In September 2017 we did a special collaboration brew with Jamil Zainasheff, famed author and co-owner of Heretic Brewing in San Francisco. Collaborations are all about exploring new possibilities, challenging one another to push boundaries. Jamil – author of Yeast and Brewing Classic Styles – has done it all. So we looked local and, in keeping with the grand saison tradition of brewing with what’s at hand, we developed a recipe to take advantage of the plentiful supply of ripe blackberries growing wild in the nearby Ballyhoura mountains. For one of our most complex beers ever, we brewed a Belgian farmhouse-style ale, with premium Irish malt, Bavarian specialty malt, English hops, and a mixed fermentation comprising a saison yeast for primary with Brettanomyces yeast as a secondary fermentation. We aged this in Burgundy pinot noir and chardonnay wine barrels for 13 months, then added even more blackberries to create a rich, dark and complex blackberry farmhouse ale. We called it Trespass: the sweetest blackberries always grow on another man’s bush. Style: Dark farmhouse ale infused with blackberries. Malt: MCI Pale ale malt, Weyermans Caraaroma, Caramunich III, Carafa Special III, wheat malt. Yeast: Belgian saison yeast, Brett Brux, Brett Lambicus and and Brett C. Hops: Fuggles. Strength: 7.5% ABV Bitterness: 35 IBUs Tasting notes Colour/appearance: dark chestnut brown in the glass with a creamy head. Aroma: a big sweet nose up front, with an aroma of sweet apple and red berries to the fore, balanced with vinous undertones and a hint of wood. Flavour: medium body. Mild tart flavour with fruity apple and jammy blackberry notes. Toffee caramel sweetness and a dry funky ending. Aftertaste: dry finish with faint Brett barnyard aftertones. Food pairings The fruity, tart flavours in this farmhouse ale make it ideal for food. Bake up a whole
Read More →In September 2017 we had a very special visitor. Jamil Zainasheff, the co-author of Brewing Classic Styles and Yeast: The Practical Guide to Beer Fermentation, who is also the owner/brewer of Heretic Brewing Company in California, flew into Cork. After a night in that city – including a stout tasting! – with our Kiwi, who showed off his in-depth knowledge of the best backstreet pubs and dives Cork had to offer, Jamil came up to Mitchelstown to brew a beer with us. We had recently emptied five barrels and decided to put them to use in his honour. The plan was to brew a strong dark farmhouse ale, a nod to country porter of the past. We also had a real glut of blackberries to hand so, after some preliminary work / chat at the brewery, we headed off to do a little foraging. Jamil was a good sport on what was a fairly wet, miserable day. Derek kept him entertained with Irish folklore concerning blackberries and the devil, just to add a nice Heretical layer to the foraging, and we all competed to see who could avoid falling into the river – but still get the most amount of bramble scratches – during the berry picking. After we let that beer sit for 14 months in Burgundy pinot noir and chardonnay barrels on a feast of blackberries, the lads came up with a suitably Heretic-al name for it: Trespass. We thought it was very fitting, given that the sweetest blackberries always grow on another man’s bush. Read more: Trespass Dark Farmhouse Ale with blackberries
Read More →World’s Best for Eight Degrees Brewing’s Howling Gale Ale at World Beer Awards Top award for Howling Gale Irish Pale Ale at the 2018 World Beer Awards Eight Degrees Brewing’s Howling Gale Irish Pale Ale has been named World’s Best in the extremely competitive American-style Pale Ale category at the 2018 World Beer Awards. Howling Gale Irish Pale Ale was chosen as the winner by a panel of international respected judges. With 2,300 beers from 50 countries entered into the 2018 awards, winning one of the prestigious beer styles – and one so hotly contested as American-style Pale Ale – is a significant achievement. “We are thrilled that our Howling Gale has taken this award,” said Eight Degrees Brewing’s Cam Wallace. “We’re blown away that our Irish Pale Ale has been judged to be the best American-style Pale Ale in the world. The award is an incredible accolade for a craft brewery to receive and a fantastic professional achievement for our brewers Derek Neville and Dan O’Shea. We’re keeping our fingers crossed as Howling Gale Ale proceeds to the final round to declare the Overall World’s Best Beer in London.” The World Beer Awards, now in its 11th year, judges beers over three rounds. First round picks the country winners per style, the second round has all country winners compete against each other to determine the World’s Best then, in the final round, the World’s Best style winners compete for the ultimate accolade. Howling Gale Irish Pale Ale was first named Country winner in the American-style Pale Ale category and then tasted against other Country winners to take the World’s Best title. The overall World’s Best award will be presented on 20 September. Eight Degrees had another two winners for their core range beers, taking Best in Ireland in the Lager
