IPA Challenge Cup Final

So I often begin these blog posts as follows, "So I....". This time, given the fact that this post represents the culmination of almost 2 months of conscientious and "careful" beer drinking, it would seem inappropriate to start in such a flippant manner. For those of you scoring at home here are the finalists (l-r):

Goose Island India Pale Ale 5.9% abv   
Thornbridge Jaipur India Pale Ale  5.9% abv 
ODell India Pale Ale  7% abv 
Brew Dog Punk IPA  5.6% abv

Anyhoo, I decided to do the final as a blind tasting, I know there are pros and cons of blind tasting in general,  but given that I knew the identities of the items to be tasted I figured we'd be OK. I asked Herself to half fill four identical numbered glasses with the beers above and then number the bottles appropriately.

As luck would have it, none of the four were especially visually distinctive, so no clues there. My tasting notes were as follows:

Beer #1: Lots of hops, not much malt. Nice, but not smooth or balanced. Guess: Punk 
Beer#2: Smooth, balanced and lovely. Guess: Odell/Jaipur 
Beer#3: Wow, Smooth, balanced, lovely and some delicious fruitiness. Guess: Goose Island 
Beer#2: Smooth, balanced and lovely. Guess: Odell/Jaipur

#1 is definitely Punk; it has none of the malty sweetness to balance the bitterness of the hops. #2 and #4 are both really smooth, well balanced and very tasty; I'm guessing it's the Jaipur and the ODell but I can't tell them apart, blind.  #3 is just stonking, it takes #2 and #4 and adds some subtle fruit that elevates this ale to near mythic levels.  My guess is the Goose Island, as I have really loved this before.

Time for the big reveal, I went and fetched the now be-stickered bottles.

I got 1.5 out of four, not a good strike rate, given that I had tasted them all recently. I knew I liked the ODell but both Herself (who knew which beer was which, but hadn't tasted the ODell before) and I, clearly preferred #3 above the others. The Odell is simply magnificent, but a look at the price of each beer makes for some fascinating reading. I worked out the cost per litre of each of the 16 entrants and the results are below...

So I have expensive tastes and so does Herself, who'd a thunk it?

Although it's obvious, it bears repeating, the above exercise, from 16 beers to one, is not an empirical exercise and only reflects my own perverse tastes in ale. Your mileage can, and invariably will, vary.

As I type I am finishing off the Goose Island along with a snifter of Glenlivet Nadurra 16yo, and a fine pairing they make. It has been a long week for all concerned, but hopefully we are out the woods now. Goodnight, and my your god go with you...

Battle of the (India) Pale Ales - Semi Final 3: Celtic League and Semi Final 4: American Walkover

Semi Final 3

Brew Dog Punk IPA  5.6% abv
O'Hara's Irish Pale Ale 5.2% abv

I'm expecting a very close contest here. I like both of these ales a lot and I drink them whenever I find them; the O'Haras you can get on tap in quite a few places.

First up the O'Haras, not massively hoppy but smooth and well balanced. This is a beer you could drink a lot of and it's Irish, so let's hope we can keep the flag flying.

And now for the Punk, lots of grapefruit, lots of hops but not as smooth or balanced I'd wager. So I guess its power vs finesse. It's frighteningly close but I'm gonna go with the Punk. Kudos to the O'Haras though. In the end there can be only two four finalists.

Winner - Brew Dog Punk IPA

Semi Final 4


ODell India Pale Ale  7% abv
College Green Brewery Headless Dog  4.2% abv

Bad news for the Irish, I couldn't find any more Headless Dog in Superquinn or anywhere else, so the Odell's wins by default. To be honest, I fricking love the Odells, so I don't reckon the Belfast beer had much of a chance anyway, sorry.


 Winner -  ODell India Pale Ale

Battle of the (India) Pale Ales - Semi Final 1: American Beauties and Semi Final 2: English Roses

Semi Final 1

Goose Island India Pale Ale 5.9% abv 
Brooklyn East India Pale Ale  6.9% abv

The Goose Island is seeded No1 and so is the beer to beat here. The plucky Brooklyn dispatched the  popular Sierra Nevada Pale ale and is no slouch.

