Beoir Magazine

Autumn 2014 - Complimentary Copy

Pub Spotlight

Discovering The Best Dublin Pubs

Magazine

Discover Craft Beer In Ireland

Take a look at all that capital has to offer.

Also Featuring

Crowdfunding A Brewery Discover how Beoir members funded a brewery and brewed a beer.

Brewer Interviews

We talk to Gráinne Walsh from Metalman & Seams O’Hara from Carlow Brewing.

Women & Brewing Discover how women played a part in ancient brewing.

Food & Beer

Learn how to pair beer with food.

And Much More

Beoir is an independent group of consumers with a primary goal of supporting and raising awareness of Ireland’s native independent microbreweries.

The Chef serving from our renowned carvery

O

’Neill’s, conveniently set in the heart of the city, is one of Dublin’s most famous and historic pubs.

Trade has flourished here uninterrupted for over 300 years.

Our fully-refurbished Roof-Top Beer Garden & Smoking Area

But having a long history doesn’t mean we’re behind the times. Here at O’Neill’s we have fully embraced the Craft Beer revolution. We have one of the largest selection of local Irish Craft Beers on draught in Ireland and aim to try and represent as many of the local Craft Breweries as possible, rotating and guesting beers.

The passion and enthusiasm shown by these small breweries is infectious and our customers can’t get enough of these unique beers. The range of tastes means there’s a beer for every palette.

To make your visit as enjoyable as possible we also offer you ...

M.J. O’Neill Suffolk Street, Dublin 2 Tel. 01 679 3656 www.oneillsbar.com

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Extensive Irish Food Menu and Famous Carvery serving only the finest Irish Meat, Fish and Vegetables. In fact, Lonely Planet rate us as one of the Top 5 Places to find ´Real Irish food in Dublin´.

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Traditional Irish Music 7 nights-a-week

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Roof-Top Beer Garden and Smoking Area

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Pour Your Own Pint tables

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Free Wi-Fi to all our Customers

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HD and 3D Screens for the Sports Fan with major international league games.

Mon-Thurs: 8.00am-11.30pm Fri: 8.00am-12.30am Sat: 8.00am-12.30am Sun: 8.00am-11.00pm SatNav 53.343958, -6.260796

“Top 5 places to find Real Irish Food in Dublin”

2013 Les Routiers Pub of The Year

What’s inside.

General Interest Crowdfunding a Brewery. Raising €2000 to help a start-up brewery.

History Women in Irish Brewing. Christina engages us on the role women have played in brewing beer.

Interview Gráinne Walsh - Metalman talks about giving up a career and starting up a brewery instead.

Pub Spotlight We look at some of Ireland’s most interesting pubs that serve Irish Craft Beer.

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City Spotlight Welcome to Kilkenny, Ireland’s smallest city.

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Travel New York: Session IPAs Session strength beers with all the hops of an IPA.

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Food & Beer Pairing Pairing food with beer and making beer infused chocolate truffles.

Simply mouth-watering.

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Interview Seamus O’Hara - Carlow talks about struggling during the 90s to unprecedented recent growth.

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Travel An Adventure In Taste An Irishman living in Belgium talks about Belgian beer.

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Brewery Spotlight Brú Brewery, County Meath. A look at one of the new wave of Irish Craft Breweries.

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Beer Review 5 Hoppy Irish beers. 5 Irish beers that bring the hops.

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Chairman’s Message: Welcome to the very first issue of Beoir Magazine. It is my absolute pleasure to bring this to you. It’s the result of months of work and as much pre-planning. My hope is to produce this publication a biannual basis. The magazine is aimed at tourists and the general public alike.

Please enjoy and support Ireland’s many independent breweries.

Red Borders About Beoir Launched on July 1st, 2010, Beoir is an independent group of consumers which seeks greater choice, quality and value-for-money for beer and cider drinkers on the island of Ireland. Our primary goal is to support and raise awareness of Ireland’s native independent microbreweries and craft cider-makers. Additionally, Beoir promotes and encourages amateur craft brewing, and the making of other fermented beverages. It seeks to assist amateur brewers in improving the quality of their end product through the sharing of information. The group is organised and administrated in an open and democratic manner by and for its subscribing members on a voluntary non-profit basis. Membership is open to all adults worldwide and costs €10 per annum. In November 2012, Beoir joined the European Beer consumers Union (EBCU) representing beer consumers in Ireland. We were the 13th member at the time. This gave us a voice in Europe and the backing of other European countries.

Beoir Magazine

Welcome to Dublin

Dublin is a diverse city with a lot to offer. The following maps of the northside and southside of Dublin contain some of the best pubs to drink Irish Craft Beer as well as some of the most beautiful pubs in Dublin. All locations are easily walkable from each other, or you can take a Dublin bike as there are usually stands nearby.

Beoir Magazine

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Crowdfunding a Brewery In 2013, Beoir raised 2000 euro for Black’s of Kinsale. Here’s how it happened.

Sam Black launched his indigogo campaign on July 17th, 2013. His goal was simple; raise €5000 to help open up their own brewery in Kinsale.

At the time, Black’s was brewing at the 8 degrees brewery in Mitchelstown and the dream was to have their own premises.

One of the donation & perk options was for €1000. The perk was to brew your own beer at the brewery on the 100 litre pilot system and receive 200 bottles of beer.

I figured if we got 20 Beoir members together and each gave €50, we could raise the €1000 and get some beer at the end. It seemed a no-brainer. There were a few doubters who didn’t think I could pull it off but I was confident we could do it. In the end, we had to turn away a number of people as the €1000 was raised very quickly.

