The Irish Pale Ale Debate - O'Hara's IPA

There has been a bit of a debate amongst members of Beoir as to whether or not Irish Pale Ale is a distinct style of ale. Many point to the number of Irish breweries who have a pale ale offering and believe that this alone should be enough to constitute a beer style, I have to say that I have my doubts.



Lovely beer and an interesting
take on an American style pale ale

 One of the beers often quoted as being part of this new style is O'Hara's Irish Pale Ale. This is a beer that I have tried before on cask but I had not sampled the bottled version, the cask version was nice but had an overpowering perfume aroma that I didn't quite like.

The beer pours a golden colour with a thick creamy head. Nice citrus hop aroma dominates which is nice to see in an Irish beer. Light to medium bodied with a smooth creamy mouthfeel. Lovely tasting beer, citrus flavours up front with a nice malty middle and a smooth level of bitterness on the end. Very easy drinking and I could certainly see myself having a few of these.

I have to say that I think this is a better beer than Galway Hookers 'Irish Pale Ale' and this is certainly a beer that I will be seeking out again. Highly recommended.

As for the debate about Irish Pale Ale being a dinstinctive style I think that if anything this beer proves that it is not. O'Hara's IPA represents an interesting take on an American style pale ale, it does this very well and maybe has a more malty profile than it's American counterparts, but this distinction alone does not justify the argument that this type of beer constitutes a separate style.

Bar Review: Bull & Castle, Dublin

A quick bar review today. For any of you living in Dublin or planning a visit, the Bull & Castle Gastro Pub and Beer Hall should be on every beer geeks itinerary. On Saturday night myself and seven friends decided that a steak dinner and some quality beers was the perfect night out, having been to the Bull & Castle on a number of occasions I suggested this as our destination and we were not disappointed.

The night began with a pre-dinner pint of the house Ale, Buckley's, a light hoppy pale ale. Weighing in at only 3.8% it is the perfect way to start a session. This in the most part was met with approval and a number of us stayed on the Buckley's for the next two or three pints. There was also those who tried some of the bars extensive range of bottled beers, Leffe and Weihenstephaner were sampled and enjoyed. Other members of the group tried some of the other draught beers available including Staropramen and Paulaner.

After a few pints of Buckley's I decided to stay with the pale ale and had a nice pint of O'Hara's IPA, this was very light and hoppy with a strong perfume aroma, certainly an interesting beer however I found the perfume aroma a little overpowering. After the O'Hara's I went for the tried and tested Galway Hooker, a lovely hoppy Irish Pale Ale and certainly one that should be tried by everybody who can get their hands on it.

Dinner was very enjoyable with seven out of the group of eight deciding that when in a bar owned by a butcher that you should always go for the steak. Everybody enjoyed their meal thoroughly and the rib eye steak that I had was fantastic. Dessert was by-passed in favour of a round of Mojito's.

A great night was had by all, and should you have the chance I would highly recommend a visit.
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