Hi folks! Mr. FFID here, official hand
model and full time food taster with French Foodie in Dublin. I’ve recently
been offered a promotion here at FFID HQ, as the blog’s beer correspondent. A
job I’m happy and excited, although a little intimidated, to accept.
I’m not going to pretend to be an expert
but I’m a big craft beer fan and have been blown away by the energy around the
craft beer revolution in Ireland over the last few years. There is so much
passion and experimentation in Irish craft beer right now, it’s exciting just
to sit back, observe and enjoy a delicious beer or three.
When it came to choosing a beer to talk
about on the blog, I knew exactly what the first one had to be. For me, the award
winning Eight Degrees Brewery, based
in Michelstown, epitomise the Irish Craft beer movement. Set up by two
entrepreneurial antipodeans, they are known for their hop forward beers,
consistent quality and experimental seasonal brews. The Howling Gale Ale was
one of my gateway beers into the craft scene a few years ago but today I want
to give a few paragraphs to their fantastic single malt IPA: The Full Irish.
I was in complete agreement with the ladies
and gents over at Beoir when they named this the Beer
of the Year 2015. Pouring a hazy gold colour, this IPA comes in at a full
on 6%. Give it a sniff and you’ll notice an explosion of hops: think
grapefruit, citrus fruits and a field full of flowers.
I’ve had a few American IPAs with similarly
hoppy aromas but which fail to follow through on the favour, The Full Irish is
not like that. Taking your first sip you’ll find that the flavour delivers
exactly what the aroma promised. The citrus, passion fruit and grapefruit really
shine through and are held in place with a solid biscuity malt backbone. It’s
very drinkable and it’s easy to forget how strong the beer is while drinking
pints of it, believe me!
It’s fairly well stocked in many craft beer
off licenses and if like me, you follow your local craft beer pubs on social
media you should see it pop up on draft every once in a while (at time of
writing I know it's on draft in the Beerhouse and Against the Grain). It’s
definitely worth a try if you’re even remotely into IPA’s.
Another pint of The Full Irish there
please!
Follow Mr. FFID's beer tweets @MrFFID
