White Hag's new Searbh Rua Imperial Sour Red

Paddy’s Weekend is almost here! Dublin has started turning green and the tourists are invading in their thousands. One of the many events taking place over the next 5 days is the Irish Beer & Whiskey Fest in the RDS. What better way to celebrate all things Irish than by enjoying some fantastic Irish craft beers and artisan food?  Lots of breweries, cider makers and whiskey distilleries will be there offering a huge choice of libations, and the artisan food stalls will be dishing up delish grub to soak it all up. Most breweries have announced special beers and cask brews for the festival, so there’ll be a lot of new, interesting things to try.

At the last beer festival at the RDS in September, everyone was raving about this brand new brewery, White Hag, and their amazing unusual beers. Check out my post from back then for a reminder. Their stand was by far the busiest in September. For the entire duration of the festival, there was a never-ending queue of people eager to get their hands on White Hag's fantastic brews. Fast forward to this year, and it looks like White Hag are setting themselves up for another big one, judging by the size of the bar they are in the process of installing at the RDS. Just looking at the picture is enough to get anyone very excited.

Of course they’ve been busy extending their range and I was lucky enough to be offered a sample of their latest creation called Searbh Rua, an Imperial Sour Red. Sour Ales are just starting off in Ireland at the moment, having been hugely popular in the US for quite a while already. It is definitely an unusual beer style and a Marmite kind of thing. Either you love it or you hate it. There's no middle ground. I happen to love them so I was delighted to give this new beer a try.

Described as “an artisan sour amber ale inspired by the ancient brewers of the Irish northwest”, it pours a very dark red, almost brown colour with a head that dissipates right away. On the nose it has caramel and toffee sweetness combined with a clear citrus note and a hint of peat. The taste is very rich and sweet, again with caramel coming through at first. I also tasted plums and of course and a citrusy tartness. I was surprised because for a sour ale, it is very sweet at first and the sourness only hits you a few seconds later. Most sour ales I’ve tried were very full-on and very sour from the start, but I actually like the way this one unfolds its flavours. It’s not as much of a shock as some sour ales can be. It would be a great first sour ale for someone just discovering the style.

As is typical for White Hag, this beer is strong and packs 7.9%. But once again it is so well executed that it doesn’t taste like it. To me, sour ales are something you savour and drink slowly and I wouldn’t drink more than a half pint of a sour ale. Searbh Rua is perfect for this type of savouring. You could happily sip away at it and once it’s gone, you’ll be satisfied and any more of it would be too much in one sitting. If you’re planning to pop into the RDS over the next few days, definitely give this beer a try. I can picture a queue forming at the new, huge White Hag bar already. Well done to Joe for another fantastic addition to the White Hag range!