Northern Monk, Tap Takeover

 On Friday 20th April, Northern Monk Brewery were invited to Northern Lights on Belfast's Ormeau Road for a tap take over event. I finished work slightly early so I decided to jump on a bus and make my way there. I arrived shortly after the advertised 1900 start time, and the bar was already reasonably busy, however I was able to secure a seat at the bar. The friendly staff greeted me, and explained to me that they had a selection of great beers on, as if I didnt already know!

My initial plan was for sure to have a pint or a half pint of each of the beers on offer, but when you look at the board, this was never going to happen, well not if I wanted to walk out at the end.

So, I asked for a recommended start place, as I couldn't see the board from where I was sitting, the bar maid (is that still "PC?" Bar Server person?) recommended the Vic Lemonade, which to give its full title (according to Untappd) Patrons Project 4.04 Victorian Lemonade IPA.

What comes next are my reviews of the beers, in the order that I drank them, based on the notes that I made at the time... I haven't read them since so who knows what sense or otherwise I made.

Patrons Project 4.04 Victorian Lemonade IPA 6.5% ABV

So this was the first beer I've ever had from Northern Monk, I wasnt sure what to expect. When it was sat down in front of me, I was struck by the colour. I would describe it as a golden yellow colour, but Im not entirely sure if that does it justice. It was incredibly cloudy or hazy and looked like the new NEIPA craze thats doing the rounds at the moment, (embarrassingly i haven't managed to sample a NEIPA yet). There was little or no head in the glass. On the nose I got a subtle hint of lemon, but not much else. As soon as I had a taste, immediately struck by that bitter citrus lemon taste, reminding me of strong homemade old school lemonade, im not sure if any of you remember "Ben Shaws traditional lemonade?" Even at 6.5% the alcohol was very well balanced and hidden, could easily sink a few of these without realising. Would suggest this as a bit of a palate cleanser perhaps.







Bombay Dazzler Wit 4.8%

Wit beer, not my go to, in fact I would probably avoid Wit unless there is literally nothing else on offer. However if I'm doing this, I'm doing it 100%. Judging from my notes, I tried to get this one out of the way  as quick I could. Again this was a cloudy beer, but much lighter in colour than the Victorian Lemonade, a pale yellow colour. I got some subtle citrus fruit on the nose, and a having gone looking there was a sour note too. There was very little or no carbonation, and the overwhelming flavour was Banana, but as I got down the glass, I couldnt help but be reminded of ice tea.

Peanut Butter and Jelly Brown Ale 7%

So my notes state " Light brown colour, very light for a stout,.." so obviously its not a stout, but the colour was a very washy brown colour, almost like a chocolate milk shake or similar, although not as opaque as milkshake. It had a very sweet smell to it, and I struggled to find indiviual fragrances. I didnt get much "peanut," on the palate, and I found it almost sickeningly sweet.

Saesoner DDH Saison 7% ABV

A nice golden colour, and again very hazey (I'mm starting to think this is a Northern Monk characteristic). There was very little happening on the nose, but on the palate I got some tropical fruit, with a peppery undertone, there were some hop profile on the finish, and it finished dry.

Patrons Project 5.04 Three Peaks IPA 3.5%

Collaboration with Belfast's own Boundary Brewing. I've written like 3 lines on this one maximum so here goes, "Very pale in colour again very cloudy or hazy little or no head. On the nose very discrete citra hop flavours and green grass." I guess I didnt think enough of this to even tell myself what it tasted like. Moving on...

Opeth Communion Pale Ale 5.1%  ABV

When I seen this one on the board, I was looking forward to it, there was only going to be  this one to finish with. Pale golden colour and yet again a hazy look to it, the beer held its head for eternity (I'm thinking at this point alcohol was messing with my adjectives) and as I drank down, the lacing on the glass was akin to a white wash on the inside. On the nose I got soft fruits, that I couldnt quite nail down, but I suggested banana and over ripe pears. As I drank, mouthfeel was very creamy and there was a moderate level of carbonation. I felt that compared to other Northern Monk beers on the night, even the stronger ones, the alcohol wasnt as well balanced. I didnt get a huge amount on the palate, a light malt profile with a sharp bitterness and slight burn from the alcohol on the finish. It was by no means unpleasant but unspectacular, and the more i tried find flavours the less I could differentiate, again by this time alcohol was almost certainly clouding my palate.

Finally...

