The launch of the Franciscan Well Jameson-Aged Pale Ale in the Oliver Plunkett late last year. And from today’s Irish Examiner:
The Franciscan Well Brewery, on the North Mall, won two golds, a silver and three bronze medals, adding to 23 previous major awards in the past two years.
The brewery won the double gold for its Franciscan Well Jameson Stout and its Summer Saison, while it won silver for Franciscan Well Jameson Pale Ale.
The Franciscan Well Jameson Stout had been borne out of a collaboration between Dave Quinn, master of whiskey science at Jameson, and Shane Long, founder of Franciscan Well Brewery, in Cork.
Together, they explored the effect a Jameson whiskey cask would have on a Franciscan Well stout. Shane adheres to a strict, 100-day brewing process, to deliver the perfect balance of taste and aroma and a rich, smooth stout, fit for all occasions and with an ABV (alcohol-by-volume content) of 7.8%.
For the second consecutive year, Franciscan Well Jameson-aged Pale Ale claimed a silver in the flavoured beer section.
It is also a collaboration between the whiskey masters at Jameson and the brewing innovators of Franciscan Well, and was developed by Mr Long using Jameson Whiskey casks handpicked by Mr Quinn. This resulted in a smooth, rich and refreshing ale, with unique flavour properties.
Shout-out to Dave Quinn, who I met at The Academy Presents… here in the Irish Whiskey Academy recently, and shout-out also to Shane Long, who I met at The Housewarming here in Midleton Distillery, and one last shout-out to the girl I lost my virginity to, who used to work in the Franciscan Well about 20 years ago. Fond memories of sobbing over the bar after she dumped me for the assistant manager of the drive-thru McDonald’s in Douglas, who had a large (for the times) collection of CDs, all of which were soundtracks. Thankfully none of the beers from the Well are as bitter as me.