A nice red wine for Easter

Treat yourself this Easter to a bottle of delicious Ch. Donjon Minervois.  Enjoy wonderful layers of flavours in this red wine: earthy lead pencil, wood, blackcurrant, blueberry, vanilla and a lovely long spicy finish. With its medium tannin and body, it would be perfect with roast lamb this weekend. 

The wine is sourced from a small family property in the Languedoc Roussillon area, in south west France, and is made by Carol & Jean Panis. The area is famous for its brilliant sunshine, producing fruity wines from grape varieties known for their juicy, spicy flavours.

Another notable feature is the exceptional value for money this area delivers. All the more so, as we bring this wine to you directly, and pass on the saving.  It's €9.25 in our stores.

As they say in France, Les Pâques heureux, or Happy Easter!

Flying Dog Beers

We really are in the middle of a love affair with American beers in Ireland at the moment.  There are so many micro-breweries producing a wonderful array of beer styles, that the curious beer drinker would be lost for choice.


One brewery that is new to Molloys is the Flying Dog Brewery.

Flying Dog Brewery is a beer brewery now located in Frederick, Maryland, United States. Originally opening in Aspen, Colorado in 1990 as a brewpub, it became the first brewery to open in Aspen in over 100 years, and one of the first brewpubs in the Rocky Mountain region. In 1991, Flying Dog’s “Doggie Style” was bottled and won the “The Best Pale Ale in America” award at the Great American Beer Festival.

Flying Dog Brewery is noted for using the unusual art of Ralph Steadman, best known as the illustrator of the works of Hunter S. Thompson, on its labels. 

Doggie Style Classic Pale Ale 5.5% 355ml btl €3.29

APPEARANCE: This beer produced a foamy 1/2" off-white head that dissipated quickly leaving good head lacing. Carbonation was soft in a hazy amber body.

AROMA: Light grainy malts with some caramel and moderate piney hops.

TASTE: Taste followed aroma mostly: light malts, a very light touch of honey and moderately piny hops.

MOUTHFEEL: This beer had a medium body with a smooth texture, soft carbonation and good body lacing that dissipated quickly. The initial flavor was moderately bitter with a slightly less bitter finish that lasted for a long time.

DRINKABILITY: This is a balanced, moderately hopped session ale. Easy to drink, repeatable and well priced, it is definitely worth having again and I'd serve it to others with no qualms. Though there are better examples of the APA style, this is a good, solid APA.

Raging Bitch Belgian Style IPA 8.3% 355ml €3.79

Appearance: Light copper color that is extremely clear. Lots of bubbles. Resilient, lofty thick, vanilla/cream head. Little-to-no lacing.

Aroma: Orange peel with a slight sweetness. 

Taste: Very smooth and dry with orange peel/citrus emphasis. Medium hoppiness that does not overstay its welcome.

Mouthfeel: Lighter, medium-thin body with perfect carbonation. 

O: An absolutely beautiful beer that is excellently drinkable. The body is thin enough to go down easy, but a wonderful dry and short lived hop taste keeps you tasting all the way down.

Snake Dog IPA  7.1% €3.79

Appearance: Pours a clear amber with a sticky, off-white head.

Aroma: Very hoppy. Website advertises Warrior and Columbus hops and they are very apparent in the nose.

Taste: A bigger IPA at 7.1% ABV and decent flavor. Not as bitter as the smell or label would have you believe, but still very good tasting. Malt and bitterness balance out well. Some caramel notes and slight pine flavor.

Mouthfeel: Very full mouthfeel, consistent with other FD beers. Hint of alcohol in the exhale.

Overall: Not the a bad IPA. 

Non Alcoholic Beers

Non Alcoholic Beers

It's January again and some of you may be looking to try something a little different for New Year.  Below are some of the non alcoholic beers & ciders that we have in Molloys.

Erdinger Non Alcohol

Very popular in Germany, this brand is advertised as as multi vitamin drink to athletes. Erdinger Weissbier 'non-alcoholic' is brewed with the customary care and experience gained from over 110 years of brewing tradition and in accordance with the highest quality standards.

