A real beer bonanza

BEER:A recent festival in Dublin showed the range of quality imported beers now available, but we need more Irish micro-breweries

BEER MAY STILL be seen as a largely male drink, but it took a woman to organise Ireland’s first serious beer festival. With more than 110 bottled beers on tasting, this was no easy task. The brains behind the operation was Ruth Deveney, of Deveney’s off-licence in Dundrum, Dublin 14. For those not familiar with it, I would highly recommend a visit to this a wonderful, quirky, traditional shop, which stocks a huge selection of beers and spirits, as well as a decent range of wines.

The ticket-only festival was heavily over-subscribed. There were more than 230 people there, but “I could have sold three times that number of tickets,” says Deveney.

In a small room above The Bull Castle pub in Christchurch, a heaving crowd of good-humoured aficionados came to taste beers from all corners of the globe. As well as more traditional fare, there were beers flavoured with honey, cherries, chocolate, whiskey, heather and even a smoked beer, which a friend described as “liquid barbecue”.

I joined the throng with colleagues from my local beer club (so much more edifying than book clubs). I cannot claim to have tasted everything on offer, but we each pre-tasted a range, and then went back to the most interesting. There were spittoons available, but they did not appear to be heavily used on the night.

Not surprisingly, most of the tasters were male, but Ruth was pleased to see close to 20 per cent female participation. Belgium is often singled out as the world’s greatest beer-brewing nation, and it certainly seemed the most popular. However, this may be explained by the fact that it also offers the most powerful beers – some at 10 per cent and more.

“The festival was as much for myself as for my customers,” says Deveney, who plans to run a second festival in the near future. “It started with my beer club, and then my blog (deveneysbeer.blogspot.com), where the questions were becoming increasingly difficult. I am trained in wine and spirits, but I couldn’t find any beer courses. Every other off-licence had a wine club, so I decided to be different.” The gamble has certainly paid off. “Beer has become a really important part of our business. Last year it was the only growth sector. Commercial canned beers have become so inexpensive, there seems to be a real interest in the strange and unusual. The importers are a great support, always taking risks and being adventurous with their selection.”

There were several Irish micro-breweries present at the tasting, including two from Northern Ireland. After a false start a few years, ago, maybe the time is now right for a few more beer-loving entrepreneurs to start brewing a few more Irish beers?

A word on stockists: The same beers are often imported by a range of wholesalers. It is therefore difficult to find an accurate list of retail outlets that stock specific beers. Most of those mentioned below stock a good range of premium beers, but it is worth checking your local off-licence to see what they offer before making a special trip.

BOTTLES OF THE WEEK

Whitewater Clotworthy Dobbin, Northern Ireland, 500ml bottle, 5%, €2.99

This is made by the Whitewater Brewery in Kilkeel, Co Down. All of its beers were very good, including a very tasty lager and one of the best ales of the night. The Clotworthy stood out as one of my favourites, and most of my group agreed. It tastes like a cross between an ale and a porter, with a lovely balance of hops and fruit, fresh and dry but not rasping. It really stood out as something special. Whitewater is a true microbrewery, founded in 1996 with four employees. It is possible to visit the brewery by appointment, or visit the White Horse Inn, their pub in Saintfield, a few miles from the brewery. See whitewaterbrewery.com for further details. Stockists: Very widely available in Northern Ireland, including many independents, Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Asda. In the south, Deveney’s, Dundrum; Redmond’s, Ranelagh; Carvill’s, Camden Street; McHugh’s, Kilbarrack Road and Artane; Martin’s, Marino; Harvest, Galway; Holland’s, Bray.

St Peter’s Organic Ale, England, 500ml, bottle, 4.5%, €3.89

English ales and bitters deserve far better recognition in this country. They offer so much more than the tasteless commercial lagers. St Peter’s Brewery makes a wide range of interesting beers, including a lovely porter. All come in a distinctive bottle, modelled on an 18th-century gin bottle. This is a real session beer, light enough to drink all night but with plenty of interest, too. Fresh, zippy and clean with a subtle hoppiness. Stockists: D6 Wines, Dublin 6; Cheers, Bakers Corner; Mill Wines, Maynooth; McHugh’s, Kilbarrack and Artane; Abbot Ale House, Cork; 1601 Off Licence, Kinsale.

Maredsous Tripel, Belgium, 330ml bottle, 10%, €3.30

This was an amazing mouthful covering just about every sensation; rich and powerful with a hint of sweet fruitiness, yet with a pleasing bitterness too. Despite the high alcohol, it still manages to retain a lovely freshness. Definitely not a session beer, but enjoy a single glass or have it with fairly substantial food. Originally brewed by Benedictine monks, this is now made by the Duvel Moortgat brewery, which also produces the wonderful Duvel range of beers. Stockists: Deveney’s, Dundrum and Rathmines; Whelan’s, Wexford Street; Drink Store, Manor Street; O’Neills, South Circular Road; World Wide Wines Waterford.

Maisel’s Dunkel Weisse, Germany, 500 ml bottle, 5.2%, €2.35-€2.99

Apparently, there are four kinds of wheat beer: Heffe, the cloudy style we are most familiar with here; Kristal, which has been filtered; alcohol-free; and dark or dunkel. Maisel’s is dark. This is a wheat beer with attitude. Dark brown in colour, with a cocktail of fruits, mainly banana and citrus, along with refreshing spiciness. Brewed in Bayreuth in northern Bavaria. Stockists: Deveney’s, Dundrum; Sweeney’s, Phibsboro; Drinks Store, Manor Street; Bradley’s, Cork; Egan’s, Portlaoise; Harvest, Galway; Dicey Riley’s, Ballyshannon.

La Trappe Bockbier, The Netherlands, 330ml bottle 7% €2.85-€2.99

This is a Bavarian-style beer, made in a monastery in the Netherlands. Bock beer was traditionally made in Bavaria, where they had top-fermenting yeasts, as used in Pilsners. However, it is made with deeply toasted malts and therefore has a deeper colour and more flavour. La Trappe is produced only in the autumn, and continues to ferment in the bottle. It is big and rich with an attractive dry fruitiness with malt and caramel. This is well worth seeking out. Stockists: Deveney’s, Dundrum; Bradley’s, Cork; Sheridan’s, Galway; The Oslo, Galway.

Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, USA, 250ml bottle 5.6% €2.99

Sierra Nevada was founded in 1979 by science graduate Ken Grossmann. It has grown exponentially in size, and can no longer be considered a micro-brewery. Standards remain high though, with some very good beers coming from here. The Torpedo IPA and Porter are well worth trying if you can find them The Pale Ale is surprisingly light in style, with a fragrant nose, and very moreish, malty citrus fruits. Clean and long, this slips down easily on its own, but would be a good match for lighter foods. Stockists: Deveney’s, Dundrum; Redmond’s, Ranelagh; Drink Store, Manor Street; McHugh’s, Kilbarrack and Artane; Jus de Vine, Portmarnock; Holland’s, Bray.

On the grapevine

Harvey’s Point Country Hotel in Donegal is holding a wine tasting weekend on Friday and Saturday, February 26th and 27th, in association with wine merchants James Nicholson.

The selection will showcase their wines, including Champagne house Billecart-Salmon, Basaline Despagne from dynamic Bordeaux property Château Tour de Mirambeau, and

Port producers Quinta de la Rosa. The weekend costs from €249 per person sharing, including two nights bed and breakfast, and dinner. To book, tel: 074-9722208, or see www.harveyspoint.com.