I then thought, why stop there? Sam thought it was brilliant but could we do it again and raise €2000? I was confident. Sam raised the stakes to make things easier.

Instead of 10 bottles of beer per €50 donation, we would brew on the main brewery and get 20 bottles each. Even better, the remaining beer would be sold and available in select pubs around the country and this would give us bragging rights in pubs.

So we did it again and sure enough, we raised the second €1000. A large novelty cheque was presented at the all-Ireland craft beer and cider festival in Dublin that September.

The brew day was March 8th and we brewed a 9% double IPA called Beoir#1. Kegs went on sale a month later to great acclaim from those who tried it. We had aimed to be Ireland’s first double IPA but Carlow (O’Hara’s) got there first followed by Galway Bay with their glorious Of Foam & Fury (page 20). This allowed for some epic tasting nights where we compared all the beer.

The recipe itself was based on a tried and tested homebrew recipe by Beoir member, Nigel Comerford. The recipe was altered somewhat to allow for newer hops such as topaz.

Expect more collaborations in the future, we already have two lined up in the coming months.

By Reuben Gray Reuben Gray is currently serving as the Chairman of Beoir and magazine editor. Since 2008, he has been writing the successful beer blog The Tale Of The Ale. He also writes freelance for various publications such as FFT magazine and TheJournal.ie

@TaleOfAle www.taleofale.com Beoir#1 is a 9% ABV double IPA with 130 IBU worth of hops. We used Galaxy, Citra, Summit and Topaz hops along with an impressive malt bill with Vienna, Crystal, Wheat, Amber and Carapils complementing the base pale malt.

So how did it taste?

Easy drinking with the alcohol hidden well. Some citrus & pine along with tropical fruits on the nose along with boozy warmth.

It’s a malt forward DIPA. Lots of dark flavours: biscuit and a hint of chocolate. Where are the hops in all this? We put enough of them in and it’s very bitter. They leave a resinous coating in the mouth but it’s not as fruity as expected. After a few minutes, that doesn’t matter because you have a world class DIPA that’s just a little different from the rest to be interesting in its own right. It’s closer to barleywine territory and the bottles should age

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Beoir Magazine

History of women in brewing While it may appear that the involvement of women in the beer industry is a wholly modern concept, the truth is that throughout history women have played an integral and principle role in the production of beer. From the ancient Egyptians to the Vikings, women were the primary brewers; and men, women and children were all consumers of beer.

Ireland, too, shares this rich history of female brewers and drinkers of beer.

In early medieval Ireland, Easter ale festivals for members of the clerical caste were quite common. This tradition continues on today; for example, in the Franciscan Well Annual Easter Craft Beer Festival. This tradition of Easter beer festivals extends to one very famous Irish female figure, St. Brigit. Who, medieval authors tell us, was a prominent hostess of such events. According to one account of her miracles, St. Brigit even had her hand in miraculous brewing.

The story goes that Easter was approaching and her community had only one bushel of malt, one vat and two tubs for making beer. Unfortunately, some eighteen churches were expecting them to produce this ale. In response, she ordered the mashing to be performed in one of the tubs, then from there the wort was to be quickly transferred to the other tub in order for the yeast ferment and create the ale. Instead of the normal weeks of waiting for the beer to be ready, in this tale, St. Brigit was able to speed up this process and the “instant ale” was quickly sent on to the churches. Thus it went, and a single bushel of malt provided Easter ale for all. It was certainly an Easter Miracle!

St. Brigit is often tied to beer and brewing in the corpus of stories and tales surrounding and attributed to her. In St. Brigit’s Alefeast, an 11th century Old Irish poem, when asked what her view of heaven is, she replied:

“I would like to have the men of Heaven

in my own house

with vats of good cheer laid out before them…

I would like to have a great lake of beer

For Christ the King

I’d like to be watching the heavenly family

Drinking it down through all eternity.”

Brewing beer around the time of St Brigit would likely have been very similar to Viking era brewing techniques. Technology didn’t advance very much with the advent of Christianity.

An archeology company in Galway called the Moore Group recreated a Viking era beer using a recipe they acquired. They have also produced much older beers using ancient brewing techniques involving the use of hot rocks to heat water. The beer would have been brewed in pits in the ground known as a fulacht fiadh or burned mound. There are over 5000 of these sites spread across Ireland. Declan and Billy reproduced a fulacht fiadh and recreated ancient Irish beer using traditional methods. The most remarkable thing about all of their ancient brewing reproductions is just how drinkable they are. This is before the time of hops so the beer tends to be much sweeter than what we enjoy today and also a lot more herbal.

You can read more about ancient Irish brewing techniques on the Moore group blog at www.mooregroup.ie

Beoir Magazine In other versions, she includes the all the people of heaven drinking beer eternally. It wouldn’t be too remiss to say that this view of heaven would certainly appeal to many a modern beer drinker!

Women and beer have a rich interwoven history here in Ireland. It appears at least in 14th and 13th century women were the primary brewers of beer. It is also evident that many women brewed in large amounts and also owned taverns in Dublin in the late medieval and early modern periods. Women played a key role in brewing and consuming beer in Ireland well into the 17th century. This, however, was not to last. The rise of the large brewery and commercial beer business in the 18th century saw the start of the male dominated beer industry and the association of beer with masculinity that has finally begun waning in more recent times.

So what is the role of women in the Irish beer industry now? The rise of women in craft beer is clearly apparent in the craft breweries of Ireland. Once again there are an increasing amount of Irish female brewers or ‘brewsters’ as they are known. The growth in the amount of women in the craft beer industry is manifest throughout Ireland in such examples as the N17 Brewery, owned and operated by Sarah Roarty. Other examples, such as Dungarvan Brewing Company, Black’s of Kinsale Craft Brewery, Metalman Brewing Company in Waterford, and most recently here in Dublin, Rascal’s Brewing Company, all have female brewers at their helms.