Black Forest Stranik Russian Stout 9% ABV

my notes start with "F**K. Right, I have to do this." Black as midnight with a milky chocolate head. The head expanded over the glass top which forced me to gulp the first two or three mouthfuls before I was fully ready. On the nose it was dark treacle. I found it hard to believe 9% was accurate, and there was a pronounced sweetness which drunk me decided meant the yeast probably could have went on for a few extra %points. The roasted barley followed by extreme sweetness masked some of the more fragile flavours. It would be very tempting to try and claim coffee, and when I looked at the glass half way down, it did have the look of one of those new "Nitro espresso" cold coffees that are all the rage these days, but the coffee flavours were missing totally, and the richness wasn't there.

So that was the end of my night. I had a couple of other beers while I sat at Northern Lights, and enjoyed the friendly atmosphere of one of my favourite bars, perhaps in the near future I'll write something about Northern Lights in general.

On reflection, Lemonade was by far my favourite, and I had another one of these before i finished the night, and Peanut Butter Jelly, was the most disappointing. I wouldn't order Saesoner again, at 7% I just dont think it is worth the extra price. Communion was the most underwhelming, but I feel that perhaps I had built it up too much in my head.


Northern Monk:      Website         Twitter
Northern Lights:     Website          Twitter
Galway Bay:           Website          Twitter

Yeast, far from least

In terms of weight, or volume Yeast is the least when it comes to beer, however if you think that a teaspoon of yeast powder can contain many millions of yeast cells, it starts to become obvious how important it is in the beer making process. Apart from anything, no yeast, no alcohol.

Yeast is the micro-organism that takes the fermentable sugars from the wort, eats it, respires and excretes alcohol. So I decided to take a closer look at what makes my favourite drinks alcoholic. First thing i did was to google "How many strains of yeast can make beer?" From my quick research its almost impossible to get an accurate answer. What is widely accepted is, there are two main types of yeast, that which does its fermentation at the top, also knowing as Ale Yeast. And, you've guessed it, that which prefers to do its fermentation at the bottom, known as Lager Yeast. Lager yeasts prefer a cooler temperature to get their work done, usually somewhere between 10 and 20 Celsius, Ale ferments between 18ish and 24ish. That's the very very basics of yeast.

So as i already said, Yeast is a living organism, and like you or I each individual strain of yeast has its own unique characteristics. It was Louis Pasteur in the 19th century who first discovered yeast was a living organism, and then we started to realise how important it was in the beer making process (and by extension, wine, and grain spirits such as whiskey). Of course like every other living organism that man could bend to his will during this time in history, selective breading of favourable characteristics shown by the yeast, mean today there are more strains of yeast than you can shake a stick at. Even if you and I brewed identical beer, with the same strain of yeast, if we kept re-using the yeast over and over, eventually your yeast would diverge from mine, and the beers would be unique. This is known as the "House Character," my yeast adapts to the environment that i provided, the equipment i use to brew, if its glass, stainless steel, plastic, or some combination, any variances in my technique compared to yours. These all influence the yeast.

Yeast is so powerful it can accentuate the maltiness, or hoppiness, can add a dry finish, fruit flavours. Equally it can inhibit these flavours.

I have in my possession two beers, which have been made to identical recipes, but fermented using different varieties of yeast, so, when am I ever going to have the opportunity to put this theory to the test. Now these beers are not commercially available having been brewed by beer membership club, Beer52. They have called these beers Zig and Zag.

Zig And Zag?

Zig, is using a Belgian Abbey Yeast, (M47). It is described as having less phenol's than Belgian Ale Yeast, and is exceptionally fruity with hugely complex esters. From a home brew point of view, this yeast has high attenution, and high Flocculation, basically means it clumps like a cake on the top, and reproduces plenty, for efficient fermentation.Zig and Zag are described as Belgian Blonde Ale, and both come in at a respectable 5.2% ABV.
 Zag is using T-58 Yeast, which is known for its high ester, and has a spicy peppery flavour profile. It is produced by Safale.

Zig and Zag, or Zag and Zig??

ZIG:

On opening Zig there was a low pressure release, and very little in the way of aroma from the bottle. On pouring the beer however, it formed a good head, about an inch and a half of small tight white bubbles, to form an almost solid looking barrier to the beer. The glass is rated at 330ml which was the amount in the bottle but even with a careful pour the head space took up so much space that it required a sup and second pour. My first impressions on the nose were that I wasn't getting a huge amount, I had to go looking. I did find a fruit nose, but I would not describe it as fresh fruit like I would be used to with massively hopped IPA's. As I took my first mouthful of Zig, my immediate reaction was that this was a massively fizzy beer. I described it as a massive explosion of carbonation in your mouth, and a real silky feel, which when looking at the head when poured is what you would have expected. There was fruit flavours there, but again I would not describe it as fresh or ripe fruit, but on the other hand it was not stewed fruits either. The beer encouraged salivation while drinking. The lacing on the glass was prominent as I made my way down. My summing up of this beer, was to say that it was very enjoyable, refreshing beer. I went on to say that I would like to have a few more of these with a BBQ some evening. 

