Bruce Mansour of Make it Happen, Cormac O'Dwyer from Dungarvan Brewing Company and Stephen Clinch of Trouble Brewing
Its the morning after the night before. I just woke up with only a slightly groggy head after sampling some of Ireland’s finest craft beers at the inaugural Irish Craft Beer Festival. The event is being held this weekend, 23 rd – 25th September 2011. There were some well known brands such as , and and a few new brands (to me) such as Dunvgarvan Brewing Company, White Gypsy and BrewEyed Blonde. Check out the .
If you are new to Craft Beers, I would advise you to pop over to The Porter House lads. Tell them what you normally drink and they will point out a few options that you might like. They do it all the time in their pubs, so they probably have the most experience in pointing people in the right direction.
My favourite beers of the night:
- Mustang, White Gypsy
- Vanilla flavored IPA, BrewEyed Blonde
- Copper Coast Red Ale, Dungarvan
This is a smooth, fruity ale with a definite caramal character created by the use of crystal malt in the brewing process but with an added hop balance that is not always present in red ales, and which balances the sweetness of the caramel flavours. - Smoked Ale, O’Haras
This ale has fruity notes on the nose, a biscuity malt base peaks in a zing of bitterness, rounded off with a subtle smoked finish – perfect for the beginner in the series and a taste of what is to come. - IPA, O’Haras
Contemporary style I.P.A. dry hopped for extra aroma. In appearance it is a Rich golden colour with a white head. This pale ale has a light malt base with just the right mouth feel to allow the hop character to predominate. Grapefruit like bitterness is full and lasting and is balanced by a zesty citrus burst of aroma from the late addition of cascade hops.The Citrus flavours give way at the end to the floral, spicy bitterness of Amarillo hops.
After your chat, have a read though the booklet that you received with your free complementary glass on the way in. This booklet is like your encyclopedia Britannica to the craft beer scene in Ireland. If you drink larger, stick with the pale ales and wheat beers. If your into something a bit fuller try some of the Red Ales, Stouts. Louise was on Tempted Ciders for most of the night, she is not much of a beer person.
The only other advice I can give is:
- Avoid the Wojitos (Whiskey Mojitos)
- Wash your glass out between drinks
- Buy your burger from GBK, buy your chips from the place on the right
- If ordering a cheese plate, ask can you swap out the blue cheese for something else (unless you like blue cheese)
- Don’t expect much in terms of entertainment (except for the Magician, I heard he was awesome)
- Bring your own camping chairs
- Grab your beer tokens when you go in the door. I got 20 quids worth and it lasted the night.
So in summary, great night had by all. I’ve never had that volume of drink before and been able to wake up in the morning and write a blog post. It must be something in the water!
Big thanks to Dave from for informing me that the event was on and to Ann from for scoring us 8 free tickets. If you have some time today, pop down to the RDS and check out the first . Its 10 quid in and you get a free glass and a half pint of beer.
Nice writeup Jason.
As for the entertainment, if you missed Jerry Fish’s set on Friday night, it was mind-blowing.
And stay away from the Slaine Castle girls- they are wicked…
I’m not a beer drinker, I only came to say I like the new look and can almost feel the gentle sea breeze on my face! I like it.