Beer of the Week; Children of the Revolution

First published in the Irish Times, Wednesday 16th March, 2016

Children of the Revolution India Pale Ale, Wicklow Wolf

The Craft Brewers of Ireland love an excuse to come up with a seasonal brew, preferably with a pun or two in the name. A combination of St. Patrick’s Day and the 1916 celebrations has provided plenty of scope.

Children of the Revolution ‘salutes the bravery and vision of our countrymen and countrywomen who made possible the Ireland we live in today’. I am not sure they had today’s Ireland in mind back in 1916, but the politicians had better watch out – as Marc Bolan sang in 1972 ‘you won’t fool the children of the revolution’. This is a medium-bodied (5.7%) pale ale with a really enticing aroma and flavour of mandarin orange alongside a nice citrus bite and a smooth hoppy finish. Nice beer. ‘We were lucky enough to get a smallish amount of Amarillo hops, so we thought ‘let’s do something special, lets dump it all in to the IPA,’ says Quincey Fennelly of Wicklow Wolf.

Apparently someone took offence to the name of the beer, arguing it encouraged underage drinking. After an appearance on Joe Duffy, it went viral online. Quincey Fennelly says his phone hasn’t stopped ringing since. ‘We are all our mother’s children whatever age we are. I don’t think the name would persuade teenagers to pay €4 for a bottle instead of several cans of cheap larger.’ As the label says, the bitterness ends here!