Erdinger's master brewers have succeeded in retaining the aromatic, full-bodied Erdinger character - even without alcohol. It is this unique flavor which has spread the fame of Erdinger Weissbräu far beyond the borders of Germany.

Baltika 0

A huge favourite and definitely my favourite non alcoholic lager.  You wouldn't know it was alcohol free when drinking.  This Russian brand has been repeatedly declared the best alcohol-free beer at Russian and international professional contests. In 2006 the Baltika №0 received a most prestigious award: a silver medal in the Alcohol-Free Beer category at the International Tasting Contest of the Brewers’ Association — the World Beer Cup 2006. In 2008 this brand was awarded a bronze medal in the Low Alcohol Packaged category at the Australian International Beer Awards contest as well as the Platinum Osiris in the Best Alcohol-Free Beer category of the professional Osiris Contest at the X Big Moscow Beer Festival. In addition, this brand was declared the best by the results of people’s tasting at the beer festival in Moscow.

Kopparberg Non Alcoholic Pear Cider

The first alcohol free pear cider, it delivers the same great taste as with all Kopparberg ciders.  Available in 500ml bottles.

Weihenstephaner Non Alcoholic

A cloudy non alcohol wheat beer with a smooth malt background, yeast flavours, spicy, with fruity banana overtones. Medium bodied, and good flavours for a non alcoholic beer. Thanks to the gentle process for removing alcohol, which the brewery developed in collaboration with the University Munich-Weihenstephan their non-alcoholic yeast wheat beer offers you everything you expect from a premium beer. And you don't have to be worried about driving. Available in 500ml bottle.  

Maisels Weisse Non Alcoholic

Sometimes I'm too lazy to write up info on a beer.  This time however I've taken this verbatim from a German beer review site that had also (very badly) 

translated the review in English.  Enjoy!!!!!

Maisel’s Weisse Alcohol-free is the ideal fitness and wellness beverage for active and health conscious connoisseur. The sporty version of Maisel’s Weisse is made like any other Maisel’s Weisse varieties of only natural raw materials, containing vitamins, isotonic, using 40% less calories. With a proprietary brewing process has succeeded the master brewers of avoiding alcohol sparing, which the characteristics of Maisel’s Weisse remain preserved. Also shines so this version with the unique bright reddish amber color and a spicy-fruity taste sensation.

Original Christmas Gifts for the Beer Lover

We have some great 3 bottle gift packs for sale this Christmas, starting at €9.99. They're a great gift for a Christmas raffle, Kris Kindle or a true beer lover you know. These are available in-store only. (Click here for locations).

Classic Christmas Gift Pack with Shepherd's Watch, Santa's Butt and Five Wold Rings.  All beers are 6.0% ABV in 500ml bottles and only €9.99.  

Elf Christmas Gift Pack has the Bad Elf (4.5% ABV), Very Bad Elf (7.5% ABV) and Seriously Bad Elf (9.0% ABV).  All bottles are 500ml and this is €11.99.

Lastly we have the Belgian Christmas Gift Pack which includes Gouden Carolus Christmas (10.5% ABV), Delirium Christmas (10.0% ABV) and Palm Dobbel (6.0% ABV).  All bottles are 330ml and this pack is €11.99.

Hurry, these great packs won't last long.

here

Daniel Thwaites Brewery, Lancashire

We have a super range of beers from the Thwaites brewey.  There are 7 beers in the range to cover all tastes and for November we have a super deal of any 4 Thwaites beers for €10.

Wainwright 4.1% ABV 500ml Btl

Exquisitely lovely golden ale. Named after Alfred Wainwright, the renowned Lakeland author who was born in Blackburn, Wainwright is a refreshing golden ale with subtle sweetness and delicate citrus fruity overtones.

