Rascal Brewing
Brewed by Rascals Brewing Co
Style: Fruity Sour
Inchicore, Dublin, Ireland
Emma Devlin and Cathal O’Donoghue were living and working in New Zealand and developed a taste and passion for the Kiwi craft beer industry which was booming at the time. In the spirit of adventure, they decided to change careers entirely and try their hand at making beer back in the old country. A bit crazy but sure why not, and that’s exactly what they did in 2014 setting up their own microbrewery in Dublin.
Ten years later and they are producing World Beer Award-winning beers in a state-of-the-art brewhouse, with an off-licence and a very popular brewpub, serving great food and even better beers – offering twelve taps of their very own finest beers. Now that’s what I call progress!
Review: 440ml can of Rascal Brewing Lemon and Lime Sour: 3.8% vol.
A Lidl special that the brewery do for the supermarket chain, which is exclusive to the German retailer.
Comes in a very nice and snazzy can. Recommended to store in fridge beforehand – “Stone cold, drink fresh”- which I did.
Looks good on the pour, a light lemony colour. Some nice carbonation going on, nice on the pour, a small white head develops but dies quick but what remains is a smooth looking hazy yellow colour…..not bad on the eye.
On the nose, the aroma is sweet but faint, can definitely get the hint of the lemon and the lime, albeit its not strong, but its there.
For the taste, with nice big mouthfuls, it is as it looks. It looks like a lemon and lime so tastes as such but it also is very Interesting as it has the depth of a real beer but better than many of the fruit beers I have drank before, as in its not so sweet to give me heartburn, but good enough to feel like its a proper beer and not a beer with added fruit. It’s a serious effort here.
Not over bearing, lemon at back ground, good for a beer drinker who is worried about a fruity drink, i.e. ME!
The expected kick from the lemon and lime was not as intense as I had expected – which I was happy about. This was more nuanced, more downplayed. And the expected kick is on the back burner, its there but at the back end.
Surprisingly good. One – because I wasn’t expecting much from Aldi, if I am honest and two, wasn’t expecting to get much enjoyment from a fruit beer. Much calmer for me than I had expected, clean and composed, not all fizz and chemicals, which meant it was more drinkable.
The lemon and lime are the main flavours naturally, but they are downplayed. They don’t hit you straight away, but as the beer settles it gets more lemony, more citrusy and more sweet.
I also 100% agree with what they recommended on the can about drinking it cold from the fridge – it meant such a difference when chilled, nice and cool direct from the fridge.
Overall, I really liked this beer. So much so that I regretted not getting more than the two cans I had bought. Would have easily drank a skinful of these, very sessionable.
Next time I am in Aldi I will have a look out for this and other beers from their brewery.
Good, good, all good! Like it. A perfect summer beer!
Anyway back in 2022 there was massive advertising of this stout on the TV with millions poured into their marketing campaign and a really big push, a new beer with an exciting “new Edge“, hence the name, and so I went and bought a few cans of it what with all the hype and all.
Was to be found throughout the country in supermarkets, off – licenses, and in bars and pubs, where it could also be got on draught. 
The taste is very creamy on the tongue, a good full bodied taste for sure, its not bad and is similar to a Guinness, at least initially, but on the long stretch it doesn’t have the kick of a Guinness and perhaps that’s what they were looking for…… a light, smoother version of a heavy stout. if that’s what they were going for then they have achieved that, but for me, a man who does like his stouts, then its not so good. 
Lidl’s, the German Discount store, has partnered with Rye River Brewing Company to bring a range of craft beers to consumers under the brand of “The Crafty Brewing Co”. They have an offer a Lager, an Irish Stout and a Red Ale to be sold in 4-packs nationwide. 
A craft stout they say, whatever the fuck that is, does that mean its a wanky effort at a real stout? Anyway apparently this stout has won a big award, or at least Silver in the world beer awards for stout. Might be impressive but I wasn’t invited so……..and it won gold in The Irish Food Awards in 2021, as best Irish stout in the country, not bad, well lets see how it goes with me!
The taste follows the nose, similar. Roasted dark malts, chocolate, coffee and nut taste, Not bad, initially anyway! Nice bitter coffee aftertaste, just right for a stout…..although might be a tad bit too sweet, but overall this is good.
Launched in 1995, Dutch Gold is a low-cost, imported, pilsner lager beer sold exclusively to Ireland. Its damn popular, ranked as the third best selling beer in the country in canned form, after Budweiser and Heineken. Mainly due to its very cheap asking price, about a Euro a can, or traditionally “4 for 5” in a pack. Popular amongst students, the lower classes, and layabouts. Not a slight, I drink it myself, lol! 
The packaging on the cans have changed since the old days where it was pretty simple, now its all jazzed up but they kept the Iconic image of a Dutch man carrying a barrel on a blue can, mostly a bigger picture now and less gold. “Old Duchie”, what a beast of a man! 
Golden coloured beer, not a bad head, nice, white and frothy. For a cheap lager it looks pretty damn good. Some small carbonation on the go. Good lacing. Looks fine. 
Established in 2012, The 5 lamps Brewery is the brainchild of Brian Fagan along with William Harvey, the master brewer and a former Guinness Brewer with over 27 years of experience in the beer industry. 
A nice black bottle all the same, with the iconic 5 lamps imagery of Victorian Dublin. Lovely.