I've always been a fan of "Smiggy" from the lads in Drawda, in the Wee County, at the same time I always wondered
why I am such a fan? Let me entertain you.
I'll say from the off that I have not been to the brewery in
Co. Louth but simply by
looking at their bottles on the shelves in "Offos" the length
of the country, it does scream Fun!
Orange colours (on this particular choice) nearly always work well on
dark backgrounds and your eye is immediately brought to "that part"
of the fridge. Clearly the marketing department should be paid more than they
are!
The "cartoony" goat character, again, ticks boxes
even for novelty effect, but still gets you to pick up the bottle. Not everyone's cup of tea I'll
admit, but the fact were talking about it, job done.
The Sniff?
Not an overly strong smell, toffee maybe but the smell comes back upon taste, plod along to the next paragraph like a good taster.
Not an overly strong smell, toffee maybe but the smell comes back upon taste, plod along to the next paragraph like a good taster.
The Squint?
If you can picture perfectly cooked caramel in a bowl,
before it really darkens, well that's Smiggy. Very clear. Some constant light bubbles, so it has
life in it alright.
Lacing - the foamy bits left on the glass. Yea it's there.
Fairly prominent. To be honest, lacing doesn't really bother me that
much, so I don't usually put much emphasis on lacing
itself.
The Quench?
The lack of SNIFF certainly doesn't mean lack of taste. Smiggy fizzes gently on the
tongue for a couple a seconds & then it's gone. You can make up your own
mind whether you want to try another Amber Ale that fizzes more or less, your
call.
A slight
lasting flavour for about 45 seconds
or so...just enough time to savour the biscuity (think fresh warm digestive biccie) elements. If it
makes sense the taste smells a little like hopps from a small beer producer near Thomas St, Dublin that
you can smell on the wind sometimes, faint but there nonetheless.
If you really take your time after admiring the Goat staring at you to take more, I got a "tickle of tobacco" somewhere way at the back.
If you really take your time after admiring the Goat staring at you to take more, I got a "tickle of tobacco" somewhere way at the back.
I got
the urge to drink more of the beer, perhaps due to the non
lingering taste, at the same time you'd have to keep your witts about you and not
fall totally to its 4.8% charms! This could be a brew that would creep up
on you.
Tastes nice, Taste fading, Drink More, Tastes nice, Taste
Fading, Drink More....repeat to fade.
BBQ & cheeses are recommended foods
to accompany Smiggy & I would
agree.
The Finale?
Typically an "outdoorsy" beer or a nice easy drinking summer evening special...seems strange that I'm drinking it now in November.
Typically an "outdoorsy" beer or a nice easy drinking summer evening special...seems strange that I'm drinking it now in November.
The power of persuasion I guess. Read the marketing bit
again.
There's a whole herd of goats to try from Jackcodys I'll pick off one by one from the herd overtime.
Sláinte
