Dublin Craft Beer Tour

Bob Geldof and the Boomtown Rats sang about hating Mondays and with good reason, its universally known as the worst day of the week. You go to bed on Sunday evening with that Monday morning fear. Well this past monday we did something different than what we'd usually do on a Monday evening. We were going to do a Craft Beer Tour of Dublin.

Now I met Kevin through mutual friends in Probus wines recently and I said i'd come along and try round up a few heads for Kevin's tour. Sadly the weather was rubbish and a few people dropped out on account of the weather. 

The premise is quite simple, we all meet at 730 in the Beerhouse on Capel St, and the group then goes on one of the two routes which will take in 4 pubs in total including the starting pub.

Our route this evening will take us via Farringtons, Cassidy's and JW Sweetman. All stalwarts of the Craft beer scene in Dublin. The thing is, we are only trying Irish Craft Beers.

Our first beer of the night was a new one from Franciscan Well. Now its well documented they are part of the Molson Coors Family, but this does not stop them producing quality beers. Tonight's offering was a Clementine and Rosemary Saison. 

A trio of Saison, photo by @bakingbatchelor

Kevin explained the beer was made by a friend of his and that he helped by peeling 27KG of clementines. Hopefully when it's bottled you'll get a few for your hard work. It was strange drinking this beer on a dank Monday evening but it was very tasty and well balanced. It would be a great summer beer. So will keep an eye out for this when it launches soon.

Next stop was Farringtons where we would get to sample a different beer. This time we had a Rascals Ginger Porter. It wasn't the first time i'd had it and it was still as surprisingly light as the first time i'd had it. Well done Cathal & Emma, and am looking forward to seeing your new brewhouse in Rathcoole.

Rascals Ginger Porter photo by @dunnejm

From here we ran the hurdle through Temple Bar to Cassidy's of Westmoreland St. In here we all had the rocksteady Metalman Pale Ale. 

Metal Man Pale Ale photo by @bakingbatchelor

Then for the last stop of the night, JW Sweetmans on Burgh Quay. In here we all went with their Galaxy Hopped Amber Ale. A very tasty amber ale and would recommend anyone who's in there to try it before it all goes.

Kevin runs the tour's every Monday evening and meets at the Beerhouse on Capel St. The meet time is 730PM. He can be found on Facebook, and Twitter @crafttourdublin. Definitely one of the more interesting ways to spend a Monday evening.

#Brewsweplate - A beer & food odyssey with Eric Heilig & Floriane Loup

On Sunday 23rd March, in Cassidy's of Westmoreland St, myself and a select number of people were treated to the first #Brewsweplate event. The brains behind this foodie and beery special are Eric Heilig and Floriane Loup. 

The setting in Cassidy's upstairs area was entirely fitting with Eric's philosophy. Fittingly captured in the mission statement.

"The white table clothes and silver service are things of the past. We cut it down to the very essential. Great Irish Produce, amazing Craft Beer and an unforgettable night that just asks for more"

The brewer of the night was White Gypsy, and we were fortunate to have their latest recruit Declan Nixon there to talk us through each the matched beers to each course. Floriane announced each course as they came along.

As an aperitif we were served a delicious Hendricks Gin & Tonic, with cucumber and freshly foraged seaweed. Served in those industrial sized tins were various breads, the standouts for me personally was the treacle and porter brown bread, and the rye flatbreads. Served with a sensation wild garlic butter, and also a tomato butter.

The Amuse-Bouche

Our amuse-bouche was shredded pork with a wild garlic aoili - interestingly the pork was raw and was almost cerviché like in the way it was prepared. With a nice crunchy piece of pork to go with this to add a textural element. The flavour was intense and deliciously tasty. 

1st course - Scallop with Blonde

The first course that came out then was matched with White Gypsy Blonde. A typical German style Weiss beer with those familiar banana and clove smells were matched with Scallop, with roasted banana, coriander, lime and dried Goji berries. The scallop was perfectly cooked and matched beautifully with the components and the beer. 

