I’ve two passions in life, good beer and good coffee. So when one of my favourite breweries at the moment, Wicklow Wolf, announced that they were doing a collaboration brew with Dublin based roasters Java Republic, my interest was certainly piqued.

A couple of interesting notes about the beer, firstly it’s the style. It’s a brown ale. When people hear Brown Ale they normally think back to some horrific experience they’ve had with Newcastle Brown Ale. Well Newcastle Brown Ale this ain’t. Here we have a coffee infused brown ale. Java Republic selected the Rwandan coffee beans that have brought them recognition at the Great Taste awards

The ground beans are then steeped in the fermenter until the right strength is achieved. Underpinning this is the beer, a familiar brown ale which has a malty, caramel sweetness, which is offset somewhat by the coffee flavour that comes through at the end. The nose is unmistakably coffee. It comes in at a reasonable strength of 5.1%. I quite enjoyed this, and am looking forward to drinking more.

This is a special edition, and is available nationwide in O’Brien’s Wines & Molloy’s Off Licence, and independent retailers. With an RRP of €4

From IPAs, to Stouts, to everything in between. Wayne is a passionate advocate for Craft Beer and Cider in Ireland. He regularly features in online publications and podcasts, as well as writing with his wife on www.irishbeersnob.com. Wayne’s aim is to kick down the doors of convention surrounding Craft Beer and Cider by writing in a no nonsense style. Drawing on his experiences of many different beers he is going to bring you on a journey that you’ll be asking yourself, why didn’t I join this revolution sooner?