Christmas has come and gone & with it a whole range of seasonal beers. Every year I eagerly await the new batch of Sierra Nevada's Celebration Ale; but this year I wanted to break from my traditional Christmas with a wider range of seasonal ales.

One such drink I stumbled upon was De Ranke's Père Noël, a strong pale-ale from a Belgian brewer.

The opaque orange colour of this ale omits a warming red glow, it's quiet a welcoming site to behold. The visibly thickness of the beer does not amount to an overly hoppy taste, indeed the moderate bitterness of the hops quickly makes-way for layers of sweetness and spice. A fabulously warming combination which comes as somewhat of a surprise considering there is not much of a nose on this one.

The pleasant flavour remains throughout, which makes Père Noël a fine choice for savouring over-time, perhaps with some seasonal food. The spiced sweetness makes for a fine complement to many a Christmas snack, but I for one, recommend Père Noël with mince-pies.

De Ranke Père Noël - The Verdict:

7/10 - This strong pale-ale would be a welcome site in your Christmas stocking. It is one to be savoured and makes a fine accompaniment to some Christmas desserts. It is a niche beer which has its target, but this also means it may seem out of place in an environment outside of Christmas. 

Not that I care, of course, I say "Deck the halls with boughs of hoppy'" (I'm sorry).

Price: €3.29 - Deveneys of Dundrum.

Cooper's Brewery would be a name familiar to everybody who enjoys a micro-brew or two. These Australian brewers have made their beers common-place in off-licences and bars located half-way around the world. There must be good reason for this.
A look online suggests high-quality produce is propelling this brewer towards the main-stream, while the drunken handful of times I've come across Cooper's in the past have all been positive.
So naturally I was anticipating this more sobering encounter.

Matching expectations?

The first sip was good, very good, the mild floral scent was matched by an equally mild, yet fruity, flavour, a welcoming treat for my pallet. Oh, how I wish this lasted.

The after-taste hits you hard and holds no prisoners. It somehow manages to be a complete contradiction from the original taste; a terribly bitter assault which attacks the taste-buds which have just opened up for something altogether more sweet. In itself, the after-taste wouldn't be all that bad, if you enjoy bitter beers, but when teamed up with such a pleasant taste, it becomes like an unwanted party-guest that you just get rid of.

The texture itself is quiet light & lends itself well to the base flavour. Unfortunately this only increases the power of the bitter after-taste.

Like any beer, the longer it stayed standing, the less enjoyable it became. All flavour had virtually evaporated by the time I was two thirds through the bottle. Whether this was something to do with the way in which the ale was brewed, or because the after-taste made me sip rather than gulp this down, I'm not quite sure; but one that I am sure of, is that this became about as appetising as toilet-water as the mls disappeared. 

Verdict.

I don't think you'll need a hint to know what I thought about this one.

3/10. A supremely disappointing experience that I . While not entirely undrinkable to begin with, it slowly drifts in that direction. Flabbergasted at how it has created the reputation which it holds, particularly as I recall a few decent sips on this in the past. Perhaps, it was just bad batch or perhaps it could be something which is best enjoyed when already in a drunken haze, I don't know. But for all the hype, Cooper's Brewery Sparkling Ale is not something I'd clear out fridge space for.

Price: €2.25 - Molloy's Liquor Store.

A look at the website of '13 Guns' brewer Daniel Thwaites would put most people off this beer - clearly the brewing is of secondary importance for Mr. Thwaites; and as far as I could tell 13 Guns doesn't feature anywhere on site. Indeed the website resembles something from a by-gone era, while the imagery looks like something straight out of Shutter Stock. If this half-baked website was anything to go by then perhaps a secondary project would receive even less attention.
So, not a positive start then; but there is the small matter of 13 Gun's Gold Award at the 2014 World Beer Awards. Could it be that the resources have been diverted in the wrong direction? I had to find out which way was this gun going to fire, as my interest had been peaked and I wanted to see if Crafty Daniel Thwaites kept his power dry for this one.

The Good:

First thing you notice when raising a glass of 13 Guns towards your face-holes, is the aroma. It is not exactly something which will be unfamiliar to anybody who has drank IPA's previously, but it is pleasant none-the-less. A typical fruity scent, which is the Marmite calling card for IPAs. A thumbs-up from me.