Lancaster Bomber 4.4% ABV 500ml Btl

This chestnut-coloured beer is brewed using pale ale and crystal malt, which gives it a full-bodied flavour. A finely balanced hop character is enriched by the late addition of Styrian Goldings as a dry hop in each cask to give a prominent floral hop aroma and warming aftertaste.

Very Nutty Black 3.9% ABV 500ml Btl

Where do you start? A stronger (slightly tongue in cheek ‘export strength’) brew of our double award winning cask mild that is also endorsed by CAMRA as being ‘Real Ale in a Bottle’. Bottle conditioned, for a truer flavour, you’d be Nutty not to try one!

Indus IPA 4.6% ABV 500ml Btl

When Daniel Thwaites was embarking on his brewing career, the INDUS would have been voyaging to the East Indies – trading Lancashire cotton for exotic Eastern delights. Our INDUS Pale Ale celebrates ales of that period with a refreshing brew enriched with abundant hops for flavour that stays fresh and crisp to the finish.

Refreshing amber ale, brewed with four hop varieties for superb taste and aroma.

 Double Century 5.2% ABV 500ml Btl

A special beer for a special birthday. Brewed in 2007, the year Daniel Thwaites celebrated its bi-centenary, this amber-coloured ale is full of hoppy flavours with an orange zest finish.

Flying Shuttle 4.9% ABV 500ml Btl

A strong, premium brown ale, lightly hopped, slightly nutty and great bittersweet flavours.  Now the unofficial beer of Lancashire Day, but you shouldn’t wait until Nov 27th to enjoy this one.

Old Dan 7.4% ABV 500ml Btl

 Bottle conditioned beer contains live yeast, which means the beer goes through an additional fermentation stage in the bottle that continues right up until you open it. Serve cool not chilled and pour with care to leave any natural sediment in the bottle.

Vibrant copper hue with lovely ‘fruit cake’ flavours. Like fine wine, will age well and mellow over time, with increased fruitiness.

Halloween and the Scary Beer Trio

With Halloween now upon us I decided to scour the shelves and fridges of Molloys to find out if we had any truly scary beers.  Three beers made the grade and they were all from the Wychwood Brewery in Oxfordshire.

The first one up is Hobgoblin Beer.

Traditionally craft brewed with Chocolate and Crystal Malts and a blend of Styrian, Golding & Fuggles Hops to produce a full-bodied Ruby beer that delivers a delicious chocolate toffee malt flavour,  balanced with a rounded moderate bitterness and an overall fruity, mischievous character.  It comes in a 500ml bottle and is 5.2% ABV.








Number 2 on the list is Scarecrow Ale.


Traditionally craft brewed in Oxfordshire using organically grown English Barley Malt and Organic Target Hops.   Scarecrow is a wonderfully refreshing English Ale evoking lazy, hazy days of summer in golden meadows and ripe barleyfields.  A winning combination of tart, citric fruit flavours perfectly balanced by a rich biscuity maltiness and rounded off with a spicy bittersweet finish.  It comes in a 500ml bottle and is 4.7% ABV.








Last to make our scary list is Wychcraft Blond Beer.

Traditionally craft brewed using an innovative blend of 3 hops and 3 malts, Wychcraft delivered a pale straw coloured, crisp,dry, ‘blond beer’ to savour.  A seductive blend of Pale, Lager and Cara Malts give a light and gentle base of delicious dry, biscuit flavours while the addition of English Fuggles, Styrian Goldings and Cascade Hops create a wonderful aromatic and fragrant, zesty character for a highly refreshing beer. It comes in a 500ml bottle and is 4.5% ABV.


As they say down the brewery - What’s the matter Lagerboys….. afraid you might taste something ???

Sierra Nevada Beers from California

We've some new additions to our Beers of the World range from the United States. From Sierra Nevada in Chico, California we now have the Pale Ale, Torpedo, Kellerweis, Stout, Porter, Bigfoot, Summerfest and the brilliantly named Southern Hemisphere Reserve in a 75cl bottle. They start from €2.50 a bottle and really are delicious beers.