviewing the latest news and updates from the Irish Beer Scene, we also sample the aforementioned beers from Yellowbelly from Wexford, in the South East of Ireland.

You can find more info on the brewery on their website here

We also had the opportunity to sit down and Interview, world renowned Beer Writer, Melissa Cole, you can find out more about Melissa on her website http://www.letmetellyouaboutbeer.co.uk/ and on her social media; Twitter is @MelissaCole, Facebook is MelissaColeBeer

Thanks for listening.

Direct link is available here and you can find us on iTunes.

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Founders – Porter – The Ratebeer Centurion

November 4, 2013October 4, 2015by irishbeersnobLeave a Comment

Founders have certainly been making an impact since they’ve arrived on our shores. I’ve already sampled the All Day Session IPA – link is on the right hand side.

I was eating out with a friend in Dublin recently, and it finished a little earlier than expected. So I decided to pop into my friends in Ugly Duckling Cafe to say hi, and also wait for Mrs Irishbeersnob who was on the late shift at work. Chinwagging as people who know me is my speciality and Derek and Darragh were really keen to tell me about their new beer additions, Founders. I asked for the porter as i’d not had this yet.

Firstly, I had had a few drinks already so I wasn’t really paying much attention in terms of notes etc, but I was blown away by it. Served at room temperature this was sensational. However I said to myself i’ll have to pick this up and try it again.

So I was also more than pleased to see this in Trim Winehouse on my recent visit there, but have noticed it in O’Briens Navan. The Winehouse in Trim were selling this for €2.69 a bottle. I think they’ve also a special on with 6 for €15.00

This beauty pours dark. A lovely sweet aroma from the hops but notes of chocolate are there. You can also get a lovely hint of coffee. This has skyrocketed up the list to top of the pile as far as bottled porters go for me. Its also very easy to see how this has an average score on Ratebeer of 100.

At 6.5% its not a wimp, but this is perfect to sup on during these dark winter evenings.

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The 1st Review: 8 Degrees Brewing – Knockmeal Down Porter

June 2, 2013by irishbeersnobLeave a Comment

So, my first review.
In a country where its conditioned into you from a young age, that Guinness is the bee’s knees of stouts. Backed by a huge marketing budget, massive manufacturing facilities at the world famous St James’ Gate, and owned by Diageo one of the worlds largest alcohol companies, how are brewers like 8 Degrees meant to compete. Simple. The taste and quality of their product.

By concentrating on the taste and quality of the product above all else, we are treated to a great porter from an indigenous brewer based in the Ballyhoura Region in Cork.

What 8 Degrees say about it.

“Like tackling the Knockmealdowns in a blizzard, this beer is not for wimps. Our evolution of the traditional Irish stout, it resembles a Victorian-era Irish porter and provides complex dark malt characteristics with distinctive espresso flavours.

Without the weight of a stout, the porter is well rounded with mellow English hops.” taken from eightdegrees.ie

So what do I think?

I like it a lot, you definitely get those coffee flavours, but it is not overbearing. For those so used to Guinness the carbonation is different, but this allows the flavours to come to the fore. With this craft approach you are benefiting from the expertise of the brewers, who have trialled and tweaked their recipe to produce a very solid porter.

So how do I score this, well i’m going to score it on a couple of things,

1, the flavour and general impressions of the product scored out of five
2, the availability of the product scored out of five

I must say i am very impressed with the quality of the product, and give it 4/5
and availability ever increasing due to distribution through the countries independent off licences, some of the major grocery stores like tesco, and an increasing networks of publican’s taking it on board, i’m going to give another 4/5 so overall the Knockmealdown Porter by 8 Degrees Brewing scores 8 out of 10