#elderberry-red

Dublin's west coast

A couple of weeks ago, I made a return visit to Urban Brewing to see what was new. I'm not sure if it's a positive sign that the big winter beers which were there in December were still on: the Wee Heavy and Winter Stout, though it's nice that more people get to enjoy them, perhaps. New was an American Cream Ale , a style we almost never see in Europe, never mind Ireland. I'm not much of a fan, but that doesn't usually stop me. It's the yellow-green shade of a Golden Delicious apple and very slightly hazy. The aroma is that of a pilsner: clean, crisp grain husk and a gently fresh grassiness. While there's a bit of lagerishness in the flavour, and moreso in the texture, sitting in the middle is a huge honking mass of perfume or fabric-softener taste. Bleuh. The brewery says they've intended it for session drinking (it's 5% ABV) but before the half-way point of a half pint, I was finding it tough. I had been expecting bland, so getting something actively unpleasant was a shock. This migh