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Minnesota (mostly) nice
My vlogging buddy Brian went to the US National Homebrewing Convention in Minneapolis earlier this summer. He brought home a selection of local beers and I went over to give the benefits of my tasting...
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Hoop for us all
While casually browsing the selection in an Utrecht off licence last March I was suddenly taken aback by a couple of bottles from a seemingly local brewery called Hoop. The branding, though not the...
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Real blackcurrants, fake strawberries, and two unexpected pineapples
Time for another random round-up of recent Irish beers, from the usual suspects of hyperactive new releasers, as well as a couple of surprise specials from the quieter ones.O Brother bopped out another...
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Liverpool by daylight
I spent a busy couple of days at a work gig in Liverpool last month. Staying in the docks area I just had time to sneak out for a handful of bevvies in the nearby hostelries. I've been to most of the...
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Whup-ah!
O the flurry and the scurry when new Whiplash beer drops. Two more arrived last week and I found myself hassling Carlos, beer guru at Fresh in Smithfield, to get the boxes open and make sure they rang...
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Die übersüß
His Royal Lageriness Velky Al is hosting The Session this month and the theme is Oktoberfestbier. 'Tis the season, after all. Once upon a time, the myriad range of German lager styles were a source of...
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Somewhere over the border
September already? Yikes! These notes have been sitting in my drafts since my last trip north in June. I did a swift run around McAnerney's supermarket and The Winestore, Armagh's top two off licences,...
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Black Hook down
Mooching around the judging room after the Killarney Beer Festival awards had been decided, back in May, I spotted a pair of tall handsome swingtop bottles among the leftovers. Hook Baltic said the...
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New in town
The arrival of a new showpiece brewpub to Dublin ought really to be headline news on this blog. Brewpubs are my thang, and for the previous 17 years my hometown city centre has had just the one. I've...
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Flame on
The Big Grill Festival turned four last month, returning to Herbert Park for four more days of barbecue-based entertainment. It was the best year yet for beer, with a second long bar added to the...
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A drop of the black stuff
I laughed when I saw that Grand Cru Beers had put a stock of Oude Geuze Boon Black Label on the shelf in my local SuperValu. Every week, doing the grocery shopping, I'd pass by it and think "Haha, I...
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Shropshire citrus
A couple of beers from top Shropshire brewers Salopian today, kindly muled over to my parents' house by my sister over the summer.First to be opened was Lemon Dream, after a long walk on a warm June...
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Getting Lough'd
I had somewhat lost track of Lough Gill Brewery since the beginning of the year, having last tried a new beer from them just before the Alltech festival in February. So when I made enquiries in...
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In for a Treaty
The Beoir AGM happened in Limerick last month. It's the first year that my attendance was not compulsory, but I had never been to the city, nor experienced its beer scene, so there was no way I was...
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Taking the Mikkel
I have to admit, I'm surprised that Mikkeller still generates a buzz. The Danish gypsy brewer is a veteran at this stage, and in the highly fickle world of "craft" beer few brands generate enthusiasm...
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UK hun?
British craft beer is unavoidable these days. Most of the handful of talked-about producers have a presence here, though I can't help noticing prices have stayed buoyant as sterling tanks. Anyway,...
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Endangered kiwi
...flavours of citrus, pine & tropical fruit... says the label on Mac's Green Beret, an IPA from a New Zealand brewery that's been off my radar for a while. I picked up the bottle in The Wine...
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Well I never!
It started with a tweet from business journo John West: where is local Sapporo lager brewed? I know that Asahi is brewed at Shepherd Neame in Kent; I noted more recently that cans of Kirin Ichiban come...
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On the path to greatness
A new event for my 2017 calendar was The Great Irish Beer Festival in Cork, now in its second year. It's organised by Franciscan Well but unlike their other events happens in the salubrious surrounds...
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Brrrrr-ooklyn
I'm stealing a march on the encroaching winter with a couple of seasonal beers from Brooklyn Brewing, designed for the darker end of the year. Both are from last year's crop, found in the bargain bin...
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