And women who drink craft beer are certainly not an anomaly! At events here in Ireland, such as the recent Alltech International Craft Brews and Food Fair and the Irish Craft Beer and Food Market, it was evident that the attendance was close to an even split between men and women. At the Irish Craft Beer and Cider Festival in September 2013, at least 40% of the attendees were women.

Craft beer appeals to women for a variety of reasons: some are drawn to it because of the diverse styles and flavour profiles; others, because many are produced by small local brewers who are environmentally and socially responsible; and still more like it because many micro-breweries market to everybody, not to a specific gender. Particularly in Ireland, the craft beer industry acknowledges, appreciates, and respects its female consumers.

We, at the Dublin Ladies Craft Beer Society, are also hoping to aid in dispelling the myth that beer is a “men-only” drink by encouraging women to try and embrace the varied flavours and profiles of craft beer. As hopefully is evident from this article, the women of Ireland and, indeed, the world, are clearly embracing the craft beer movement.

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By Christina Wade Christina is the Founder and President of the Dublin Ladies Craft Beer Society/ Ladies Craft Beer Society of Ireland.

She has run women’s craft beer groups in some capacity since 2009, when she cofounded a society in Washington D.C. with her friend Elicia Gilreath. When not organising the DLCBS, she is a PhD candidate researching Viking burial in Ireland. @DubBeerLadies

Founded on August 28th, 2013, the mission of the Dublin Ladies Craft Beer Society is foster the love of all things craft beer. The group has quickly grown with a membership of over 184 women spanning six continents and from a multitude of countries including Spain, Germany, South Korea, The United States, South Africa, Australia and of course, Ireland.

We consist of women in the beer industry as well as female consumers who just love craft beer! We have recently formed the Ladies Craft Beer Society of Ireland and are in the process of opening chapters in other cities. www.ladiescraftbeersociety.com

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Brewer Spotlight: Gráinne Walsh - Metalman With their first beer, Metalman Pale Ale launched in March 2011, Metalman Brewing Company quickly demonstrated the ability to produce an excellent quality craft brew. But not only has Metalman developed a reputation for creating amazing beer, they are also home to founding member and head brewster, Gráinne Walsh. A member of Project Venus UK and Ireland, a group that promotes women brewers and seeks to emphasize the role and importance of women in the industry, Walsh plays a key role in supporting and promoting the women of craft beer. I reached out to Walsh to get some of her insight on brewsters in Ireland.

Walsh was led to open up a brewery because of her love of beer! For her, craft beer really appealed for many reasons.

Because of the variety of flavours, the idea of something that’s created with passion and enthusiasm, and the personal experience that comes with drinking a craft beer.

As a female brewer, Walsh hopes to demonstrate that beer is as much of a woman’s drink as a man’s drink - that beer is not the sole domain of the male consumer. She thinks that some people are still surprised at the notion that a woman can understand and enjoy beer. Walsh said she is inspired by the Brewster’s Brewery in Lincolnshire, which she believes to be a real testament to women in the beer industry.

On March 8th, 2014, Project Venus and the Pink Boots Society, a similar American group, organized a Women’s Collaboration Brew Day to further their cause and highlight the women of craft beer. In this event, women from breweries around the world created their own version of a recipe called Unite Pale Ale. In Ireland, Metalman Brewing Company participated in this event which she said was a great experience and, “We really felt like we were part of something bigger, and I’d like to think the whole event raised a lot of awareness of women in brewing.”

Proceeds from the beer are donated to the Pink Boots Society or a local charity of choice. Walsh is hoping that it becomes an annual celebration of women and beer. “I’d love to see it becoming an annual event that grows and gains real momentum. There are some fantastic women doing great things in the beer industry, but I often wonder if we as women are as good at talking about the exciting things we’re getting up to as our male counterparts are. I suspect a lot of the female-led innovation and progress in the industry may be under the radar because we’re not shouting about it loudly enough.”

As a brewster for Metalman, Walsh has been involved in a host of other interesting collaboration projects, including a brew with Hardknott in Cumbria called Yerba, which featured a South American tea. For this season, Metalman is producing Windjammer, though only for a limited time and their ginger beer from their Chameleon range is just starting to hit taps again. Later on this summer, Metalman will be having another women’s collaboration brew, this time with us, the Dublin Ladies Craft Beer Society, which we are all very excited about!

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Walsh believes that the presence “of women in the beer scene will continue to grow in all aspects of the business- from production and operations to sales and marketing”. She notes, “The more we can involve women in the operational side of craft beer production and sales, the easier it is for us to communicate that beer is something that can be enjoyed, understood and appreciated by women; this will hopefully in turn lead to more women seeking employment in craft beer related roles in the future.

Right now however, the majority of CVs I receive - I don’t have the exact statistic, but at a guess, probably 95%-ish - when we advertise a position are from male candiBy Christina Wade dates, so encouraging women to apply in the first place is the primary problem to fix.

At Metalman now, there are two of us out of a total of six, which isn’t perfect, but it’s Christina is the Founder and better than earlier this year when it was one in four!”

President of the Dublin Ladies Craft Beer Society/ Ladies Walsh is hopeful that women will continue to make an impact on the market in the future and that this impact will grow within the next five years, “I believe that the more Craft Beer Society of Ireland.

