The Beerventure visits Donnelly's

Carl and I met this week for our favorite weekly tradition at Donnelly’s pub.  Donnelly’s is located in Iowa Cities Ped Mall across from the Field House.  The bar is Irish themed and it seemed to transport us to a different part of the world. Carl and I spotted the only empty booth as we made our way to the back of the restaurant.  We looked around and noticed the large Guinness themed mirrors. Both the bar and the booths were made of a dark wood and everything had an old and worn look to it. Our waitress was a little shocked to hear our unique order and asked if she could rely on the bartender for help. After we decided it would be ok she headed straight for the bar. 

Soon she retuned with three beers. The first was a bottled Harp Lager from the Guinness brewery in Ireland, next was an Agave Wheat from Breckenridge brewery in Breckenridge Colorado presented in a glass, and last was the Hoptoberfest from New Belgium Brewery in Fort Collins Brewery also served in a bottle.

We started our tour with the Harp Lager. When poured this lager formed a nice head that stuck around, the color was a light and transparent yellow leaning towards gold.  It featured an aroma that was light and kept the malt and hops in balance. It was topped by a hint of yeast. Going down the Harp started with a wonderful fresh hop burst and a little bite, the malt seemed cradled by the lightly, citrusy and fresh hops. It was slightly heavier than a traditional American light lager, and left a nice refreshing taste on the tongue even after the beer was finished.

The Agave wheat was next on the list. We admired the beer in its glass noticing its amber color and opaque yeast cloud. We also noticed that the head had mostly died down. As we gave this brew a smell we were both shocked by what we found. There was no aroma, at least nothing discernable just a kind of wet smell.  The flavor was almost as intriguing. It started out very wide and equally mild. We were reminded of drinking a weak tea; it had body but almost no flavor. What was there, tasted like yeast with the slightest bitterness of hops. Overall it was smooth and edgeless, but neither of us could ever imagine craving such a one dimensional flavorless beer.

Last on the list was the Hoptoberfest. The brew poured amber gold with a nice head that started fading pretty quickly.  The nose was potent; reminiscent of an IPA with lots of aromatic hops. It was fresh and biting with pleasant malt undertones.  The golden ale tasted much like an IPA, but it had the body of an amber ale. It rolled onto the tongue with lots of creamy malt and proceeded into a mild hop flavor with just a hint of a floral bouquet.  The hop flavor moved towards the back of the mouth where the flavor spiked into bitterness before it left a nice long aftertaste. Complex and exciting with lots of mouth movement this beer was full of action.  The malt was balanced perfectly creating a wonderful stage for the hops to play on.

We can’t remember quite when but at some point the waitress brought a huge plate of fried onion rings that sat in the center of the table. As we tasted Carl and I had also been munching on the rings which were delicious.  Although we both admitted they were probably not the most unique pair we’d ever seen they did go great with all of the beers.

Overall the Hoptoberfest stood out of the crowd in this batch of competitors.  Its complexity and structure were far superior to either the lager or the wheat beer. The Guinness brewery had done well with the Harp lager, but the Breckenridge Agave wheat was a real disappointment.  Breckenridge is a good brewery from what we’ve seen but they have to add flavor to their beers if they want to compete in the ever expanding world of craft brewing. 

Although their selection may not be the best in Iowa City, Donnelly’s pub may be the closest you’ll get to a real Irish drinking experience this side of the pond. Till next time beer lovers and market mavens alike. Prost!