Rockshore Irish Lager
Brewed by Guinness (Diageo)
Style: Pale Lager
St. James’s Gate, Dublin, Ireland
Diageo, at the famous St James Gate brewery, home of Guinness of course, have produced that rarity, a lager brewed in Ireland.
Hoping to capitalize on the relative success of Hop House 13, Diageo’s answer to a craft beer, Rockshore is an effort to get some of the market share from the large lager drinking fraternity. With an ABV of 4% and 106 calories per bottle, I can see how it might appeal to women and the light lager drinker, who wants something soft and crisp on a night out.
A beer Inspired by the “rugged refreshing experience of the West Coast of Ireland”. I guess that’s a good image, as one can picture the the salty spray of the Atlantic sea crashing against the beautiful Irish coastline. An image of freshness and a plethora of soft light colours. That’s if you have a good hot summers day, which in Ireland is about as rare as a rocking horse’s shite.
Review: 500ml can of Rockshore Irish Lager: 4.0% vol.
Funnily enough I had this on draught while on a day out in Dublin, not knowing anything about it, and loved it. So fresh and crisp. Then I went and quickly grabbed a 6 pack from the local off license without even looking at the name of the beer. So it was a pleasant surprise to see that I would be reviewing a beer I had enjoyed in a pub a few days earlier.
On the can we get “an ice cold bright golden Irish lager, for a refreshing taste of reminiscent of a blast of fresh air on the rocky shore of the Irish coast”, which is a bit bollixy, on a can that doesn’t really stand out.
A clear, bright golden appearance when poured, with a very nice and frothy white head, looks amazing on the pour. Head does die a little but overall a lovely looking brew. Some good lacing.
Looks lovely and soft, with a decent head and good carbonation. I said good, but in actual fact it is a fantastic looking lager, well done Rockshore, that’s one amazing looking beer!
The aroma is very light on the nose, typical lager smells, malts, grainy and citrus, but all soft, pretty much odorless really.
From the can, it tastes very light and very smooth, not as good as on tap but refreshing nonetheless. Very pleasant, nice and malty, the sweet citrus lightly lingering in the background.
A pure light lager, not overflowing with amazing tastes but so, so smooth and the perfect lager to sit back and watch the football on the box on a lazy weekend.
If you want a perfectly smooth, crisp and refreshing beer, served cold, this is the beer to do the business then. The grains, malts, cereals and inoffensive light hops all combine to make a nicely rounded full bodied lager.
Overall, it is a perfect smooth picture of beer. Ok it is a simple lager, but I liked it, and it looks simply fantastic. Recommended, light and refreshing…….
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The beer is ok but the ads are awful.
The beer is quite good but the advertisements are awful. Diageo have made great ads in the past so you have the wherewithal.
I hear you Brian…….. i like it , or i used to, did they change it a little as last time it wasnt as good as i first tried and i know a lot of breweries do this after a big intro……they tweak it to save money, etc …..
the ads are totally shite ….i even made a video about it https://youtu.be/erPPJHIkl0M
Guinness, Diageo couldn’t make a proper craft beer. It’s all about the bottom line with them.
Cashing in on the scene is their objective but everything they produce is bland and middle of the road on the craft end of things. No true beer fan will settle for their mediocre offerings.
I agree and disagree – I think they are not really going for the craft beer market – Rockshore is for the general beer market…… yes it could be better and they could do better – and yes they are cashing in on the over crowded lager market – but that’s ok too – its their prerogative and sometimes its good to knock back a few beers while watching the football…..the craft beers can wait for another day