She has run women’s craft women we have involved in the production and sale of beer, and the more this is beer groups in some capacity publicised, the more women will perceive beer as an accessible product that is not since 2009, when she costrictly the remit of men - we really want to dispel this “blokes and their mates drinkfounded a society in Washinging beer down the pub getting away from their womenfolk” image that beer is often ton D.C. with her friend Elicia lumbered with. Lots of studies have been done around the differences in how men Gilreath. When not organising and women taste, and many suggest that women in general are better tasters than the DLCBS, she is a PhD their male counterparts, so there’s nothing biological to suggest that women’s taste candidate researching Viking buds are not compatible with beer; and perhaps the opposite is actually true - that maybe, women are better equipped to enjoy and understand the flavours of craft beer burial in Ireland. more than men. The obstacle that needs to be overcome is the perception of beer as @DubBeerLadies a man’s drink, or perhaps more specifically, as not-for-women. It would be wonderful to think that in five years’ time, we will finally be at the stage where a craft beer is considered more sophisticated and desirable than a mass produced bottle of plonk from the shop around the corner, but we still have a bit to do to achieve this!”

Walsh’s sentiments illuminate a crucial aspect of women in the craft beer industry need to overcome: the perception of beer as a man’s drink. It is evident, however, from the pioneering female brewers of Ireland such as Walsh that this misconception will shortly be a thing of the past.

Metalman have proven themselves to be one of the more adventurous Irish breweries. Their regular beer is the iconic Metalman Pale Ale. Other beers include Windjammer, Moonbeam, Alternator and Sahara. They also have an experimental range called Chameleon which includes: Brau, Equinox, Garnet, Ginger, Smokescreen and Solstice as well as variations of those beers.

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Pub Spotlight - Dublin O’Neill’s of Suffolk street.

In medieval times, The Thingmote was Dublin’s Viking parliament, a designated space for the people of the city to meet, talk, and set the world to rights. The site was razed centuries ago, but next to where it once stood is a landmark pub which fulfils many of the same functions today.

No one knows exactly how long there’s been a licensed premises on the corner of Suffolk Street and Church Lane, but like many of Ireland’s veteran pubs O’Neill’s has grown organically and now rambles over several levels on two floors, incorporating multiple bars, and culminating in a rooftop smoking area where you have the option of sitting on the subs bench and sin bin from the former Lansdowne Road stadium.

Its extensive size means that O’Neill’s can easily provide all things to all pub-goers. Big-screen sports?

That’s covered. Bookable space for private parties?

Plenty of it. Live music? Every night. And if it’s just a small table for a pint and a catch-up, there are lots of quiet corners, with the private snug at the front of the public bar particularly prized.

Food service begins with breakfast from 8am and runs late into the evening, but it’s the carvery lunch which has made O’Neill’s famous among the hungry people of Dublin (of which I am unashamedly one). No half measures or half portions here: all the meat, all the veg and all the trimmings. Haute cuisine it ain’t, but as a quality refuelling stop O’Neill’s carvery can’t be beat. Lighter options are available at the dedicated sandwich bar for those planning to eat something else on the same day.

But all of this is mere window dressing as far as the beer geek is concerned. What’s on the taps and in the fridges? Even before the Irish craft beer revolution got into its stride, O’Neill’s already had a vast range of Irish and international beers available, and in the years since, the foreign macros have gradually started giving way to independent Irish beers.

In 2008 when a group of us wanted to find out, definitively, whether Irish craft stout was better than the factory-made alternatives, and if we could even tell the difference, O’Neill’s was the only pub that provided the range of beers we needed for a blind tasting. When it was time to repeat the experiment with Irish red ales, we returned once again to the snug of O’Neill’s where the staff treated us with friendly bemusement, though co-operated fully with our odd behaviour.

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Pub Spotlight - Dublin These days there’s something for everyone on the bar. While the mainstream brands are omnipresent, and the rarer macros like Harp and Bass are also stocked, a lot of tap space is given over to the independents, particularly in the tiled public bar on the Suffolk Street side of the premises.

Galway Hooker has been a mainstay since the early days, joined shortly afterwards by Carlow Brewing. Today you’ll also find beers from Irish brewing stars such as Trouble Brewing, Metalman, Dungarvan and Barrelhead, covering a range of styles. Irish cider fans are accommodated by one of the few taps of Cork’s Stonewell to be found in Dublin.

If you look closely among the bric à brac adorning the walls you can find the retired cask beer engines, now gathering dust on a high shelf. But what goes around comes around and a smart new handpump has succeeded them in providing real ale to this end of Dublin. Look out for the latest cask offerings from White Gypsy.

By John Duffy John Duffy is currently serving as the Treasurer of Beoir and has been writing the successful beer blog: The Beer Nut since 2005. @TheBeerNut thebeernut.blogspot.ie

The clientele is as mixed as a Dublin pub gets, and on any visit you’re likely to meet lost-looking tourists, sharp-suited bankers, larking students, determined sports fans and the oul fella with his head in the racing papers, oblivious to it all. As well as the occasional beer geek, of course. It’s the sort of authentic mix that you just don’t find across Dame Street in the superpubs of Temple Bar. O’Neill’s may not quite feature in the pantheon of classic Dublin pubs, nor among those that cater specifically for the beer enthusiast, but for general all-purpose meet-and-sup it’s difficult to ignore.