Moving onto the taste, you'd imagine from the scent that it would tow the party-line and deliver that traditional IPA flavour that we all know so well. Largely it does, nothing too out of the ordinary in terms of flavour, but the drinking experience as a whole is noteworthy. As you'd expect from a beer who carries a tagline of 'An Intense Hit Of Hops', 13 Guns is a fairly hoppy IPA, but it's hardly overbearing. Instead it manages to release all the flavour of the hops without completely taking over and nullifying any further taste from the drink. The hops do, what I believe, hops ought to do - they warm, they add substance and compliment the fruity taste already present in the beer. If anything, the hops may just take the edge off the fruitiness which could appeal to some people not won over by the traditional IPA taste.

This blending of the hops also effects the texture of the beer, such that it goes down quite easily despite appearing like heavy work.

The Bad:

Not much to say here, the drink was quiet enjoyable, but I do have one major gripe. While all the elements worked well together, I for one think that the taste has been curbed just a little bit and it holds 13 Guns back from being a truly delicious beer. A shame really, as they've concocted something brilliant in every other regard, but at the end of the day the most noticeable thing about a drink is its flavour. And while 13 Guns is not necessarily an unenjoyable drink, it doesn't do enough to stand out of the crowd when put up against the competition. I feel there is a truly spectacular drink waiting to be released in this brew, but for whatever reason Crafty Dan settled for this. Perhaps, they were right to, they did win Gold after-all.

The Verdict:

Despite the last paragraph, I did enjoy this beer and for sure I will be drinking it again in the near future. I just wish that they didn't play it so safe and pushed the brew just a little bit further, it would have been enough to turn a fine IPA into a spectacular IPA.

7.5/10 - 13 Guns has won me over to a certain degree, and definitely has the pulling power to turn my head when passing the beer section in the supermarket. Unfortunately however, I don't think it will ever be the main feature on a shopping list of mine. So close, yet so far. 

Price: €2.75 - Molloy's Liquor Store.

Craft-beers are a dime a dozen these days, so when looking to move away from the safe favourites I usually need something standing out to grab my attention. Well, enter Metalman Equinox. The Irish brewing company recently released their rage of beers in cans - so that was enough for me to chose Equinox as my latest victim.

Metalman Equinox has a lot to live up to, the pale ale - with which it shares its Christian name with - is my drink of choice when it comes to the end of week social in the local pub. On paper though there is no reason why Equinox can't dethrone its brother from my weekly tradition. Not only is Metalman the brewers of one of staples but wheat beer is what first brought me away from the macro taps and into the world of craft beer. Surely this review will be a slam dunk of positives so.

The Good.

It is a refreshing drink indeed, with a fruity flavour & lemony tang.  It's sweetness ads to the refreshment and overall lightness of the lager. I wouldn't worry about bloatedness if I was on Equinox for the night.
All these properties are something which can also be found in Metalman's Pale Ale, although to a lesser degree. Despite Equinox being a lager and the other being a beer, one could see Equinox as 'Metalman Light'.

The Bad.

However, I wouldn't want to do that kind of injustice to what is a fabulous light Pale Ale. 

While Metalman have gotten the levels of sweetness just right with their Pale Ale, Equinox is an altogether less enjoyable experience. I may be more of an ale drinker these days - and that is sure to throw some bias into this review - but I tend to steer clear of the heavier options on offer. This is a mantra that I carry over to wheat beers also. I do see myself as a light ale drinker.While I know ales and lagers are as different as apples and oranges Metalman Equinox is far too light for my liking. The sensation I have when ingesting the beer is not dissimilar to what I remember feeling when forcing a pint of Budweiser as a teen. A feeling which I'd rather avoid from now on.

As for the sweetness, I think it's overkill in that department too. I would liken the beers sweetness to that of sparkling wine - which is nor exactly a property you expect when sipping on a wheat beer.

Metalman Equinox - The Verdict.

Being too light for my delicate pallet, suggests that there really shouldn't be much of a market for Equinox. Perhaps, it's Irishness; brewer reputation and nifty design will help them sell some units, but other than being a gate into pale ales for American macro beer drinkers, I fail to see who Equinox actually appeals to.

Perhaps I'm over-looking something here, but overall this drink was a disappointment.

4.5/10 - I would begrudgingly finish a pint of the stuff rather than pour it down the drain; but that's not to say I would take a free Equinox when I could buy something more pleasing on the pallet. 

Price: €2.90 - Molloy's Liquor Store.