IF YOUR festive imbibing leaned more towards the quantity end of things than quality, you’re probably swearing yourself off the beer for the foreseeable future.
However, abstinence can have its downside too, creating longings which are often sated in quite a fervent fashion. A lot of those detox peddlers will prescribe lots of water and I couldn’t agree more – just make sure you have a lots malted grain and hops in it too.
That’s the spirit behind the Tryanuary initiative. Rather than ditching the booze altogether this month, beer enthusiasts are being encouraged to support independent brewers in their area.
The idea is that when you pop into your local off licence or pub, instead of picking up your usual poison, try something from a local or craft brewer instead.
Even if you are a regular supporter of craft beer, show your camaraderie by tweeting your choice and using the tag #tryanuary to give an independent beer maker a boost.
Each region in the UK and Ireland will be included in the initiative, with representatives from those areas taking over the Tryanuary social media feeds for the that.
Ireland's specific day is January 29, when Roy Willighan of the Quare Swally blog and the Irish Beer Snobs will take over the Tryanuary controls to champion the best of brewing, north and south.
If you run an off licence or pub and want to highlight an event related to local craft beer, drop them a tweet at @quareswally or @irishbeersnob.
If you are well versed in local beer, this may be the time to try out some new brews from established brewers or some of the relatively young beermakers on the local scene.
One of these is Beer Hut Brewing, which is based in Kilkeel, Co Down. Like many independent brewers before them, they came from a homebrewing background but only started brewing in their base at the foot of the Mournes in 2017.
In that short space of time, they've managed to put together a well-received core range and some interesting special editions.
One of their headline beers is Ahoy Captain!, a 7.4 per cent Irish sea salted IPA, a nod to their seaside location. It pours a light brown colour and is slightly murky (always a good sign in my book). There is a definite predominance of malt, with caramalt added to the bill to give it that slightly chewy, sweet taste.
There is a nice hoppy presence, it's a bit peachy with a slight bit of citrus, but the sea salt comes through well and with the malty backbone, gives it a slight vibe of salted caramel.
It's the sort of beer that settles down well after an initial flavour onslaught.