O’Neill’s Pub 2 Suffolk Street Dublin 2 Ireland Tel: (01) 679-3656 www.oneillsbar.com

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Pub Spotlight - Dublin The Bull & Castle The Bull & Castle first opened its doors in October 2006. Formerly the Castle Inn, an establishment of questionable reputation, the new Bull & Castle was owned by F.X.Buckley so a major transformation was undertaken. The F.X.Buckley family already ran very successful steakhouses (FXB) featuring a farm to fork mentality. They originally opened a butcher shop in 1930 and eventually moved on to the restaurant trade and it was then only logical to get in to the pub business too. In 2003, they bought the Castle Inn and turned it in to a medieval theme pub. Things changed in 2006, at the very beginning of the craft beer boom in Ireland. Geoff, the manager at the time, transformed it in to The Bull & Castle and it became Ireland’s first true gastropub. What that means is instead of just featuring high quality food in a pub, beer goes hand in hand with the menu. Every dish would have a suggested beer to pair with and most of the dishes used beer as an ingredient.

A supreme example of that was the succulent baby back ribs in a Galway Hooker IPA sauce. Gradually, Geoff replaced many of the regular taps with Irish Craft Beer taps and added many more to the bars. He added an ale fridge which kept the bottles cool but not cold like a regular bar fridge. Something else needed to be done at the time and after a trip to Munich, they decided to turn the large upstairs in to a Munich style beer hall with long tables and benches.

This transformation was complete by March 2007 by which time, the craft beer secret was starting to get out and the Bull & Castle became an instant hit with the growing numbers of discerning beer drinkers. It wasn’t just beer though; one of the finest whiskey collections was to be found in the Bull & Castle and of course the food was just amazing.

Gradually, the downstairs became more of a restaurant when the beer hall opened up in the late afternoons.

In mid 2009, The Bull & Castle set another precedent. Up until then, the only place in Ireland (ROI) to get cask ale was in The Porterhouse both Temple Bar and perhaps Central; and it only served their own TSB. Suddenly, we had an independently owned beer engine in an Irish pub and a few Irish breweries willing to give cask a go but the Carlow Brewing Company started it off. First, we had a stout called Druids Brew, a slightly stronger version of their regular stout. A short time later, Carlow released Curim on cask. Curim is their wheat beer and I have never been impressed by the bottled version. I was sceptical that a wheat beer would do well on cask but I tried it anyway and I was blown away. Somehow, this wheat beer was ideally suited to cask. Next came the regular O’Hara’s stout, followed by another called Malty Bitches, a beautifully balanced English bitter. At the time, Geoff said that putting on the cask was the best decision he had ever made. The phone was off the hook with breweries wanting to get in to cask and this was the only independent Irish pub with a beer engine. It didn’t take long for beer engines to start appearing all over Dublin and beyond. I wouldn’t go so far as to say that cask beer is now “the norm” in Ireland, but it is easy to find in the larger cities and even in some rural areas. The Bull & Castle can be credited for helping to bring cask back to Ireland.

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The Bull & Castle has continued to grow over the years and even though its place as the only independent craft beer bar in Dublin has been decimated by the opening of dozens of great new bars, it hasn’t hurt business and The Bull & Castle has remained one of the best places in Dublin to have a pint and something to eat. It’s especially great if there’s a rugby match on where it’s shown on two large screens. One especially fond memory was an England versus Ireland rugby match where we were all surrounded by English fans. Even though we were beaten by England at the last minute, everyone had a great time while drinking Irish beer.

This year, The Bull & Castle underwent major renovations. The beer hall was closed for weeks and we all waited in eager anticipation to see what it would become. The doors eventually opened to reveal the new Butchers Bar. The German theme was gone and a new modern bar was in its place with a theme based on their butchers roots. The bar food, while always superb, has been made a little more upmarket too.

Old favourites such as the ribs in Galway Hooker IPA sauce are still available but you can now have a pulled beef sandwich and beef short rib. I think my personal favourite is the finger food for two where you pick what you want, including the IPA ribs.

Gone are the long benches which were essentially church pews. These have been replaced by comfortable leather stools. It seems to employ a better use of available space than previously. The only problem with the old German style was that many people are uncomfortable sharing a table with strangers. This resulted in a lot of wasted space. Geoff has since moved on and left it in the capable hands of of Dave and Chris (pictured above). If you want a more intimate dining experience, book a table downstairs in the restaurant. Walk-ins are accepted but due to its popularity, I recommend pre-booking a table to avoid disappointment.

The Bull & Castle is a must visit pub in Dublin and is conveniently located in the busy tourist area opposite Christchurch cathedral. There’s a Dublin bike stand outside for an easy commute as well as a taxi rank across the road and bus stops around the corner.

By Reuben Gray Reuben Gray is currently serving as the Chairman of Beoir and magazine editor. Since 2008, he has been writing the successful beer blog The Tale Of The Ale. He also writes freelance for various publications such as FFT magazine and TheJournal.ie @TaleOfAle www.taleofale.com

Bull & Castle 5-7 Lord Edward Street Christchurch, Dublin 8 Ireland Tel: (01) 475 1122 bull-and-castle.fxbuckley.ie

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Pub Spotlight - Dublin The Brew Dock If you ask us at the Dublin Ladies Craft Beer Society for our favourite pub, you’d get one answer in unison: “Brew Dock!”

“Why?” you may ask. The Brew Dock is not Dublin’s biggest craft beer pub. Nor is it in the fanciest neighbourhood or in the most central location. It doesn’t have the largest number of taps or the best gourmet food in Dublin. Nor does it have TVs or live music. But it has something else that is infinitely more important.

But before I get to that, let’s look at the basic information. The Brew Dock is located at Amiens Street, just beside the Busáras Luas stop and across the road from Connolly Station and the IFSC. It’s been open a little over 2 years now, And it has been a favourite for me personally from Day 1, before the DLCBS even existed. I lived quite far away from it then and even further away now, but I still consider it my local.

