Clanconnel Brewing Company Weaver’s Gold

I found this bottle of Clanconnel Brewing Company Weaver’s Gold while visiting the John Hewitt in December 2009, one of the better bars in Belfast to seek out some interesting beer. My chum and I had ordered some Whitewater Black and Hilden Halt on draught, and while supping I thought I’d ask the barman for a run-down on what other Irish beers they had in stock, spotting a few different bottles of Whitewater behind the bar.

As he had a look for me a label in silver and yellow caught my eye, and I knew it must be a brewery I hadn’t come across before. Having asked for a look and finding this was indeed the case, I was rather pleased to hear of another new name in the small Irish craft brewing scene. I acquired a bottle to take away with me for later examination, wanting a fresh palate to do it justice.

Initially I’d thought that perhaps this was being produced by Hilden or Whitewater, and badged as something else – as I know that’s being done for a few other ‘breweries’ in Northern Ireland. But from what I could find out, the brewery does actually exist as a physical entity, started by a beer enthusiast in 2008, and with hopefully more recipes in the offing.

Clanconnel Weavers Gold

Not being bottle conditioned, it poured a perfectly clear pale gold into the glass, with just a hint of head quickly dissipating. As I poured, familiar Saaz lagery aromas wafted out, making me think that perhaps this would have been better saved to a warmer Spring moment than a snowy February Sunday. Still, I was warm enough indoors, and thirsty enough, to give this a go.

The beer itself has slightly soapy yeasty smells, with hints of cereal and lemon in the mouth, and only very light bitterness – in fact it’s the grain flavour that dominates, with malt sweetness coming through. The flavours quickly recede to a clean finish – I would have preferred they hung around a little more to give my mouth time to ‘feel’ the beer, before the next sip was necessary.

This is definitely a beer that would be better consumed in thirst-quenching gulps on a baking hot day – the subtle flavours would be no barrier to having a good glug of this to refresh your palate if out for a ‘session’, but overall I prefer my pale ales to have a little more bittering hops to them than this – though hoppiness isn’t something Northern Irish beers tend to feature in great quantities.

Still, it’s something different to the current Northern Irish beer portfolio, and something I could see going down well with the Tennents and Harp devotees in the Province, if they could only be persuaded to step outside their narrow minds – maybe asking a bit much from my fellow countryfolk there knowing their recalcitrance on other matters – but something I’ll be keeping an eye on in my forays back home!

A big thanks to serial beer tweeter Tania Nexust for the words on Clanconnel Brewing Company Weaver’s Gold from Belfast, Northern Ireland.