Colourwise the Chicago native is almost lager-like in the glass and as usual, the Goose Island is quite fabulous, so well balanced and hoppy it's gonna be tough to beat. So, sip of water and let's try the Brooklyn EIPA. Nope, this ain't gonna do it. It has a slight bitterness on the front of the tongue that I don't quite care for (picky!), and it just isn't as smooth...

Winner - Goose Island India Pale Ale



Semi Final 2

Thwaites Indus Pale Ale  4.6% abv
Thornbridge Jaipur India Pale Ale  5.9% abv

As I mentioned last time, I loved Jaipur when I lived in Auld Reekie, and the Indus I liked last time but didn't love, so I thought this one would be a no-brainer. But the Indus shows up well here, it's got a nice bitterness and I'd be happy to drink it any other day. The Jaipur shades it though, it's got a tiny touch of malty sweetness that offsets the hoppiness and the flavours work really well together.

Winner - Thornbridge Jaipur India Pale Ale

On not-unrelated note. I think I'm seeing a pattern in the IPA's that I'm really grokking, let's see how the full semi-final line-up looks like and we'll see if I'm correct.

Superquinn Italian Wine Sale

A little bird, my friend June in fact, let me know on Friday that Superquinn was having an Italian Wine Sale, and they never told me! Anyhoo, after a lovely weekend in Kelly's in Rosslare, en famille, we all ventured down in search in bangers, spuds and Vino.

I bought four reds, seemingly at random, as detailed below and pictured above. I know they were all reduced but I don't have the brochure to hand and the receipt only showed two of the four reductions, for some reason.

Emotivo Montepulciano 2011 €8-00 (reduced from €11-49)
Superquinn Classic Collection Chianti 2012 - €7-00 (reduced from ???)
Santa Christina Toscana 2011 €10-00 (reduced from 12-49) 
Sammicheli Chianti Riserva 2009 €11-00

I'll be drinking them over the next few days  but tonight we start with the 

Santa Christina Toscana 2011. I'm not trying to damn this wine with faint praise but it was very...easy drinking.Some nice acidity and fruit, well balanced and no food required to enjoy it. Decent value for a tenner.

Emotivo Montepulciano 2011. We're not loving this. It's a bit vegetal both on the nose and to taste, in a not entirely pleasant way. But, given our shockingly precarious financial situation, there'll be no more pouring wine down the sink. I even went to Lidl tonight and bought 6 bottles of cheap red (of which more anon).

Part 2 is here

Superquinn Classic Collection Chianti 2012
As with the Santa Christina, this was a tasty "easy drinking" little vino with some subtle cherry fruit and a little acidity. Its not going to knock your socks off if you are an Italian wine buff, but is very good value as priced and should be liked by most folks.


Sammicheli Chianti Riserva 2009
This was definitely the pick of the litter, a classic Chianti with lovely plummy fruits, and some nice complexity at the finish. Definitely a buy at 11 europes.

Next Up - I continue my voyage down the plughole with the first two IPA semi-finals.

Rossa Piceno - Something new from Italy

So it's been a long time since I bought a wine in Donnybrook Fair, a long time. The problem being that I don't shop in Donnybrook, since I moved away (sob) and the Baggot St branch is right beside Baggot Street Wines. However, being dinnerless, wineless and in Stillorgan this afternoon I ended up purchasing the wine above in DF #3, Stillorgan.

It's Brecciarolo Rossa Piceno Superiore €14-99 from Velenosi.I had never heard of the Rossa Piceno DOC and indeed there is no English Wikipedia page on it (there is an Italian one, if that floats your gondola). The wines are made predominantly from Montepulciano and Sangiovese with a little of local varietals added.

It was a little tart in the beginning but it's a bit smoother now with some nice acidity and a little fruit. It's perfectly fine but I'm not sure I'd spend 15 notes on it again.

