Clik here to view.
A yard of ale
As usual, Easter Saturday meant the trip to Cork for Franciscan Well's annual beer festival. I arrived in the city a little early so called in to Market Lane on Oliver Plunkett Street for lunch, and to...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Brave
I'm not given to amateur industry analysis but it's always pleasing to see signs of maturity in the Irish beer market: indicators that it's not all lowest-common-denominator recipes being thrown out...
View ArticleClik here to view.
On the rebound
It has been a while since a new Sierra Nevada beer has impressed me. I suppose that's not something the brewers of Torpedo need worry about: I'll continue to be impressed by Torpedo for a long as they...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The clock turns over
At 2.25pm on Thursday 28th April 2005 I was sitting at my desk in the basement of Leinster House. Mindful that I'd be beering in Birmingham in a few weeks' time, and that Oktoberfest was on the horizon...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Hop swap
Work sent me to Cork for the day last Thursday. I was determined to make the most of it, which meant pizza in the back yard of Franciscan Well for lunch and after-office pints and chat in The Bierhaus,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
We're all mild now
"Localising mild" is the subject that Al, of Fuggled and American Mild Month, wants us to tackle for this month's Session. If America can develop her own sort of mild then why can't everywhere else?...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Extension to the mouse house
Once an excitingly different craft brewery, 32 year-old Harviestoun of Alva is near enough part of the scenery at this stage, turning out reliable classics like Old Engine Oil and Bitter & Twisted....
View ArticleClik here to view.
Lash it in, sure
Today is all about Irish brewers playing about with odd ingredients. Though some more unusual than others.To begin with the more avant-garde offering, Jack Cody's Duxie is billed as a grapefruit tea...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Wotcha Łódź!
The biannual summit of Europe's beer consumer organisations took place in Poland last month, hosted by Bractwo Piwne which was celebrating 20 years of campaigning. The venue was Bractwo's mother city...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Pillar to post
There was one pub missing from yesterday's pub crawl through Łódź: Fermentacja is in a cramped basement down a narrow staircase off the street. It's well-kept, however, and offers a good selection of...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Baltic cruise
There was a full house in the upstairs lecture room at the Polish Regional Brewery festival in Łódź for a tutored horizontal tasting of the beer Poland considers its own: Baltic Porter. Eight examples...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Meeting Cornelius
We were introduced to Cornelius yesterday, via its rather tasty Baltic Porter. It's a subsidiary brand of the Sulimar brewery, a big one, mostly turning out standard lager but which has recently given...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Post-industrial brewing
Łódź has two brewpubs, at opposite ends of the city's outskirts. There's room for plenty more, though: the old factory buildings which make up so much of the place are ideal for conversion.Buddha Pub...
View ArticleClik here to view.
A bit of a grilling
The second Big Grill Festival takes place in Herbert Park, Dublin on 13-16 August. Last year's was one of the highlights of the summer, not least because of the excellent beers on offer, with Irish...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Old and krieky
I'm not sure how long I've been hoarding this bottle of Alvinne Kerasus, but not as long as the "Vintage 2009" designation on the label might suggest. I've probably only had it since about 2011....
View ArticleClik here to view.
Busy Rascal's
A couple of new ones from the brewery on the edge of Dublin today. Rascal's has been striking a balance between maintaining a presence for its three core beers, all of which have changed for the better...
View ArticleClik here to view.
To travel in hope
The novelty of having a JD Wetherspoon 45 minutes away still hasn't worn off, though it's a benefit I only really feel during their biannual beer festivals. So, at the start of the most recent one,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The sweet wheat beat
Two slightly off-kilter German wheat beers today, further indication not so much of an explosion of diversity, but that you don't have to stick to the dominant styles when picking a German beer.Maisel...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Varietal performance
Single-hopped beers are what we're about today, and two recent Irish releases which utilise American breeds.Radik Ale is a brand new gypsy brewing company run by Alain, a displaced Belgian in Cork. The...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Born. This. Way
Hop Rocker, 77, Fake: BrewDog has had a number of goes at the pale lager category and none of them has impressed me much. The latest attempt is called This. Is. Lager. and was launched last summer....
View Article