ZAG:

As with Zig, the opening of the bottle was a little bit underwhelming, low pressure hiss although for me this was slightly more powerful. Again my glass was a 330ml rated glass and the bottle was also 330 ml. There was little carbonation on the pour and I comfortably poured the full bottle into the glass, with little care. The head poured at less than an inch, and disappeared relatively quickly. On the nose I did get pepper very easily, but I struggled to identify anything else, and the more I thought about it the more I thought about pepper. Whereas Zig was an explosion of carbonation, Zag, had a more old fashioned silky mouth feel. As I sampled more of Zag I was getting some red cherry flavours, (to the point i was convinced that i had mixed them up). The pepper is not overwhelming but it is the main flavour of the beer clearly. There was little or no lacing on the glass as I went down. I could detect a bitterness on the finish of Zag, that just wasn't there with Zig. 

I have to say I was very surprised at just how different these beers were, considering the malt and hop profiles are allegedly identical, and I have no reason to suspect that Beer52 are pulling a fast one. If i had to pick a winner, for me personally, it was Zig, but bare in mind it was the tale end of the first properly sunny day of the "summer" so perhaps my mind was already in that mode. 

The tasting done, there were no leftovers.

                                                

Founders, All Day IPA

Founders All Day IPA 4.7%

So, I thought it would be good to start with an old "favourite," Founders, All Day IPA, a Session Indian Pale Ale, which I previously reviewed back 25th March 2015. I got some minor grief from some people on Twitter regarding my review, people were astonished that I wasn't singing the praises of this beer, apparently its one of the staples of most craft beer drinkers. You can read my original review here.

Its a complete and utter coincidence that I drank this beer on 24th March 2018 for this review, almost exactly 3 years since the initial review. So its worth noting that this time I had a can, previously I'd had bottle, but this can was within the recommended 90 days of production, it was young and fresh and how it was meant to be drunk.

As you can see from the photo, the beer poured a healthy golden or amber colour, but with very little head retention. There was a small amount of white bubbles. 

On the nose, the first thing I was able to identify was Banana. I went looking and found some green fruit, a hint of citrus and some vegetal notes well hidden. I have written in my notes that it was much stronger aroma than before, but it would appear that my memory is faded because in my initial blog I raved about the nose being fantastic, knocking me back from metres away. 

Then came the moment of truth, the palate. All Day, came with some classic malt flavours, and late bitterness. On the hop profile, Citra was the most obvious but this beer was thin in all meanings of the word. Uncomplicated with a light mouth feel, the only thing I could really distinguish was the generic fresh fruit flavour, ive written down that it was akin to biting into a fresh Kiwi. 

My finishing notes on this state that perhaps I had been influenced by the overtly green can. I also briefly compared it to the go to IPA, from Brew Dog, Punk, its very similar on the nose, but the complexity of flavours just is not there with All Day. Don't get me wrong, its an enjoyable beer, and one you would sit in the garden with a couple of on a summers day, but I just cannot believe the hype it gets. 

Founders Brewery:  Website      Twitter

Did You Miss Me?

I've been away for a while but I'm back!

So my last post was 11th May 2015, almost 3 years ago. I really didn't meant to let things slide the way they did, but real life kind of got in the way. I kept buying, drinking and critiquing craft beer, primarily from Ireland, but also from further a field. I've also got myself from brewing kits, to actually getting grains and measuring out the amounts required, mashing in, boiling, hop additions, pitching yeast, the works!

When I decided I was going to start writing again I thought about starting from scratch again, I hadn't really built up a huge following and I had neglected this page for 3 years. Puzzles? as a "Brand" Isn't exactly screaming BEER! at people but I think I will stick to it.

My great plan is to do at least 2 blogs a month, one on a beer review, or a compare and contrast, and one on a brew, although brewing once a month might be a challenge in itself. Ill also write about visits to bars around Belfast and where ever I end up. Lots has changed in 3 years, one of my favourite bars is no more, another took its place and its no more and awk sure its just crazy!