There are two floors with wooden tables and mismatched chairs. The bar is downstairs and offers a great selection of craft beers and ciders on tap, plus two cask engines. There’s also a vast variety of bottled beers, as well as whiskey and wine. The food menu has just recently been overhauled and offers honest, tasty pub grub as well as some healthy options. During the week, it gets quite busy in the evenings with a mixed after-work crowd made up of regular punters and the suits from the IFSC across the road. On the weekends, you’ll mostly find craft beer enthusiasts, as well as American and German tourists looking for decent beer to drink while in Dublin.

So far so good, but you can find these same things in most of the craft beer pubs in Dublin. So what is it that makes the difference at The Brew Dock? What’s the magic ingredient that has made it the DLCBS’s pub of choice for our regular events and special occasions? It’s the one thing that makes or breaks a pub - the staff.

Ever since it opened, the staff in The Brew Dock have been the friendliest, soundest, most welcoming, down-toearth and funny people. They genuinely care about the craft beer they’re selling and about making you feel at home. Some of those who no longer work there are remembered so fondly by the punters that you’d be forgiven to think they have died and been elevated to sainthood. The staff have always made this place special. It’s a tell-tale sign when you see them coming in for a drink on their day off, or really making an effort getting dressed up for special parties like the fantastic Oktoberfest they put on last year. These pictures from their Twitter page speak for themselves:

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Amcom-

By Dörthe Woltermann

They really put their heart and soul into this place, making sure their customers have a great time every time they visit. No wonder they even have a group of regulars with their own Twitter account: @bdregulars. The current manager; Rachael, just like Anto and Alan before her, and the rest of the team have always been extremely accommodating to those of us in the Dublin Ladies Craft Beer Society, they have gone out of their way to ensure all of our events and meet-ups are a success. That is the reason why we love coming to The Brew Dock and why we keep coming back.

There was no question that it would be the first place we would bring the Ladies Beer League from Nova Scotia, Canada when they were in Dublin on a visit. And of course we had a great time, as always. If you’ve not been, definitely go and check it out for yourself. You’ll be tempted to dock yourself there forever. Here’s to many more years at Dublin’s best craft beer pub!

Dörthe Woltermann is the Vice President of the Dublin Ladies Craft Beer Society. She writes a weekly column on craft beer on Lovin Dublin @DubBeerGirl

The Brew Dock 1 Amiens Street Dublin 1 Tel: (01) 888 1842 www.galwaybaybrewery.com

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An Adventure In Taste An Irishman in Belgium It wasn’t until I moved to Belgium that I began to really appreciate Irish craft beer.

I had always been a beer drinker. Guinness, mostly. It was always going to happen that way. My father has been drinking it since his student days. My friends worship the black stuff. It became familiar to me. And there is no question – it’s a fantastic beer.

But that was pretty much it. I didn’t put a premium on variety. I didn’t really consider other tastes. And perhaps most sadly of all, I didn’t think about the story of how the beer had arrived into my hand.

Just over a year ago, I moved to Belgium where I live in the beautiful and historic city of Ghent with my West Flemish girlfriend. It is difficult to fully comprehend the depth of beer culture in Belgium without actually being here.

I believe that even those who find it hard to get excited about beer would have their eyes opened. Personally, I was blown away.

Rochefort 10. Rodenbach Grand Cru. Westy 12. Boon Oude Geuze Mariage Parfait. Chimay Bleue. These names meant nothing to me when I arrived, but now the very mention of each one of them conjures up a whole array of incredible stories to go with my own personal experiences of these beers.

On arriving in Belgium, I discovered a country with a unique personality and a quirky national make-up. Each of their brews is reflective of the huge diversity within their borders - divided as it is by language (Dutch/French/German), by region (Flanders/Wallonia/Brussels) and by culture (Flemish/Walloon/East Cantons). An example of such personality is the fact that each Belgian beer has its own glassware to show off the particular character of that brew, a practice which I hope will some day be embraced in Ireland. Some glasses are traditional, like the old school Trappist beauty of Orval.

Some are elegant, like the tall and majestic Karmeliet. And some are just downright fun, like the quasi-wooden-testtube-holder into which Kwak is playfully poured.

Sprouting between the laissez-faire beer-makers of France, where experimentation was important, and the Reinheitsgebotters of Germany, for whom consistency and quality were key, Belgium was perfectly placed geographically to develop a rich beer culture. Belgians manifest an almost Gallic freedom in their beer-making, but in order to compete on the same market with their German neighbours, the Belgian brewers had to match the high quality of the beers coming from Deutschland.

For me, it all comes down to taste. And not one taste. There exists such a range of brewing styles that each bottle brings a little adventure. For example, I recently visited four special breweries in West Flanders that age their beer in oak tuns for several years to produce tart and fruity red-brown beers. Then there are the Lambics; perhaps the most unusual, the most natural and, indeed, the most wild beers in the world. These beers are left to ferment spontaneously. No yeast is added by hand or machine. The fermentation process is left up to nature and the brewer’s craft. They are dry.

They are wild. They are very exciting.

Beoir Magazine

And how could we forget the golden Tripel first espoused by Westmalle? Or the wonderfully refreshing, fruity and dry Saison beers - farmhouse ales - traditionally brewed to quench the summer thirst of farm labourers. Drinking one makes me feel like I’ve just put in a morning shift bailing hay with my bare hands. Drinking Saison Dupont makes me feel like I’ve just bailed hay with an expensive Massey Fergusson. From spiced to fruit and sour to sweet, this small country which boasts over 150 breweries and more than 1,000 different types has a beer that falls pretty much everywhere on the taste chart.