Hen's Egg, Brioche, Chicken Heart - with Belgian Brown Ale

Next up, matched with White Gypsy's Belgian Brown Ale, was Hen's egg with Leek, Jerusalem Artichoke, pear, brioche and chicken heart. This dish had a lovely earthy feel, very agricultural, reminded me of time on my grandfathers small holding when I was a kid. Matched perfectly with the beer, taking on the beers characteristics and matched on the plate.

The Pork - mmm pork! 

The piece de la resistance for me was the next dish, the perfectly cooked Pork, which I thought was cooked sous vide, however Eric confirmed after it was lightly seared and very slowly cooked at low temps to achieve what can only be described as the most silky smooth piece of pork i've ever eaten. This dish had amazing small squares of crackling, celeriac puree, pink grapefruit, almonds and grapes. The matching beer was my favourite White Gypsy beer, the american pale ale. 

The dessert

Last but not least, was the most sumptuous dessert. A rich dark chocolate ganache with with duck yolk ice cream, with sea salt, sweet potato cream, and rye. The matching beer was White Gypsy's Doppelbock, which had a great complimentary sweet flavour.

All in all this was a fantastic experience, the creativity involved in matching with each beer, and the hospitality was second to none. I love a meal that is nicely spaced out and this was just that. Plenty of time between courses to speak to our table mates and it was a great table if I do say so myself. 

The synergy between the food and beer was exceptional. Eric and Floriane have set the benchmark now, and I for one can not wait to see what they come up with next. 

Beoir Brewday - Blacks of Kinsale #Beoirbrew

As a lot of you will know there are more and more breweries opening up in Ireland these days, but some are taking different approaches. Sam from Blacks of Kinsale who last year served up his delicious Kinsale Pale Ale through a Randal at the Irish Craft Beer & Cider Festival in the RDS, needed to get his own kit, so he went about it via Crowdfunding. He chose indiegogo to raise the coin for his Kit. 

Those familiar with Kickstarter et al will know the way it works, but basically in exchange for a donation you got a perk, ranging from having your name on the wall, to being able to brew beer. The members of Beoir decided to follow the National Home Brew Club who raised enough to name a fermenter. Initially there was 20 of us donating €50 each in return for the opportunity to brew beer on Sam's pilot line. The 20 places were snapped up, so another 20 places were made available when Sam said we could brew a 1200L batch. Each person who donated would received 10L of the beer, and Sam would get to sell the rest of the batch. I'm sure there will be a launch party of it when its kegged too!

Rather than me waffle on about the process Brian one of the members in attendance has put a great video together.

Needless to say it was a long day, I drove down on the morning picking up Andrew and we got there around 1030. (We missed the heavy lifting!) The mash was well under way at this time. We are brewing a Double IPA so the recipe sheet made for very interesting reading and is probably going to come in round the 9% ABV mark. 

Andrew and I looked after the BBQ making up Burgers and Sausages for the hungry troops. I must say the Kinsale Pale Ale as fresh as it was, literally recently kegged was sensational. Along with the Black IPA. However Steve brought a good few sharers down for us to taste, and there were some crackers in there. Double Bastard by Stone was a cracker. Andrew also as part of his perk got three Specials that he was only to kind to share with the group.

The "Ink" Black IPA was unbelievably smooth and easy to drink, totally deceptive given its ABV

After all the high jinks and everything cleaned down we retired to the tasting room where the sharing continued and the banter for the evening. We soon left the brewery under cover of darkness to sample the KPA in its natural environment.

Thank you so much to Sam and Maudeline for their hospitality, it was a fantastic day and can't wait to taste the finished article.

We returned to Dublin on the Sunday a little shook but had an immense time. The members of Beoir are currently voting on the name and tagline and expect to hear more about this in the coming weeks.

The wall of fame of all people who donated via Indiegogo

Craft Beer Pubs - Dublin - A guide for visitors

Those that reside and work in Dublin's fair city take it for granted and work on the assumption that people know what we're talking about when say "Go to X pub and Y Pub".

Lets face it, the Craft Beer movement in Ireland is small, a vibrant and growing market, but small scale compared to the macro movement, and also the craft market in the states. The crucial thing is it's improving all the time.

