This is a translation of the Oct, 8th post.
Last week I wrote tasting notes for an American beer, Magic Hat # 9, which I bought in a Dublin
shop called Probus Wines & Spirits,
located in the heart of the city (Fenian Street 26/1 Denzille Lane, Dublin 2).
After spending some time chatting with the really friendly owner, Paul, he told
me they do beer tastings every Thursday and I was more than welcome to come
along. So without a second thought, last Thursday (October 5th) I
went along with my camera, my note-book, and the desire to try some beers.
The tasting was run by a very nice guy named Alex; he‘s very
knowledgeable and wants to share his passion and interact with people, which is
a great thing. There were only a few of us there, all really looking forward to
getting started, so everything kicked off on time without any problems.
The main idea was to compare two beers of similar styles, so we started by
comparing lagers: the first victim was a pilsner named Hop Rocker from Mac’s Brewery
in New Zealand; its appearance was a straw/golden color, not cloudy at all,
light carbonation, with a small and compact white head which lasted the
distance. The aroma was very intense: tropical fruits, citrus and herbal notes –
very clean and crisp. As time passed it started to show a little more graininess.
As for the taste, it was medium bodied, bitter (but not much), a lot of fruit (mango,
peach), herbal notes, lemongrass. The aftertaste was long and dry with the
alcohol very well integrated. Honestly, one of the best pilsners I've ever had,
very well made, balanced, very noticeable kiwi hops, but still a pilsner. Easy
to drink, interesting, nuanced and an affordable price. By the way, the bottle
design is pretty cool. The other lager was Spaten
Oktoberfest, perfect for this time of the year, very light in color to be a
Märzen, with an herbal aroma of noble
hops and slightly sweet. On the palate, however, things changed a bit with much
more caramel character (slightly sweet, but not cloying), which is pretty interesting
because in the nose seemed the other way around. Average aftertaste, not too
long, very easy to drink and alcohol perfectly integrated.
Everything was going well, interesting, new things and good ones, but
the third and fourth were two great beers, very interesting and I had never
tried them before. First up was Adnams’
Broadside, an English beer from Southwold. The beer itself is a very
English Strong Ale: dark copper colored, low head and whitish, slightly
carbonated, intense and complex flavor, very fruity, figs, raisins, spices,
caramel, medium bodied, tones of dark fruit, sweet, spiced, a curious funky touch
and a very long aftertaste. The only negative point: the alcohol notes were not
very well integrated. Nevertheless, all things considered, it’s a very
interesting and original ale.
So, as one should in a tasting session, we finished with the beer with the
highest alcohol content, Old Dan from
Thwaites Brewery in Blackburn (Northwest
England), which is an Old Ale (quite a similar style to that of the last beer).
Old Dan was dark-reddish, slightly
carbonated with a small beige-coloured head. The aroma was quite sweet, with
notes marzipan and dark fruit dominating; certainly intense and complex,
reminiscent of a light barley wine. Again, the flavour profile was very intense
and complex (yet easy to drink): very grainy, biscuit, dark fruits, spices;
very interesting and full-bodied with a lingering aftertaste.
The event passed without a hitch and with many contributions from the
audience – a good thing as it’s always interesting to compare notes. After the
tasting session finished we all kept drinking for a while, chatting in a relaxed, friendly atmosphere – a usual thing after
these events.
Apparently these tastings are organized almost every week, so if you are
in Dublin for a while then make sure you stop here; I’m sure you will enjoy and
if not, at least you can buy some good wines and beers and have a chat with
people who know about their subject and products, which is always nice.
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