BTW I have been posting a lot of beer-related posts of late, if you're fine with this, give me no sign whatsoever. Seriously, I have been contemplating starting a separate beer blog - negotiations are ongoing.

Battle of the (India) Pale Ales - Quarter Finals 7 & 8

Quarter Final 7 - Battle of the Strong Silent Yankee types

Sierra Nevada Torpedo Extra IPA 35cl 7.2% abv - €2.79 
ODell India Pale Ale  35.5cl 7% abv - €3.79

I have had the Torpedo before, preferring  it to the standard pale ale from Sierra Nevada, so hope are high. The Odell I had only once, bought by Herself as part of a welcome home trousseau of ales. I remember liking it, but I was a bit pissed at the time, so a level playing field awaits tonight.

Note: I also purchased (long story) an ODells 5 Barrel Pale Ale (€3.29), which I have not included in the competition, through bad planning. I did include 2 Sierra Nevadas (they both lost) so I am being inconsistent, apologies. I put the Torpedo against the ODell as they are both extra* IPAs - 7%+ abv

I haven't mentioned temperature before but it's worth a few words now. IMHO most of these ales, especially the strong ones taste best when slightly warmer than fridge temp; maybe 20 or 30 minutes out of the cold seems, to this palate, to me about right. 

Sierra Nevada Torpedo Extra IPA 35cl 7.2% abv
Yummy, yummy, yummy. Strong, decently hoppy and well balanced, with some lovely citrussy fruit. This reminds me of the Goose Island, which is not a bad thing.

ODell India Pale Ale  35.5cl 7% abv
Whoa. I was wrong. This one is like Goose Island. Lots of grapefruit, not a huge amount of hops but great balance and very drinkable.

Winner ODell India Pale Ale. This was a very close one. They are both very tasty but the ODell just shades it.

* I'm not sure what the actual definition of an Extra IPA is, just Google it already.

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Quarter Final 8 - Ulster Vs Connaught 

College Green Brewery Headless Dog - 50cl 4.2% abv - €3.29
Galway Hooker Irish Pale Ale - 50cl 4.3% abv - €3.29

Both of these are Irish but I've not had the Headless Dog before; their Belfast lager is pretty decent if unremarkable.  I'm expecting two easy drinking ales, so let's see...

College Green Brewery Headless Dog
Pale amber in the glass with a lengthy head (steady!), This is...pleasant if a little mild for my tastes, not at all like the big bruising US ales.

Galway Hooker Irish Pale Ale
Similar, if a little redder in the glass, this is another mildish ale. Not a huge amount of flavour here, unfortunately. Not bad but not great.

Winner College Green Brewery Headless Dog

Dunnes Wine Sale

I have to take Dunnes to task. I have been in three separate Dunnes over the last couple of weeks, looking for some of the wines that are part of their "Wine Sale". In each store they had maybe 5 or 6 wines (that I could find) and virtually no promotional material. Just some small placards attached to the shelves. Maybe I caught the end of the sale and stocks were low... They should take a lesson from Richard Moriarty in Superquinn. That's how to do a wine sale.

Anyway, I bought a few reds, some are from the sale, not sure which; it's late and I'm tired with a dicky tummy and a dodgy back so reviews are limited to six words apiece.

Marques de Almonacid Carinena 2009 - €9.00 (reduced from €12-50)
Fruity, light and pleasant. Not bad.

Poco a Poco Tempranillo 2012 - €7-50 (reduced from €11)
Cheap cheerful, but not for me.

Chateau Millegrand Minervois 2011 - €11-50 (reduced from €16)
Awful, down the sink with it.

Laurent Miquel Nord Sud Syrah  - €10-50
Cheap cheerful, needs lots of air.

Next Up - More Beer, probably.

