Category: Meath

2014, 8 Degrees Brewing, Beer Festival, Bo Bristle, Bru, Collective, Craft Beer, Dan Kelly's, Four Provinces, http://schemas.google.com/blogger/2008/kind#post, Jack Cody's, Kentucky Ale, McGargles, Meath, Navan, Smyth's Bar, Vanguard Beer

The First #Snobfest Event – Smyth’s Beer Garden Festival Sat 27th September

by irishbeersnobLeave a Comment on The First #Snobfest Event – Smyth’s Beer Garden Festival Sat 27th September

So this past saturday was the 1st Smyth’s Beer Garden Festival. It was many firsts, the First Beer Festival that Smyth’s on The Square in Navan had hosted. Despite having one of the broadest ranges of craft beers in the county. More importantly it was also the first event i’ve organised from conception to inception to delivery. Nerve wracking stuff.

With a great venue in the back, a lovely beer garden, well sheltered, we had the perfect space for plenty of vendors, and plenty of punters. The only thing we could pray on was the rain staying way and thank fully it did. On the day itself we had a local feel to it with many coming from not to far away. 

We’d barbecue food, and local musicians playing music all day, it all added to a great atmosphere for everyone who was there.


We had local favourites Brú Brewery who were there with their bottle beers, and excitingly a keg of their new flagship beer Brú, a pale ale thats very well made, but also very accessible and will attract no doubt a lot of your typical heineken drinkers. I loved the fact they served the 30l keg using a party pump. If that isn’t craft I don’t know what is.

Picture taken from BruBrewery.ie

Next up locally we had from Drogheda, we had newcomers Jack Cody’s – who came with their Amber Ale “Smiggy” and Pilsner “Puck” in bottles, and always the beer was a cracker, it’s a very steady seller in Smyth’s and was good to see Geoff again talking to people about his great beers. 


Also from Drogheda we’d the delectible Dan Kelly’s Cider, Olan brought their two varieties, the Fiona’s Fancy which is my favourite, and their normal Dan Kelly’s cider. Thanks for coming Olan and bringing your lovely cider.

From Kentucky USA via Dunboyne Co Meath we had Kentucky Ale with their range of beers, and also their stand out Town Branch Bourbon, and Pearse Lyons Reserve Single Malt – these guys also proved very popular.


Continuing the trend for Irish Beers, James Winans came down from Vanguard Beer Collective, the only distributor out there who only distributes Irish Craft Beer, he carries a great range of bottles and kegs, and on the day that was in it, he brought two from 8 Degrees Brewing their Howling Gale Ale, and Knockmealdown Porter, and the topical Four Provinces The Hurler. My FIL was very impressed with the Knockmealdown Porter, and as always James was fantastic.


Next up we’d from Clane, Kelly’s Mountain Brew with their Justice Pale Ale, both in bottle form and draught. The Justice is a really well made pale ale, very accessible and was pouring lovely.

Ronan and Jacqui were great, even Jacqui ended up serenading the crowd when the musicians had finished for the evening. Great craic altogether. 



The fantastic Bo Bristle Double IPA had just been tapped!

Young Dave Guilfoyle from Bo Bristle was there also, bringing the beer from Offaly, more specifically Banagher. We had some of their amber and IPA in bottles, but on draught as the day went on, they rotated through their range. Starting with their punchy refreshing Pilsner, moving up to their fruity and citrussy IPA, up next was its big brother the Double IPA, and then finally the imperial Red, which was great. Thank you Dave for bringing these two festival special beers.  Even if you did have to chase me away from the taps!

I couldn’t find a glass! Don’t judge me!!!




Last but not least we also had McGargles from Kilcock there who were pouring three of their range, the lovely Cousin Rosies Pale Ale, Granny Mary’s Red, and Knock Knock Ned IPA, as always their bar stood out with those distinctive taps and tankards! 

Thank you to all you brewers who attended, and hopefully we’ll see you at another #BeerSnobFest in the future. If you are a publican and are looking to do something on a small scale like this, get in touch and we’ll see what we can put together.

Overall we have received very positive feedback from people who were there, including brewers, the owner of the premises, and most importantly the customers who gave their €10 for their entry. To be clear the €10 entry included, your entry, your food, and 2 beer tokens. The entry fee also covered the fact there was 4 musical acts entertaining you all day. Above all else we wanted to give value for money.

There has been one of two comments re the cost, we took the decision to drop the entry fee to €5 after 9pm which at that stage we had actually stopped serving food. This reduced rate still included your 2 beer tokens. One comment I read stated food had stopped at 8 pm, this was not the case. As always i’d prefer to have been made aware of this at the time so at the least we could have attempted to correct it, it was disappointing to read this after the event when there is no way to fix it up, but most importantly it’s not constructive criticism.  

