Well after an enforced
hiatus I am back on the bloggisphere! I fully intended my return to
coincide with the Marble Brewery's “tap takeover” at the
Woodworkers Bar in Belfast, unfortunately real life got in the way
and I spent most of last week in the Ulster Hospital. More on the Tap
Takeover later.
Over the winter I have
continually received my care packages for want of a better word from
Beer 52, and although they have been arriving faster than I can drink
them (summer Barbecues should sort that out) I have yet to be
disappointed with an overall package from them. Since I started
receiving them last June I have had 1 bottle of Weis Beir that I was
dissatisfied with, through quality rather than my own preference. I
have to say that is not a bad return on my investment and I plan on
continuing my subscription with them for the foreseeable.
This summer, it is my plan
or personal policy to stick to local beers, I have tweeted some
nonsense about this over the winter but this summer I plan to put my
money where my tweet is. That is to say where there is a choice of
quality Irish craft beer I will opt for that first.
To that end I am
really excited by the prospect of ABV 15 festival this May at the
Titanic Drawing Offices in Belfast. Just look at their website for
the list of Breweries already confirmed, it promises to be a good
one. I hope to review in my own style various Irish craft beers this
summer, and conduct my own mini tap take overs (although they will be
bottle take overs, ill have to think of a more catchy name) by
reviewing maybe a few from a selected brewery. Of course the Beer52
packages will contain beers from around the world and if one jumps
out at me I will be sure to tell you about it.
My own brewing has reached a
crossroads, I have nailed a couple of Pale Ales using brewing kits,
the last one in particular which was dry hooped within an inch of its
life I was especially proud of, and got rave reviews from friends and
gatecrashers alike at a recent party. Do I continue along the brewing
kits path with the heavy restrictions or do I make my first tentative
steps into all grain brewing. Space is an issue for me in a small 2
bedroom flat, and initial outlay of expense for equipment is
something I wont be taking lightly. In any case I will be making one
more batch of kit beer as I have a party coming up in June and then
perhaps I will seek some advice from people who have made the next
step.
Marble Brewery Tap Take Over
Thursday 5th
March Marble Brewery took over the new bar on Bradbury Place, The
Woodworkers. They brought with them 6 beers which they felt best
represented the brewery and the message they were trying to get
across. I had planned to fully review each and give those not there
an idea of how the evening went, however as I've mentioned I spent
last week in hospital so here is a quick overview of the night and
couple of the beers that I enjoyed the most.
I arrived not really knowing
what to expect, I met a friend there and we promptly made our way to
the bar. I could see the list of beers high above the bar, but I had
not had any dealings with Marble, besides the styles of beer I
couldn't easily identify a good starting place, so I started at the
top of the list. Earl Grey IPA, for most people there is an obvious
connection here, Earl Grey is Tea. I didn't make that connection
until much later in the night. I initially found Earl Grey to be
heavy on the citrus fruit for the nose, but extremely well balanced
on the taste, I promptly finished my pint, and looked in amazement at
the board which was telling me this was a 6.8 ABV ale. There is no
way you could tell by the taste that this was such a heavy hitter.
At this point the official
tastings began, and in a much more sensible order of weakest ABV to
strongest. When the speaker stood up and explained about Earl Grey
and the Tea infusion it was like the penny dropped. Gone were the
citrus fruits, any hop flavors I got vanished and all I could get
from it was Tea. I'm not a fan of Tea and this really ruined what I
initially thought was a nice beer for me.
Another beer of note was the
Antipodean. Billed as a New Zealand Pale Ale, the marketing here was
clear, lots of New Zealand varieties of Hops, with crystal clear
water used in the process. This was a 4% ABV, and super easy to
drink. It was hard to get past the hops on the nose but I did get
hints of freshly cut grass, and under ripe citrus. On the taste this
was again very well balanced, everything about this beer screamed
“fresh!” You would definitely have this on a warm summers day
with a barbecue lit.
The final beer I want to mention was my personal favorite, and the one I continued to drink long after the tastings had finished, Little Barney. Produced in association with Tyrone's own Pokertree Brewery, this is billed as a West Coast IPA. It poured a golden red, almost copper color in the glass, as opposed to the amber color of the other Ales sampled that night, but again it was rammed with luscious fruit fragrances, some peach and pineapple were obvious to the nose. This beer was bitter, too bitter for my friend who was with me, but perfect for me, the long after taste satisfied me in a way that none of the other marble beers could. Again, this beer was very enjoyable and fresh, billed at 5%ABV I thought was the perfect strength for my favorite beer of the night.
All in all a very enjoyable
night, and the speaker (your name escapes me 100 apologies) was very
approachable after the event to answer any questions about Marble
specifically or beer, or brewing on general. Ill be keeping my eyes
peeled for the next tap takeover which I am informed will be another
good one. My only slight gripe about the evening, it was slightly
difficult, impossible at times to hear the speaker over the general
bar noises, perhaps next time they should give him or her a
microphone to ensure those at the back of the room don’t miss any
nuggets of information.
I've been in the Woodworkers I few times now and I have to say I am mostly impressed. Its the sort
of bar you can go in with a few mates and sit and have a conversation
without having to shout over the drum n bass “background” music.
Woodcutters does have a DJ most evenings as far as I can see, and having a snoop on the facebook page, it appears a live band from time to time as well but the
sound levels mean you can still have a conversation. Be prepared to
spend some money though, the guest draught beers are all premium and
the price generally reflects this, I couldn't say anything I've had
so far has been overpriced, but I equally couldn't say I've snagged
a bargain either.
* Photos taken from Woodworkers Facebook site.
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