#metalmanbrewingco

[warmwaterfreak]

Brew #356: Metalman Brewing Co. Obliquity Saison Lager

Abv: 6.1%

Served: From the fridge

Aroma: Spice, grass, lemon

Pour: Hazy yellow with frothy white head

Taste: First wash is doughy bread with some herbal notes underneath. There’s a very light spice that appears then before the final citrus dry bite. A lovely hazy sup, they’ve created something unique here and they know it.

Notes: 330ml can, European hops, German lager yeast, Belgian saison yeast, Pale malt.

[warmwaterfreak]

Brew #271: Metalman Brewing Co. Obliquity Saison Lager

Abv: 6.1%

Served: On draught at pop up bar

Aroma: Herb, bread, grass

Pour: Cloudy gold with white foam

Taste: Nice spicy coriander wash with light grassy notes finishing on a hazy citrus bite. Lovely, medium dry and light for sunny supping.

Notes: Pint, Waterford Harvest Festival 2017.

[warmwaterfreak]

Brew #265: Metalman Brewing Co. Tip Tango Super Session Ale

ABV: 2.5%

Served: On draught at Geoff’s bar, Waterford

Aroma: Fruit punch

Pour: Clear gold with a finger of white froth.

Taste: Great fruity wash, light citrus and tropical cocktail, watery mouthfeel with crisp lagery carbonation. Lovely, easy drinking session ale.

Notes: Pint

[warmwaterfreak]

Brew #201: Metalman Brewing Co. Sgt. Pepper Sage & Pepper Saison

ABV: 4.8%

Served: From the fridge

Aroma: Sage, pepper, menthol, grass

Pour: Clear gold with a finger of white froth

Taste: Peppery wash with light herby sage underneath. Some salty hints and a nice easy bite with a light bitter finish. There’s some subtle citrus fruits but overall very herbal and earthy with some spice too. This could be the best Metalman experiment yet, really unique and tasty.

Notes: 330ml can

[warmwaterfreak]

Brew #178: Metalman Brewing Co. Razzbeer Spicy Berry Sour

ABV: 5%

Served: From the fridge

Aroma: Light raspberry, grass

Pour: Pink tinged amber, opaque with a froth that dissipates to nothing

Taste: Fruity berry burst up front with the sourness kicking in from below. Ends on a light tartness. Not much spice or heat at first but it accumulates with each sip. Some nice heat by the end for sure.

Notes: 330ml can, raspberries, chillies

[warmwaterfreak]

Brew #145: Metalman Brewing Co. Ginger Blonde Beer

ABV: 4.3%

Served: From the fridge

Aroma: Ginger

Pour: Slightly opaque gold yellow with a finger of white froth

Taste: Light airy malt immediately followed with a zesty zap of ginger but not an over bearing attack on the palate. For me this was unfortunate as I love a good big whack of ginger but that’s personal taste. This is a fresh, summery and light beer that finsihes out on a light bite. Perfect sup for the garden of a scorching day and also a very fine pairing with some sushi.

Notes: 330ml can

[warmwaterfreak]

Brew #9: Metalman Blaager Lager Brewed With Waterford Blaas

WARM WATER:

Abv: 4.6%

Served: Chilled

Aroma: Floral notes, Wheat

Pour: Golden, clear with bubbly white froth dissipating.

Taste: Those floral scents and some sweet honey notes are all up front and very quickly give way to a lovely background bitterness before finishing out on a light hoppy tang. Good flavour for a lager, tasty without being overly complex and easy drinking so a good session beer too.

Notes: 330ml can, crumbed blaa’s provided by Walsh’s Bakery used in place of wheat

FREAK:

So anyone reading this and not from Waterford, Ireland will probably be muttering “What the hell is a Blaa??”. Well it is a baked, doughy white bun covered in flour that can be soft or crusty depending on your preference. It originated in Waterford in the 17th Century, introduced by Hugenouts who had settled in the city due to exile from France for being Protestant. They continue to be baked locally to this day and are ideal breakfast or lunch eats, usually with a couple of slices of meat or just buttered. The don’t stay fresh for long so you won’t see blaas being eaten in the evening. Personally I love a buttered soft blaa stuffed with Tayto crisps........heaven.

Anyway to celebrate all things Waterford and produce a distinctly local brew Metalman Brewing Co. decided to use blaa’s instead of wheat to brew a lager and it was launched last weekend with a tasting session at the excellent World Of Wines off licence in Waterford. I called out and met Gráinne from Metalman who was on hand to chat about the new beer and hand out samples. While I was there the man who designs the label art for Metalman, Dave Manser of Vitamin Studios, called in for his first taste too:

Gráinne said they are already brewing their second batch and that the first batch “flew out the door”. It’s not surprising really as this really is a lovely beer. It’s got enough going on flavour wise to satisfy the likes of me but is straight forward enough to appeal to a neutral palate too. It would be a great beer to introduce someone to the whole craft beer scene with. She also expressed surprise on first tasting it at the amount of sweetness in there, a real honey blast but with enough bite coming through to bring you back for more.

And come back I did because my local Supervalu put it on tap later in the week and I promptly called in and filled my growler. On tap all those delightful nectar notes take over with a creamy wash and that bitterness reduces to a finishing bite. Can’t recommend it highly enough. I had it with burrito on a plate and it complimented the light spiciness very nicely:

[warmwaterfreak]

Brew #7: Metalman Brewing Co. Ironmonger IPA

WARM WATER:

Abv: 6.5%

Served: Chilled on tap

Aroma: Biscuit, honey, malt

Pour: Ruddy brow, opaque with a finger of white froth dissipating

Taste: Wow! Hops akimbo upfront with a real dry, pine kick but those sweet, malty flavours win out in the middle before washing back into the hop bite at the finish. It’s like a classic American IPA mashed up with a traditional one. Lovely smooth sup, one to be mulled over but can’t wait to have it again.

Notes: Pint on tap at The Reg, Waterford City

FREAK:

“Going For A Pint?” – a query hung heavy with latent comedy that can act as a catalyst to remembering epic sessions and legendary imbibements in times past. Right now it’s Saturday and that’s exactly what I am doing, going for the mythic one pint. The dinner is on, there’s an hour before bums need to be sat at the table so I’m taking the opportunity to pop into The Reg Bar and taste the new Ironmonger IPA from Metalman Brewing Co. This is the first keg to get released for public consumption, so fresh the tap doesn’t even have the artwork on it yet. Here it is:

Their Art Deco branding from Vitamin Studios as distinctive and brilliant as ever. Outside of being a loyal Déise man I’m a big fan of the Metalman brews for their flavours and packaging, they stand out on the shelf and represent everything I love about craft beers. However I didn’t think the first beer by them to be reviewed here would be a Saturday afternoon pint but there you go. Myself and a friend sit and shoot the breeze about Leicester City’s meteoric rise through the Premier League this season, Spotify and streaming and new music, work woes, kids and the middle aged realisation that bodies need to be looked after and not just abused. All the while sipping and loving this new brew. It is not a drink to be gulped and at 6.5% it demands a slower pace so stretching it out over the hour is perfect. About half way through, having acclimatized to the moisture sapping “drygasm” that hits you first, those lovely malt flavours start coming through giving a nice balanced sweetness underneath the hop attack. Whilst obviously not a session beer I’d have no bother sitting under two or three of these of an evening. It’s going to be sold in cans too so keep an eye out for it in your local off licence.