Out of the blue last week I got an email from James in Houston, Texas who is travelling to Europe at the end of March and has a 2 day layover in Ireland on their way to the Czech Republic. James asked me for some suggestions of where they should go on their stay.

First things first, this list is not in any order of preference, just places I recommended as I think they are great in their own right.

The Brew Dock, Amiens St, Dublin 1 (http://www.galwaybaybrewery.com/brewdock/)
Ok, this place has been a staple for me ever since they opened in 2012. Couple of reasons for that, 1, it has a great range of beer, but 2, it is right next to where I get my bus home! But the main reason I hold this place in such high regard is that the staff are super, the range to go in both bottle and draft. But also two cask ale engines. Match this with good food you've got a winner, and a very good representation of the growing Irish Craft beer scene.

JW Sweetman, Burgh Quay, Dublin 2 (http://www.jwsweetman.ie/index.html)
Dublin's only brewpub. But they also do good views of the liffey, and serve good food with their beers. They also pour from the mainstream brands, so if you're keen on the craft beer, but are with people who aren't, you can keep everyone happy here. The staff are very enthusiastic and they run tours of their brewery which is literaly in the Cellar! 

Against the Grain, Wexford St, Dublin 2 (http://www.galwaybaybrewery.com/againstthegrain/)
The original Craft beer bar, based just off St Stephen's Green this is a sister bar of the Brew Dock, but has also the same great staff, good food and fantastic bottle and draught menu. 

The Bull and Castle, Lord Edward St, Dublin 2 (http://bull-and-castle.fxbuckley.ie/)
Opposite Christchurch Cathedral, this FX Buckley owned establishment, specifically the beer hall upstairs,is the perfect place to have a nice bite, and some great beers. A good pitstop on the way back into town if you have done the Storehouse tour. 

57 The Headline, 56/57 Clanbrassil St, Dublin 8 (https://www.facebook.com/57theheadline)
A newer addition to the Dublin Craft Beer scene, this bar is located a little outside the centre, but well worth the trip out. Craft Beer, Fine Whiskeys, pies, charcuterie and cheese. What is not to love. 

L Mulligan Grocer, Manot St, Stoneybatter, Dublin 7 (http://www.lmulligangrocer.com/)
La piece de la resistance in terms of Gastro Pubs in Dublin, definitely a bit off the beaten path, but it is only a stones throw from Smithfield. They are renowned for their food, and great list of beers and whiskeys. They've even featured in the New York Times. If you are in the area it is definitely worth checking out, and it's across the road from Drinkstore, one of the best independent off licenses in the country. 

Now, as we all know, everyone comes to Temple Bar when they visit Dublin, believe me, there is more to this part of Dublin than rampaging stag parties and excessively expensive pints. You just have to know where to look.

Two gems in this fantastic area would be

Porterhouse Temple Bar, 16/18 Parliament St, Dublin 2 (http://www.porterhousebrewco.com/bars-dublin-temple.php)
The longest established craft beer pub in Dublin, they used to brew on site, but due to growth and demand they've moved to bigger things out in West Dublin. The pub remains, and they offer all the porterhouse regular beers, with good food, and a beer menu that is more reminiscent of a phone book. Live music most evenings, and has Zaytoon across the road for post drink munchies. 

Farringtons, Essex St, Dublin 2 ( http://www.thesmithgroup.ie/farringtons/ )
It is ironic that this place is directly across from Fitzsimons, a place where punters regularly pay in excess of €6 a pint. A pub with a great range of whiskeys, craft beer, and whats more all next to the mainstream stuff like Guinness et al. Live music and food also round it out as a great place to stop to take a load off. Manned by friendly staff, this place continues to surprise me. 

So if you find you are going to visit our fine capital, these places are highly recommended.

Finally, you should download the Beoirfinder app, available both in Itunes, and Google Play store. This is a free app where members of Beoir populate the database with pubs that serve Irish Craft Beer. The app is free and works on Geo Location. Chances are if a pub has Irish Craft, they will have foreign stuff too. 

Thanks for reading and hopefully we'll be welcoming you sometime soon.