Have we learnt anything doing this? Of course, we’ve learned heaps on what to do next time, and more importantly what not to do. I always endeavour to write this blog in a fair and balanced manner and if i do have issues I will communicate these promptly and directly in private to allow for a discussion. 

Lastly, i’d also like to thank Kieran Tuke a friend of mine who was snapping photos all day, you can follow him on Twitter @tukekieran.



Anyway, here are some of the links to the thoughts of some of the bloggers who were at the event also.

Simon Says You Should Drink this Blog Review
11pm Somewhere Dedicates an Episode to the festival
The Thoughts of Corrigan Says Blog
Bru Brewery even had a mention!

Here’re some Verbatims taken from around the place;

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2014, Alltech, Beer Festival, Blacks of Kinsale, Boyne Valley Food Series, Cotton Ball, Craft Beer, http://schemas.google.com/blogger/2008/kind#post, Jack Cody's, McGargles, Meath, Navan

Craft Beer Bazaar in the Central Bar, in Navan

by irishbeersnobLeave a Comment on Craft Beer Bazaar in the Central Bar, in Navan

So, I know this event took place a while ago now, but I delayed putting up my blog post to take the opportunity to give some feedback to the team in the Central after the event. 


Ok, so the event was on a Saturday, the 16th of August and it was in the Meryvn’s Yard section of this award winning pub. It was a space that I’d not seen before, but it was the perfect size, self contained, perfectly sheltered with everything you need for a festival.

All in all there was a great range of vendors there, including a debut from Jack Cody’s from nearby Drogheda. Local Brewer’s Brú were present front and centre, we also had Alltech’s Kentucky Ale, Blacks of Kinsale, Cotton Ball from Cork. There was cider from Dan Kelly’s and Cockagee from nearby Stackallen, just outside Slane. We also had Kilcock’s McGargles, and Dungarvan’s Dungarvan Brewing Company. A great turn out. 

There was a threat of rain throughout the day but it thankfully stayed away. But there were plenty of places to seek shelter. As always, the food didn’t let you down, BBQ is perfect to go with Beers, and the Chicken Burger I had was delicious. Served with great salads also. 



There were a few things that I think could have made the festival a little better such as kicking things off a little later in the afternoon, as it just seemed to be igniting when everyone was packing down for the evening. The price was a little on the high side too. There were some vendors from the macro world, which I felt didn’t really go with the tone of the festival.

There was some fun on the night with a homebrew competition, and the red ale that won was a superb beer. I forgot my own entry, however next time I wont. I’m also pleased to announce that The Central is going to become home to a new Homebrew Club, and the 1st meeting is going to be on Tuesday 7th October from about 8pm – if you are interested, please get in touch. I’ve also started a thread on the National Homebrew Club’s Forum, the link is here

But, for a first attempt, there was a lot right, however importantly, they’ve sought out feed back, and indeed i’d encourage anyone who was there, whether as a consumer or brewer that you get in touch with the guys, as they are hoping to make this a regular feature on the Meath calendar. And for that the lads deserve kudos for making it happen. Onward and upward!


#Brewsweplate, 2014, Boyne Valley Food Series, Bru Brewery, Facebook, http://schemas.google.com/blogger/2008/kind#post, Meath

Upcoming Events & Changes

by irishbeersnobLeave a Comment on Upcoming Events & Changes

Good morning everyone. 
Not really a blog post of much of a subject but there are a few things I wanted to share with you.

First, i’ve set up a facebook page for the blog – which I hope to be more interactive with people who don’t really use twitter. So if you can please like and share the page. So just search under Irish Beer Snob. Here’s the link too www.facebook.com/irishbeersnob

Now for some upcoming events, i’m going to be going to but also to raise awareness for as they are some great events. 

Saturday 3rd of May sees the second pop up from the #Brewsweplate team, Eric & Floriane. My write up on the previous event is here. This event is paired with Brown Paper Bag Project in the Powerscourt Centre in Dublin 2. The event starts at 8pm and is €65 for a five course meal with each course matched to a specific beer. Tickets are available through this link on Eventbrite come along and eat great food, and drink great beers.

Saturday 10th of May sees the Boyne Valley Food Series arrive at Bru Brewery in Trim, County Meath for a night of food and beer. There will be local food producers in the brewery who will have used Bru’s beers in their foods. Tickets are €20, if you are interested in going contact the brewery via their email, info@brubrewery.ie it promises to be a great evening.

And that is that for me.

Hopefully i’ll see you at some of these events, come over and say Hi!

