LOCKDOWN – or whatever it has now morphed into – has put a lot of pressure on many industries, not least the local beer scene. While brewing can be done in splendid isolation, closed pubs and limited movements of people have meant getting the beer out has proved a challenge.
McCrackens have been brewing beer near Portadown, Co Armagh, since late 2018 but when lockdown hit earlier this year they were able to enlist the help of Shortcross Gin producers Rademon Estate to ship their product out to their customers.
Through Rademon’s online shop, McCrackens have been able to sell their full range of Irish red ale, chocolate and vanilla stout, golden ale, Irish pale ale, hefeweizen and double IPA.
They also supply a number of off-licences and bottle shops, so look out for them on the shelves before they inexplicably close at 8pm (what’s that all about?). Anyway, that’s just what I did and got my hands on a couple of the more traditional styles brewed by McCracken’s.
The Irish Red Ale comes in a 500ml bottle and clocks in at 5 per cent abv. It pours a rather autumnal browny red colour in the glass with a minimal white head. There are some aromas of toffee and roasted malt. It very much follows the profile of a traditional Irish red ale in flavours – there’s a sweet caramel taste, a little bite of bitterness from the roasted malt and refreshing finish. It’s quite smooth and has the slight floral hint of a pale ale.
The Chocolate and Vanilla Irish Stout is also a 5 per center and although those flavours are introduced with cacao and vanilla beans from Madagascar, this retains many of the characteristics of a dry Irish stout.
It certainly looks the part in the glass – jet black with a thin, tan head. There are those roasty and chocolate aromas emanating from the beer and those flavours flood the palate on first gulp.
There’s a sweetness from the vanilla too, but it’s all a bit understated at this stout lacks the body and mouthfeel to give it that extra bit of oomph to see it all through. It’s a well put together beer, but the thinnness sees it veer more towards a porter than a stout.