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By Breandán Kearney

Breandán is a beer lover from Warrenpoint, Co. Down, currently living in Belgium. He has studied “Beer Knowledge” in Ghent and puts all his comI am often asked by Belgians and Irish alike about the difference in the drinking munications experience from cultures of these two small nations. One story springs to mind of a Donegal native his time as a university coorliving in Brussels. As a welcome from the Irish community in Belgium, he was treated dinator, as a qualified lawyer to a few beers upon his arrival last year. Perhaps it was due to its wonderful, golden and working in an Irish whiskey haze or its spicy yeast aroma, but he soon fell into rounds of La Chouffe. For those distillery into telling the story who don’t know, La Chouffe is a moderately sweet, lightly bitter Belgian Strong Ale that of Belgian beer on the blog comes in at 8% a.b.v. Well, our friend from Donegal has never touched a drop of La “Belgian Smaak – adventures Chouffe since. Whenever he sees that wee gnome on the bottle, his brow furrows as in taste with Belgian beer and he fearfully recalls the aftermath of that night, when he “woke up and couldn’t see for chocolate”. a day”.

It’s clear that Belgians have more @BelgianSmaak choice, and while they themselves www.belgiansmaak.com are no strangers to territorial oppression, perhaps their less repressive religious and political history has granted them a greater maturity in their attitude to alcohol, particularly with regard to their more relaxed drinking pace. How could they drink beer as quickly or in the same volume as the Irish when the potency of their beers hits upwards of 8, 9 or 10% a.b.v.? Anyway, who else drinks like the Irish?

One major similarity I have noticed, however, is the pride that Belgians and Irish people share for their local brews. Beer drinkers support their own and show tremendous loyalty to those who craft beers that reflect the place they are from and their passion for creating something special for their people. On my recent visits to small but growing breweries in Ireland, I have been greatly heartened to see such imagination, passion and creativity in our brewers and to witness first-hand the loyalty and respect among those who support them.

For me, it’s all about an adventure in taste. I am certainly enjoying this one in Belgium, but recent events in the Irish craft beer industry have me equally excited that a similar adventure awaits in my homeland.

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Brewery Spotlight Brú Brewery, Trim, County Meath Established in 2013, by Patrick Hurley and Daire Harlin, based in the Boyne Valley, in Trim, County Meath, Brú has been brewing on a commercial basis since August. They unveiled their range of beers at the RDS Craft Beer Festival.

Long time friends, and home brewers, Patrick and Daire decided to give up the day job, and pursue a career in Craft Brewing full time. Daire was working as a solicitor, and Patrick was a process engineer in a raw alcohol plant in Manchester, England. Their aim is quite simply to give the Irish beer drinker more choice in craft beer, emphasising premium quality, craft and tradition.

Brú are extremely proud of the fact they are based in the Boyne Valley Region in Meath, and believe in sourcing as many local ingredients as possible, although Patrick would tell you he is a Cork man with a Meath accent. Their base malts come from County Louth. They use only four ingredients, malted barley, yeast, hops and purified water, to produce excellent craft beer. Even then, once they clean out the mash tun and kettle, the local farmers get the spent grains to feed their livestock.

The spent grain is also given to local restaurants which stock their range to make lovely breads!

When Brú launched their core beer Brú Rua, a cascade hopped red ale at the All Ireland Craft Beer Festival at the RDS, it drew a lot of positive feedback as it really challenged your perception of a red ale. It is by far their most popular beer, regularly selling out in local off licences. They also produce a nitro stout (Dubh), a pilsner style lager, and an Irish pale ale (Rí). This makes up the core range. However, they love to experiment and have recently released a saison (Mór), and a hefeweizen (Bán). Coming up in the future we will hopefully see whiskey barrel aged versions of the stout in time for Christmas.

Brú currently have two staff working with them, a sales agent, and brewery assistant. They also have had to increase capacity due to the overwhelming popularity of Rua. Brú is distributed nationwide by Cremin & Radley in Cork, who distribute their bottle, draught and casks. You can also find them in your local independent off licence and nationwide in Supervalu. If you are interested in stocking their beers they can be contacted by email to info@brubrewery.ie and by phone to 046 9438616 They are also keen to export to other countries so just contact them for more information.

By Wayne Dunne @IrishBeerSnob www.irishbeersnob.com

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LArge selection of Premium & CRAFT BEERS Book your table for up to 60 PEOPLE & pre-order food, punch bowls, cakes, wine... so your party starts the moment you arrive

The Butchers Bar

AT THE BULL & CASTLE

Autumn - 2014

wwW.FXBUCKLEY.IE

5-7 Lord Edward St, D.8 T. 01 475 1122

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5 Irish Craft Beers That Bring The Hops Commercial hop growing in Ireland ended in the 50s; the cynic would say nobody really missed it. Roasty stouts, watery lagers, malty reds – Irish brewing came in loads of colours, but none glowed emerald with lupulin. Even well into the Noughties, a hophead was hard-pressed to find a fix among homegrown beers.

All this has changed in the last few years. Palates grew daring, new imports hit the shores, and some experimental brewers showed how things could be done. Bitter and aroma, across styles – those little green cones are everywhere now. Ireland hasn’t yet produced a signature IPA but there are hoppier days are still to come.

Here are five recent releases to help you get your alpha acids on.

Stone Barrel - C No Evil* That’s no misspelling; the “C” is a sly nod to beer geeks who like their hops American and alliterative. As promised, Centennial and Cascade represent with big floral and tangerine flavours. But where this gets interesting is with the touch of sandpaper bitterness, pushing C No Evil into the grey area between pale ale and IPA, even at a modest 5%.

New kids on the block, Stone Barrel have already made a beer worth chasing – and chase you must; this is draughtonly for now. * C No Evil is a rotational and is currently on hiatus. The next rotation launches this September.