Read More →Our MAD IPA is a sessionable, hoppy beer, with lots of tropical fruit and citrus flavours, that’s been brewed especially to go with barbecue food. Short description: Mosaic, Amarillo and Denali hops. Style: IPA Hops: Mosaic, Amarillo, Denali. Malt: two row base Irish malt, Cara pils. Strength: 4.5% ABV Bitterness: 44 IBUs Tasting notes Colour/appearance: light cloudy haze. Fine white mousse. Medium carbonation. Aroma: lime and pineapple on the nose, underpined with melon skin. Flavour: this tasting was done on a Friday evening and had our brewers waxing lyrical: It’s light and bright The mousse is tight Drink it all night It feels alright. I didn’t feel that I needed to add much else. Aftertaste: a light bitter finish. Food pairings A perfect barbecue beer. Pair with The Big Grill, a sunny day, sunglasses and skewered roasted chicken hearts. Will also go beautifully with a grilled Picanha steak from John Relihan, Ramael Scully’s smoked goat, Kai’s VeganAsFu%k BBQ, smoked Irish trout from Mark O’Brien and Jack May’s red pepper lamb tomahawk. Launch Date: August 2018. Serving temperature: 8 degrees Celsius Availability: Draught only. Get social: #EDBMADPA
Read More →Eight Degrees Brewing is currently looking for an Office Assistant. This is a position that plays an integral role in the customer service and organisational strength of our company. The Office Assistant will join our hard working and friendly team to provide administrative support, greet and direct visitors, answer and respond to calls and emails. The successful candidate will have impeccable verbal and written communication skills, strong IT skills, a proven ability to multi-task and a friendly demeanour. Office Assistant responsibilities Greet visitors and direct them to the appropriate office. Process sales orders ready for dispatch. Input supplier invoices into accounting system. Conduct clerical duties, including: filing, answering phone calls, responding to emails, preparing invoices and customs documentation for exports. Perform accounting tasks, including invoicing, monthly statements and debt collection. Maintain a real time stock listing of beers available. Provide administrative support for the operations team. Skills Experience in an office setting an advantage but not a necessity. Excellent written and verbal communication skills. Working knowledge of Word and Excel software. Ability to multi-task and prioritise tasks. Customer-service oriented. Ability to complete administrative tasks with minimal supervision. To apply, please send your CV to Cam and Scott at joinourteam@eightdegrees.ie by Friday 17 August 2018.
Read More →About the beer Our ambition is to blend the best characteristics of a great IPA with a wild, rustic farmhouse yeast called Brett, or – to use its full name – Brettanomyces Clausenii. Think bright, hoppy, citrus fruit aromas combining with an unsettling streak of funk to miraculously create a beer that is complex, tart and funky. If it makes you think of something cooked up in a Burco boiler in the backshed of a Big Nothin’ homesteader, then you’re on the right track. Brett scavenges oxygen in the beer, keeping the hop profile fresher and brighter for longer; we’re miles away from a sweaty barnyard animal slumbering on a horse blanket with a half eaten roasted pineapple in his mouth. About the name Arguably the greatest Irish literary work of the twenty first century was written by a Limerickman reared by Cork. City of Bohane by Kevin Barry tells a story of gang warfare in a fictional town many years in the future. This Bohane is a rough spot; the only employment is in meat processing or brewing: “Bohane builds bacon and Bohane builds beer”. In this dystopia we’re back to drinking a narrow range of beers but there’s still brewing happening. (By the way, we didn’t just nick the name; we’ve been in contact with Kevin and he’s happy for us to use it!) Short description: 100% Brett IPA. Style: Brett IPA. Unfined and unfiltered, fermented and aged in stainless. Hops: Citra, Amarillo. Malt: Irish pale ale malt, CaraPils, wheat malt, oat malt. Strength: 8.3% ABV Bitterness: 65 IBUs Tasting notes Colour/appearance: Hazy golden yellow, like a Bohane sunrise. Low carbonation. Aroma: An immediate note of fresh, juicy Citra with an undertone of spicy funk. Flavour: Upfront luscious sweet fruit, predominately ripe peaches, while it rolls around in the mouth, returning to that spiky spice, predominately cloves and allspice, underpinned with a salty liquorice
Read More →We like our fruit-infused sour beers at Eight Degrees, we do, and we like to brew these low ABV beverages especially for the glorious Irish summer. (However short – or long! – it may be.) For our Summer 2018 Berliner Weisse, inspired by what’s growing in the cottage garden, we’re bringing the flavours of tart raspberry and fragrant elderflower to our favourite mixed grain, mixed fermentation, low ABV, sour beer. With a grain base that comprises of 50% malted barley and 50% wheat, we use ale yeast, combined with lacto bacteria, to sour the beer. It’s a fun beer, a sweet and sour summer treat, brewed especially for your next garden party. Short description: Infused with raspberry and elderflower. Style: Berliner Weisse Hops: Saaz, plus raspberry and elderflowers. Malt: Irish lager