The Pilgrim Irish Red
This tasty Irish Red Ale is made in Dublin by the lovely folks in Wood Key Brewing. The unusual name has a quirky, interesting background as told by the Brewery themselves. "During the 13th century pewter tokens were used in the local taverns around Dublin's Wood Quay to buy food & drink. These tokens were the ultimate in beer money. A secret hoard was found during the excavation of Viking Dublin in the 1970's. There were lots of different designs on the tokens. We like this one. We call him The Pilgrim".
Pleasant and sweet on the nose, whilst also being soft on the pallet with a wonderfully smooth mouth feel. I really think this is great example of the wonderful Irish Red ale. I may go as far to say that it could challenge the current favourite of mine made by O'Hara's. I would however have liked it to be more "Alive" on the palette. I feel that would have made this Red Ale really special to combine the wonderful taste and mouth feel whilst also keeping it lively.
This Red Ale is 5.8%. I feel like a lower percentage would have been a better settling point. In my opinion, from the bottles I tasted, the high percentage thinned out the flavour. The wonderful Caramalts used in a lot of Red Ale are so characteristic that when not at the forefront of the palette, can leave the brew lacking.
My overall impression.
A small few tweaks could make this really special. I would love to have the chance to have one of these out of the Tap. It could be a victim of what is common in a lot of craft beers that are great on Tap but don't translate in bottling very well. Strange I know but the list goes on from the point of where I've tasted beers at craft beer fests out of the keg and tried it the next week after purchasing a few bottles and been rather disappointed.
7/10
This Red Ale is 5.8%. I feel like a lower percentage would have been a better settling point. In my opinion, from the bottles I tasted, the high percentage thinned out the flavour. The wonderful Caramalts used in a lot of Red Ale are so characteristic that when not at the forefront of the palette, can leave the brew lacking.
My overall impression.
A small few tweaks could make this really special. I would love to have the chance to have one of these out of the Tap. It could be a victim of what is common in a lot of craft beers that are great on Tap but don't translate in bottling very well. Strange I know but the list goes on from the point of where I've tasted beers at craft beer fests out of the keg and tried it the next week after purchasing a few bottles and been rather disappointed.
7/10
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