Carlingford brewing company - great beers!

[Parky]

Spent Easter up in Carlingford - a lovely medieval town on the shore of Carlingford Lough 'up north'. Came across Carlingford brewing company's offerings in the pubs there. Hadn't been aware of these beers before, but can definitely recommend them. The red ale (more an amber/brown ale imho) was on tap in PJs, but bottles available of both the blonde and red in any pub in town.

Blonde ale in bottle - Mrs Parky had this one and reported it was a little harsh at first in terms of bittering and flavour, but once it had a little time to breathe it was sweet, fruity and really refreshing.

Red ale on tap and in bottle - Just as good on tap and bottle, a cloudy beer with a light toffee and chocolate malt base, with VERY generous hopping. A terrific quality beer, no skimping on ingredients here - it was all I drank for the whole weekend!

Well done Carlingford Brewing Co. - hope to taste more of this in the future.

[irish_goat]

I was in Carlingford a while ago for a weekend. Didn't see the Red on tap unfortunately but had a few bottles, didn't find it overly hoppy but thought it had a very nice malt character with a good bit of complexity. Not the usual watery Irish red anyway. The Blonde was a strange one though, the blurb on the bottle promises "funky Belgian style pale ale with earthy hops and a hint of spice" and claims it is a good intro to craft beer. It's got an almost Orval funk to it, which I enjoyed but I'm not sure if that was the intent of the brewers as no one else in the group enjoyed it and I certainly wouldn't put it down as an entry level craft beer.