Battle of the (India) Pale Ales - Quarter Finals 5 & 6

Quarter Final 5 - Battle of the English Pale Ales

Timothy Taylor's Landlord 50cl 4.1% abv - €3.10
Thwaites Indus Pale Ale 50cl 4.6% abv - €2.99

I used to drink a lot of "Landlord" in Embra when I was over there, it was often the only Pale Ale in a pub so I ordered it by default, mostly in "normal" bars that didn't have a lot of casked ales. The Thwaites I haven't tried before but they do a couple of smashing ales namely their Double Century Celebration Ale and their Wainright Exquisitely Lovely Golden Ale. 

Timothy Taylor's Landlord
Amber and slightly cloudy in the glass, with a decent foamy head, this is a little underwhelming, not much on the malt front and with only a little bitterness. Hmm, I guess it needs to be on draught/keg to shine?

Thwaites Indus Pale Ale
Looks very similar to the Landlord in the glass but not at all cloudy. This is better, the flavours work better together and the bitterness of the hops add to the whole rather than sticks out.

Winner Thwaites Indus Pale Ale

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Quarter Final 6 - The War of Independence


Flying Dog Doggy Style Pale Ale 35.5cl 5.5% - €3.29
Thornbridge Jaipur India Pale Ale - 50cl 5.9% abv - €4.39

I had never heard of Flying Dog brewery before coming across it in Molloy's and Flying Dog seem to have quite a few ales, but I chose the Doggy Style as, by alcohol, it's in the ballpark with most of the "premium" IPAs. The Jaipur I used to drink from the cask whenever I could find it in Auld Reekie , it is wonderful "that way".

Flying Dog Doggy Style Pale Ale
Amber, almost red in the glass, there's not a huge amount of hops here, but there is a smidgen of malt. Nicely balanced but maybe a little on the mild side for my coarse appetites.

Thornbridge Jaipur India Pale Ale
Straw coloured and cloudy in the glass, with a nice frothy head. I do like this, lots of hops and some nice citrus flavours. Also nicely balanced but with just a little more oomph.

Winner  Thornbridge Jaipur India Pale Ale

Battle of the (India) Pale Ales - Extended!

So I knew there were lots (well eight or twelve or twenty) other (I)PAs out there in Dublin, at least, and I reckoned that having a competition with the first eight I could find probably wouldn't be fair to the others. So far, I have grabbed all the (I)PAs from O'Briens, Molloys, Dunnes, and Superquinn so far; Tesco has a couple of possibles, I think, and I still have to get into Baggot St Wines, so there may be a third round of 4 "quarter finals".

There are a couple of beers I have excluded, Nogne beers from Norway as they are about 8 squid for 50cl (too dear), Smithwick's Irish Pale Ale (too meh), Alpha Dawg from The Franciscan Well Brewery (too unavailable), etc. So I got eight more...

The following six beers were bought in Molloy's (Ballyogan) which has a surprisingly large selection of craft beers, given that the locals probably don't drink that much of them.

Timothy Taylor's Landlord 50cl 4.1% abv - €3.10 site  
Thwaites Indus Pale Ale 50cl 4.6% abv - €2.99 site  

Flying Dog Doggy Style Pale Ale 35.5cl 5.5% - €3.29 site
Thornbridge Jaipur India Pale Ale - 50cl 5.9% abv - €4.39 site

Sierra Nevada Torpedo Extra IPA 35cl 7.2% abv - €2.79 site
ODell India Pale Ale  35.5cl 7% abv - €3.79 site

These last two were purchased in Superquinn (Blackrock) 
Galway Hooker Irish Pale Ale - 50cl 4.3% abv - €3.29  site  
College Green Brewery Headless Dog - 50cl 4.2% abv - €3.29 site 

I will be performing the next four "quarter finals" over the next couple of weeks, maybe starting tonight if I'm feeling thirsty...

