Brewing a batch of O’Meara Bros. “Bitter Irishman” ale requires quite a bit of patience.
Tim O’Meara wanted a potent beer, yet one noted for balance. He tested and tweaked the recipe over several years to pin down that elusive point where alcohol content spikes without shattering the fragile pane holding sweetness and bite at bay.
But that doesn’t mean he understands his beer completely.
“It’s always a challenge to brew — there are so many ingredients,” O’Meara said. “There are some mysteries to me, too.”
Maybe it’s best he never completely solves such riddles. With an alchemist’s audacity, the Lakeport brewmaster somehow crafts five different hops and four different malts (from three different countries) into something singular. While the Bitter Irishman weighs in at a hefty 10 percent alcohol, you struggle to find any traces of its anger. Although O’Meara loaded it with malt, the beer manages to hide its sweet side.
It starts off slyly — a little treacle, a little grain, the familiar charm of a roasted malt. Before you finish forming this first impression, however, an overflowing handful of juniper and dry herbs flows across your palate, pulled on from behind by an earthier character. As you try to grasp the flavors swirling by, you note bright citrus and burnished toffee.
And then it gets interesting.
“It’s sneaky,” O’Meara observed. “All those flavors downplay the alcohol. It can be so complex.”
On the finish, needles of bitter pine and juniper — perhaps even chicory — attempt to reassert themselves, only to be muted by soft wood. Eventually, a rich dark coffee sensation fills in the spaces. It’s a lingering and thoroughly enjoyable finish.
The Bitter Irishman is unabashed, but hardly antagonistic. Despite all layers, despite the swings between bitter and earthy, the beer never loses its composure. It is potent, but under control. It is intense and perhaps even wild, yet with moods and behavior in perfect balance.
Of course, at 10 percent alcohol, the drinker may eventually suffer a loss of balance. Fortunately the restaurant encourages half pints.
Either way — full or half — it’s a very good brew.
O’Meara Bros. have produced their last batch for the year. It is on tap now, until it runs out … at which point we’ll all just have to wait until next summer to again test the Bitter Irishman’s demeanor.
