Brewing Tips

Barbãr | Brasserie Lefebvre

Belgian beers have always been a bit of a mystery to me. I live in the south of England, and the only Belgian beer you can get locally is Chimay which is priced as if it were unicorn blood*. Earlier this month, my girlfriend and I headed to London on a romantic day trip (pub-crawl-in-disguise) and in the evening we visited The Rake Bar, which I can only describe as beer-heaven. Here, I bought a selection of bottled beers from around the world to try when I got back home. The first of these beers was Barbãr.

*brewing-tips.com does not condone the unlawful killing of unicorns.

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Irish Red Ale is a medium to light bodied ale originating in Ireland. It has very little – if any – hop flavour or aroma. Irish Red Ale has a malty flavour profile with strong caramel notes. The deep red colour is achieved by using a small amount of Roasted Barley which also gives the beer subtle roasted grain flavours.

Examples of commercial Irish Red ales include Murphy’s Irish Red, Caffreys Irish Ale, and Smithwick’s. Despite the name, Irish Red Ale is not widely drunk in Ireland, where Stouts and Ordinary Bitters have become the ale of choice.

Irish Red Ale

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