Elbow Lane Brewery, Cork

The Rebel county doesn't seem to be very happy with the fact that it already plays home to a selection of artisan breweries (The Franciscan Well Brewery, Stonewell Cider or Eight Degrees Brewing), speciality shops such as Bradley's of North Main Street and good beer pubs (The Bierhaus or The Franciscan Well). 

It would appear that nothing short of world domination of the Irish craft beer market will do for the crafty Corkonians, as evidenced by the launch of new brewery Elbow Lane. And since Cork people never like to make thing easy for themselves, Elbow Lane's first beer on the market will be a stout. Some might say that that is a brave move in the home of Murphy's, Beamish and Shandon Stout. Others might say that it's a clever move. Either way, get ready to experience the heavenly titled Angel Stout.

The names of the three beers, of which Angel Stout is the first, draw inspiration from the streets and alleyways of Cork City, many of which have survived since medieval times. North Main Street in particular has celebrated this by placing brass plaques at key locations. The brewery itself is named after one of the surviving city centre lanes, Elbow Lane, while two of the beers were named after lanes that have now disappeared, Angel Lane and Wisdom Lane. For the geeks, a GPS co-ordinate is provided on each bottle label showing the location of the lane. 

Elbow Lane comes from the team behind the popular Market Lane and Castle Cafe restaurants. Their goal was to create three beers that could be served with pride alongside their food. All beers are brewed according to the German Purity Law, whereby only the natural ingredients of water, malt and hops are used. As a processing aid, bottom or top fermenting yeast is added and later removed.

Angel Stout

A tough roast with malt flavour with a full-bodied and smooth finish. The beer is brewed using the strong hop variety Herkules to get a balanced hoppy spiciness.  ABV 5.1% 

Wisdom Ale

This beer is a single malt brown ale. Roasted malt like Caramel, as well as a selection of Vienna and Pilsner were used to create a medium body with slightly and toasty malt flavour tones. This ale is excellent with many foods and uniquely satisfying as a stand alone pint. ABV 4.7%

Elbow Lager

Particularly mild, sparkling, refreshing and easily digestible are the characteristics of this lager. It owes its flavour to barley malt and a generous hop bitterness. A great treat for beer lovers. ABV 4.5%

Angel Stout is on sale in bottle form from Tuesday, June 5th from Market Lane and Castle Cafe. Elbow Lager will be available by July 20th, with Wisdom Ale rounding out the trio at the start of August. It is hoped to have the beers available in other restaurants and off-licenses in due course, so keep an eye on www.elblowlane.ie or @ElbowLaneCork for further updates.