2014, Bru Brewery, Caulfield Country Boards, Grand Cru, Meath, Phil Tavey, Porterhouse, Premier Beers, The Central

Craft Beer Revolution in the Royal County – Part 3

by irishbeersnobLeave a Comment on Craft Beer Revolution in the Royal County – Part 3

So this train just keeps on trundling on, the craft beer train that is. I’m glad to say since I last posted about my native Navan in Oct/Nov last year there has been steady progress in bars stocking craft beer, international and Irish.

The award winning Central Bar in Navan has broadened its range once again, and to celebrate their increased range they hosted a Craft Beer tasting on Thursday 10th April. Now carrying 4 Irish on Draught in the main bar, and complemented by a wide range of both Irish & International bottles. 

A table full of samples! (Photo taken from the central’s facebook page)

For a Thursday evening the place was buzzing, loads of craft beer virgins in attendance. Hopefully now they’ll be asking for craft beers in future. The event had 50 people there, a great amount.  I was the loon running around in the burgundy polo shirt.


In attendance on the night were the following;

1: Patrick Hurley from Brú Brewery
2: John Devlin from Premier Beers
3: Phil Tavey from Grand Cru repping the Porterhouse beers.

On draught now, the Central are pouring, Porterhouse’s Plain Stout, Herrsbrucker Pilsner, and Hop Head with the ever popular Brú Rua taking the fourth tap. So you got a sample of each. John was also giving out samples from the wide range from Premier.

Each of the lads talked about their beers in detail, with Patrick bringing you through the brewing process with sample grains and hops. Then Phil as a qualified Beer Sommelier (one of only 4 in Ireland) explaining what kind of flavours and aromas we should expect. It was very informative and enjoyable experience. Was great to finally meet Phil after interacting a good bit on twitter. He also is a Punk Rock DJ so keep an eye out for him in The Thomas House in Dublin.

To top it off then a pint of your choice from the selection and nibbles. For €10 this was unbelievable value. I got talking to Mick the bar manager and Mick the owner, that could get confusing. Its great to see their enthusiasm for it and hopefully it continues to grow for them and they take on more and more of the many interesting beers out there. Specially as Grand Cru carry some great beers.

If I was to be a little critical It may have worked better in one of the other bars upstairs, but when speaking to Mick (Bar Manager) it became clear they only had 16 confirmed paid in advance, and a load on the list that hadn’t paid, and some who just turned up for the craic. The staff handled the extra workload admirably and were great.

Also I do feel the prices on some of the bottled beer is a little on the high side. Given there is already a premium over the main stream products (70c in the case of Porterhouse Plain vs Guiness) its a bit of a stretch to pay €6.10 for O’Hara’s Pale Ale. Hopefully that will be kept under review. Don’t get me wrong its a great beer, but it can be got in Dublin City Centre in D2 for €5.50 for a pint or less. 

The €5 Beer Paddle – 4 samples of Irish Craft!
As an aside I was there in advance of Thursday and had a paddle, made locally in Carnaross these things are great. Caulfield Boards (http://www.caulfieldcountryboards.ie/) excellent craftmanship on the boards and work really well. I really want to get myself one from their shop for a cheese board, or even a serving platter for a roast. 

The Central is listed now on Beoirfinder, and proudly displaying a Beoir “Irish Craft Beer on Sale Here” sticker. 

Hopefully I get to start writing more about the scene closer to home and spread the good word. In Navan itself now, we have two very good bars serving a good range of Craft, The Central and Smyth’s on the Square. Beggy’s a very popular spot on Bridge St has just taken in a Brú Rí tap, along with Rebel Red from Franciscan Well – baby steps, but progress none the less.


Bray, Bru Brewery, Craftbeer, Dungarvan Brewing, http://schemas.google.com/blogger/2008/kind#post, Kilruddery House, Meath, Mountain Man Brewing, Orpens, Trouble Brewing, True Batch Brew, White Gypsy

Winter Craft Beer & Cider Festival – Kilruddery House Bray

by irishbeersnobLeave a Comment on Winter Craft Beer & Cider Festival – Kilruddery House Bray
The bar in the Marquee.

On the weekend of the 2nd November, Kilruddery House in Bray hosted along side its regular weekly farmers market, a Craft Beer and Cider event. 

I was piggy backing in with the lads from Bru Brewery, but also in attendance were Mountain Man Brewing, Trouble Brewing, White Gypsy, and Dungarvan Brewing. On the Cider side we had Orpens, who will be setting up shop in Slane, Co Meath next year, and Craigies from Wicklow. Also in attendance was The National Homebrew Club, and True Batch Brew.

Firstly, if you get the chance to go down to this farmers market you should, they’ve a lot of local food producers, including the ever delicious Hicks Butcher. 

The day was long, and the conditions were very cold, I wouldn’t have liked to be running the Hell and Back the next day. Fair play to anyone who did.