malt, malted wheat. Strength: 3.7% ABV Bitterness: 6 IBUs Tasting notes Colour/appearance: blush pink in the glass, a little cloudy with a voluminous head. Aroma: aromatic top notes of musky, floral elderflower blossoms with a backdrop of sweet red fruit. Flavour: fresh tart raspberry dominates this light bodied beer with a distinctive sweet, heady elderflower presence. It’s a well balanced, thirst quenching, summer refresher. Aftertaste: a slight hint of biscuity malt in the finish. Food pairings What are you eating outside in the garden? Serve this deliciously tart, low ABV beer in champagne flutes and see how well it works with all kinds of summertime food. It will cut through the richness of maple-glazed halloumi cheese kebabs or dukkah-spiced chicken drumsticks, play nicely with lamb koftas and enhance the herbs in big bowls of tabbouleh salad. Try it alongside a platter of Irish strawberries, ripe tomatoes and Toonsbridge burrata for a memorable pairing. Serve with a bowl of ripe summer fruit for a simple ending to a meal. If you’ve got your own homemade elderflower cordial, add to taste then freeze in ice pop containers
Read More →We just got a press release in from the lovely people at ABVFest in Belfast that we thought we should share with you. Pick up the beer and come along to the festival – it’s one of our favourites and it’s always a treat to visit Belfast. 19 June 2018 – Exciting news from Team ABVFest – this year, we’re releasing our #ABV18 beer in advance of the festival! ‘Hoop du Jour’, a 4% session IPA is available for you to buy in bottle and on draught in bars and off licences across Northern Ireland. It’s become an annual tradition to collaborate with friends of the festival and brew a special ABVFest beer. Earlier this year, we headed on a road trip to Mitchelstown, County Cork to spend some quality time with longtime pals of ABVFest, Eight Degrees Brewing. Brewed with Irish pale ale malt, Enigma, Amarillo and Denali hops, ‘Hoop du Jour’ is the end delicious result – a sessionable IPA, silky and full-bodied with rich red fruit flavours. As with all our previous festival beers, it’s a one-off brew and won’t hang around for long! We reckoned it would see you through the summer while we wait for the great doors of Carlisle Memorial Church to open once again on 31 August and 01 September. If you haven’t got your tickets sorted yet, be quick – Whole Shebang weekend passes are almost sold out and if you’re looking to enjoy the Saturday evening session, it’s our fastest selling ticket at the moment. Visit ABVFest.com to buy your tickets today and keep up to date with #ABV18 news and information on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. • Hoop du Jour is out for delivery today to The Wodworkers, Belfast; Neill Wine, Groomsport; Wineworks, Newtownards; The Errigle, Belfast; The Anchor Bar, Newcastle;
Read More →When the good folk at ABVFest got in contact with us to talk about doing a collab brew for the 2018 festival, we didn’t hesitate. We’ve been going to this fabulous, little – in the best kind of way – festival since it started. Held in the Carlisle Memorial Church in Belfast, it’s always been a brilliant opportunity to meet and learn from other brewers, discover new beers and breweries and catch up with friends. This year’s #ABVFest18 takes place on Friday 31 August and Saturday 1 September 2018 and tickets are available at www.abvfest.com. Don’t miss it! Short description: Session IPA Style: Session IPA Hops: Denali, Enigma, Amarillo. Malt: Irish pale ale malt, CaraPils, oat malt, lactose. Strength: 4% ABV Bitterness: 37 IBUs Tasting notes Colour/appearance: very light golden straw. Aroma: dank resinous hop aroma. Flavour: silky and full-bodied with rich red fruit flavours that are particularly redolent of raspberry and redcurrant. Aftertaste: bitter pine in the finish that doesn’t hang around. Launch Date: Summer 2018. Serving temperature: 8 degrees Celsius Availability: bottles and kegs. Get social: #HoopduJourIPA Read more: ABVFEST BEER ON SALE NOW!
Read More →Eight Degrees Brewing, in association with Galty Valley Catering, is bringing the best of local food to the brewery to pair with our naturally adventurous beers. On Friday 22 June, at 7pm, we’ll be opening our doors and welcoming guests to our first Long Day Long Table Dinner. To celebrate the summer solstice, which falls between 20 and 22 June, we’ve put together an elegant set menu that will be presented in the atmospheric surroundings of our newly operational #MauritiustoMitchelstown brewery. Five courses have been carefully designed by Galty Valley’s Mary, based around producers like Ballinwillan House, The Apple Farm, Hanley’s Butchers, Kildinan Farm, Gubbeen Smokehouse, Crowe’s Farm and Macroom Buffalo Farm. We will talk you through each course, paired with one of our beers, each carefully chosen to enhance the other. It promises to be a wonderful night of beer, food and company. Come join us! Tickets, which are €60 for a five course set menu paired with our beers, are available through Eventbrite. As this is a one-off, no-choice set menu, we regret that we cannot cater for any dietary issues.
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