Metalman American Style Pale Ale
4.3% €2.79 for a 33cl can
When they moved back to Ireland in 2005 after five years in the UK, Italy and Eastern Europe, Gráinne Walsh and Tim Barber were horrified to find that things hadn’t changed that much. "It was sad," says Walsh, "We had tried and enjoyed all the different regional beers around Europe but couldn’t get the same thing here. The Porterhouse and Bull & Castle were pioneers, but it was all just starting back then."
In 2011, the couple founded Metalman, named after the navigational aid on the Waterford coast. The beer was brewed at White Gypsy in Templemore for a year, before they moved into their own brewery in Waterford. For the first four years, Metalman was available only in kegs or cask. "We simply didn't have enough stock to do anything else," says Walsh. They expanded the brewery last year, and in 2015 launched the first Irish craft beer in cans. This will be followed by two more, Equinox and Heat Sink, shortly. "We did a lot of research and believe we can get a better product to the consumer by putting our beer in cans. They have a perfect seal and don’t let in light," according to Walsh. As for the last four years, "it’s been great fun. Everything takes twice as long as you think it will, and costs twice as much money. But it is a lovely industry with lots of good people."
The Metalman American Style Pale Ale is not nearly as threatening as it sounds. This is a beautifully balanced thirst-quenching beer with vibrant floral aromas and lovely citrus fruits, finishing dry.
Ch Musar 2004, Bekaa Valley, Lebanon
14% €35 from O’Briens and independents.
The story is known to many wine lovers, but it is worth repeating. In 1930, Gaston Hochar had the idea of planting vines in the Bekaa Valley in the Lebanon. During the Second World War, Ronald Barton of Châteaux Lèoville and Langoa-Barton, was stationed there and provided encouragement and advice. In 1959 Gaston’s son Serge took over and began making wine in his own inimitable style. He struggled through the various wars and invasions that have beset the Lebanon, only failing to release wine from the 1976 and 1984 vintages. Ch. Musar is different; to some the wines are simply faulty, with volatile acidity and Brettanomyces, giving them a scent best described as animal. Others love the gamey, leathery, spicy aromas, the lifted acidity, the pale brown colour and the baked fruits. Either way, it is one of the most idiosyncratic wines and we should all celebrate that. Sadly Serge Hochar died at the start of 2015. His sons, Gaston and Marc now run the show.