Trouble brewing brought along a keg of the pumpkin ale, quite possibly the last keg, and it was delicious as always. They also rotated the 2nd tap between Sabotage IPA and Dark Arts. Our neighbours from White Gypsy were pouring a lovely Baltic porter called Gota, and Belgian ale called Semoy. 

On the Bru Stand we had the three products flowing, and after initial teething issues with the gas on the Rua we got things pouring great. The Dubh went down really well, but there were plenty of plaudits for the Amber Lager. 

Mountain Man probably had the busiest stand, his stand has evolved from the RDS where now one of the taps is actually made with a 50 cal bullet casing for the green bullet. Phil is a gas man, and it was great to meet up with him again, and Mrs Mountain Man was great too! Hopefully you enjoyed your snack box on the way home! 

One of the most interesting stands for me though was the team behind True Batch Brew. Essentially its a 1 gallon all grain brew kit contained with all the ingredients you need to make a small batch without loads of home brew equipment cluttering up space. They’d samples of their pale ale, and porter. The pale ale was very tasty. It was their first outing and judging by the visitors they seem to have captured the public’s imagination. The kit is €45 and comes with very clear instructions. Well done guys, I hope to pick up a kit to test and post the results on my blog! Best of luck with the venture.

Lastly, the ciders, Orpens cider, coming soon to the royal county, taking up home in the Old Mill in Slane near the infamous bridge on the banks of the Boyne. The cider is lovely medium dry, and it very refreshing, I can’t wait to have it more. Well done. We also had Craigies from Wicklow, who were there with their lovely cider. A bit on the dry side for my taste, but as I was tasting it I was thinking of the food matching possibilities, pork belly and cider mmm. Anyway, they’ve some pretty interesting plans for bottling into the future, and best wishes guys. A very tasty day.

A good day was had by all, and i’m sure there were some valuable introductions for all the exhibitors on the day that hopefully will mean we will see more of these bespoke, artisan, hand crafted products in more places in the future.

The day wound up pretty quickly from about 7 on wards it was very quiet, one or two comments from people locally was they were unaware it was on. Even though there was shuttles in operation and phone numbers for local taxi drivers in supply the crowd was a little light after the farmers market finished up, maybe for the next event, they could target market the locality, in pubs like Hollands, and others in the area. 

Beoir, Bru Brewery, Meath, Off License, Sowing Room, The Malt House, The Winehouse, Trim

Revolution in the Royal County Part 2

by irishbeersnobLeave a Comment on Revolution in the Royal County Part 2

Trim, home to King John’s castle, the river Boyne, and Bru Brewery. Also home to The Malt House Pub, which has newly opened the “Sowing Room” in their fantastic attached Off License, The Winehouse.

On Friday the 18th of October, this was officially launched to the public, and Rodney Leonard was kind enough to invite yours truly to the launch night. 


The event was showcasing the beers from Bru Brewery (www.brubrewery.ie / @brubrewery), but also we had entertainment, and a beer tasting session presented by Dean McGuinness (@beermessiah) of Premier Beers, you may know him from his regular slot on Movies n Booze with Sean Moncrieff on Newstalk. There was also a great abridged show by Susan Boyle (@miss_susanboyle / http://www.awinegoosechase.com), who has a fantastic one woman show called “A Wine Goose Chase”

The tasting by Dean brought us through the beers newly installed at the Malt House. From Kona we had long board lager, which i’ve talked about before, supped many a pint on my recent trip to Florida, Thwaites Wainwright, Red Hook Long Hammer IPA, and Columba. Dean talked to us a little about each brewery and the styles and marketing strategy. We weren’t finished yet, there was a treat in store for us. There were cold glasses with Vanilla Haagen Daaz Ice Cream which then had Timmermans Strawberry Lambic poured over the top, an adult milk shake and it was delish. To cap it all off we’d a sup of the champagne style beer, Deus. Personally i didn’t like the Deus, i’ve always preferred 3 monts. 

All in all it was a great evening and the local Trim crowd were definitely piling in on the Bru beers, the lager was flying out. So much so that there was a resupply run done during the evening.

The next day Paddy from Bru had invited me along to a brewery tour he was doing with Rodney and some of the pub customers, who were going to the Kilbeggan Distillery for a tour. It was great to see the set up of Bru, and to hear where they are hoping to go.



Major Kudos to the lads who undoubtedly had a few the night before and still were there despite some sore heads. 

Also the range of beers in The Winehouse is really spectacular. Definitely the best i’ve seen in Meath so far. Mrs Irishbeersnob summed it up best, when walking into the Sowing Room. It felt like a kid walking into a sweet shop. Well Done. Best of Luck with it, and from talking to Rodney yesterday, its quite clear that customers will support this venture, and are coming from all over, i’ll be more than happy to pop over from Navan.