Liveblog - Romanico Toro 2010

So when Tricki'nBaz came over the other night they brought with them a lovely Monsant from O'Briens which I am no stranger to. They also said they had picked another Spanish wine which had been highly recommended by the chap in O'Briens whose blurb says the following:

"Imagine Australian Shiraz meets Rioja and you get an idea of what this might be like. Big, rich and packed with fruit but never losing its distinctly Spanish accent and excellent structure. This is a phenomenal new wave wine from the Toro region and is from the hands of master winemaker Marcus Eguren" 

Romanico Toro 2010 €13-99 reduced from €17-99.

19:00 It's been open and decanting for over two hours now. Lots of bright fruit flavours initially but there is some structure behind it. Very pleasant indeed, although I'm not sure how much it will it will improve as the night wears off.

21:30 I do like this, maybe it's the influence of a "medium" Chicken Karahi (actually quite hot) from Bombay Pantry but I'm finding this a much more integrated beast than before. I don't know that it will impress old-world lovers but if you like your wine with a little fruit, fill your boots.

23:30  I'm still liking this and the finish is cracking but would I pay €17-99 for it? No. €13-99? Maybe. It's a grown up Protocolo, which is not an insult, buy I'd want more for this money. I'd buy it if I was entertaining and I knew the guests were big fruity new-world freaks. This would be right up their alley, so to speak.

Battle of the (India) Pale Ales - Quarter Final 4

Quarter Final 4 - Dunnes Big Ones
O'Hara's Irish Pale Ale 50cl 5.2% abv - €2.89
Fuller's India Pale Ale 50cl 5.3% abv - €2.50

All of the other quarter finalists were sourced in O'Briens, these two are from Dunnes. The other difference for this bout was the fact I had three extra judges; Herself and the Newlyweds from next door, Tricki & Baz.

I made copious notes during the tasting but as it took place after a few bottles of the fantastic Finca La Linda Bonarda 2011, they don't make a huge amount of sense in the cold light of day. Anyway here goes...

O'Hara's Irish Pale Ale 50cl 5.2% abv - €2.89
Three of the four of us really liked this. It was smooth with some lovely fruit and some nice hops. Character was the word we agreed on - character. Tricki found it a little too fruity, but the rest of us were impressed by it. The fact that you can now get it on draft in quite  few pubs in Dublin is a big plus.

Fuller's India Pale Ale
Tricki preferred this and according to my notes she said it was "good". Baz liked it also calling it "clean" and "refreshing". I didn't disagree, the Fullers is perfectly pleasant but simply not as flavoursome as the O'Haras. It might be a good place for the IPA virgin to start perhaps?

Winner O'Hara's Irish Pale Ale

The Full line up for the semi-finals will be as follows:
Goose Island India Pale Ale VS  Brooklyn East India Pale Ale
Brew Dog Punk IPA VS O'Hara's Irish Pale Ale

Quarter Final 1 is here
Quarter Final 2 is here
Quarter Final 3 is here

Battle of the (India) Pale Ales - Quarter Final 3

Quarter Final 3 - Scotland Vs Germany
Brew Dog Punk IPA 33cl 5.6% abv - €2.69
Crew IPA  33cl 6.4% abv - €2.99

Prior to this round I would have said that Punk was the number 2 seed. We used to go to the Brew Dog pub on the Cowgate in Edinburgh and we drank a lot of their beers and a lot of Punk on draught. The Crew on the other hand, I had never come across before the other day

Brew Dog Punk IPA
Straw coloured and slightly cloudy in the glass, the first thing that's noticeable is the fruit; not as much hops as I would have expected but enough to satisfy. As in QF2 I picked the standard IPA and didn't go for the monster that is Brewdog Hardcore IPA (9.2%).

Crew IPA
Amber, nearly red in the glass, this doesn't look like a pale ale at all. Unfortunately it doesn't taste much like a pale ale either, not enough hops, methinks or maybe the flavour is too subtle for me, it wouldn't be the first time. For the curious, the link to their site is here.

Winner - Brew Dog Punk IPA

By the way, this is my 300th post (go me!) I've been at this since March 2009, for those of you keeping score at home.

Quarter Final 1 is here 
Quarter Final 2 is here
Quarter Final 4 is here