A perfect beer for the last rays of summer: Wild Bat Pilot Batch 003

I am delighted to announce that I am now a “Tap Curator” at the wonderful Sheary’s of Crumlin. What that means is that I get to decide which beer goes on one of their 6 craft beer taps. It’s a really exciting opportunity and it’s been great fun to work with the ever-lovely team at Vanguard who supply the beers for this tap. On top of that it means that I have a good reason to write a blog post every now and then to share a little bit about the beer I’ve chosen to go on next.

The first beer I chose was Grand Stretch from Eight Degrees and it went down a treat. Now that it is all gone, I was delighted to hear that Vanguard had a few kegs of Wild Bat Pilot Batch 003 left because it would be a brand new brewery to Sheary’s and also to me. So off I went to sample a pint of it in the name of research. Here’s what I found out.

Wild Bat is brewed by Corrib Brewing Company in Co. Galway. Behind it is the owner of Probus Wines, Paul Fogarty, and 2 of his pals. So far, they’ve brewed 3 beers which are aptly called Pilot Batch 001, 002 and 003. Batch 003 is a California Common. It comes in at about 4.3% and is a ruby amber colour with a very nice, creamy, long-lasting head.

The aroma is very subtle, malty with a slight citrusy note. The taste is a fantastic and amazingly well-crafted combination of lovely sweet and soft malt and a nice soft texture that hits you first, and a great little kick from the hops coming next. This combination makes it perfectly sessionable because it’s not overly hoppy. But it has this often-attempted-and-rarely-achieved just perfect cheeky little hop kick that keeps the beer interesting and refreshing and that makes you want to drink it all day long. If you were looking to introduce someone to craft beer, this would be the beer to start with. It’s perfect for newbies. But at the same time it keeps us veterans happy and hopped up. It was so delicious that 1 pint turned into 3. Some seriously impressive skill is on display in this beer. I would recommend this to absolutely anyone. 

Don’t wait until it’s too late! Get yourself into Sheary’s, grab a pint of Wild Bat Batch 003 and take it out the back to enjoy the last rays of sun with this beer as the perfect accompaniment.