Kinnegar - Rustbucket For years, rumours crept out of remote Donegal telling of amazing beers that went no further than a crossroads hotel.

A 2012 expansion saw Kinnegar spread around the country, trading mystique for a loyal following. Rustbucket is their latest, a rye PA at a drinkable 5.1%. This doesn’t mean it’s tame; US-born brewer Rick LeVert knows how to work in those American resin notes, along with a grassy rye bite that doesn’t overwhelm. A beer interesting enough to stay on all night, on tap or in bottles.

8 Degrees – Amber-Ella Trust a pair of antipodeans to make big with the Southern Hemisphere hops: Aussie Cam Wallace and Kiwi Scott Baigent heap Galaxy and the titular Ella into their chewy 5.8% amber. Shot through with ruby grapefruit and pomegranate, this is in no danger of being mistaken for Smithwicks. Don’t take our word for it: Amber-Ella walked away with Bronze at the World Beer Cup earlier this year. Clambering demand sees it moving into 8 Degrees’ permanent lineup, and not a moment too soon.

Black’s of Kinsale - Black IPA Sam Black likes his hops. Most new Irish breweries launch with a safe pale ale that won’t scare the noobs; Blacks debuted with a ruthless Citra bomb. That approach carries over to his black ale, where kola nut and coffee roastiness play off the herbal, dank hopping. The body is oily but still stays light, making this drink bigger than 5% might suggest. Look out for the ransom note-style labels in 500ml bottles for the most consistently hoppy brand on the island.

Galway Bay - Of Foam And Fury “Of Fame And Flurry” might be a better name – no beer was buzzier in Ireland last year. This wasn’t the first local brew to be labeled a double IPA but, at 8.5% and 132 IBUs, it was the first to live up to the name. Simcoe and Chinook provide plenty of orange rind and pine sap, but there’s still a sturdy toffee backbone – this is no San Diego tongue-scrapper. That balance helped make this Beoir’s Beer of the Year for 2013. Draught is exclusive to Galway Bay Brewery bars.

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And one more… Porterhouse – Hop Head It’s old school compared to the other selections, but this summer seasonal-turned-mainstay was the sole refuge for the hop-starved for years and is still an easily available option.

At 5%, you’d call it a pale ale, but that doesn’t really communicate just how much sticky nugget is jammed into this little wonder. Catch it on cask at where it sings with herbal tones.

Distinctive pull tab-capped bottles make it a barbecue or picnic favourite.

The Publicans' One-Stop-Shop For

Irish Craft Beer

By Richard Lubell Richard writes about beer for newspapers and magazines in Ireland and the US. He’s also a home brewer, former CAMRA member, and shameless hophead.

087 235 6253 @VanguardBC www.vanguardbeer.ie

@slugtrap

Beer Festivals in Ireland February: Valentines Weekend: Winter ales & Cask Festival - Franciscan Well - Cork / Alltech International Craft Brews and Food Fair - Convention Centre - Dublin Easter Weekend: Easterfest Beer Festival - Franciscan Well - Cork St Patrick’s weekend: Irish Craft Beer & Food Market - Docklands - Dublin June: Bloom In The Park - Phoenix Park - Dublin / Kilkenny Craft Beer Festival - Brewery Corner - Kilkenny July: Franciscan Well Cider Festival August: 22nd-24th Hilden Beer Festival - Hilden - Antrim / Doolin Craft Beer Festival - Doolin - Clare September: Irish Craft Beer & Cider Festival - RDS - Dublin November: Belfast Beer festival - Belfast

Dates Are indicitive. Please See the Beoir.org calendar for more info.

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City Spotlight - Kilkenny Ireland’s Smallest City To many people in Ireland, Kilkenny is known as the stag and hen capital of Ireland. That’s the same as bachelor and bachelorette parties for the benefit of our north American readers. As you might imagine then, the nightlife of this compact little city is said to be pretty good but there’s more to Kilkenny than parties.

Kilkenny boasts one of the most beautiful castles in Ireland and it’s right there in the city centre. You can either stroll around the wonderfully maintained gardens and be content with seeing the outside of the castle, or you can venture inside for a guided tour.

Kilkenny is a walker’s paradise and there are a number of walking trails around the city and surrounding environs. If you prefer shorter walks, the city centre itself is very small and compact and you can spend hours wandering around the little side streets exploring shops and pubs or whatever takes your fancy.

During your travels, you will likely come across St Canice’s cathedral.

This is one of the most famous attractions in Kilkenny. The Cathedral boasts a 100 foot tall round tower. From the top, you can take in breathSusam, nost, saperovid quam facia- taking views of the whole city and beyond. You can also visit the cathesitatur alit exero beaque lam, quam, dral itself during non-worship times. It’s quite beautiful inside and well worth a visit if you enjoy that sort of activity. corro corpos iur, sundae nobitatque sunto dolore nimil idus repe ped

Kilkenny is the former home of Ireland’s oldest beer brand. Smithwicks was brewed in Kilkenny from 1710 until 2013 when all manufacturing was moved to the Guinness brewery in Dublin. Smithwicks was purchased in 1965 by Guinness which itself merged with Grand Metropolitan in 1997 to form Diageo which is headquartered in London.

All is not lost however, the “Smithwicks Experience” opened during the summer and is said to provide a rich insight to not only the Smithwicks brewery itself, but also the medieval brewing in this ancient city. (smithwicksexperience.com) Just outside the city, you will find some of the best caves in Ireland. Dunmore caves may not be the largest cave system in Ireland, but they are said to contain some of the finest calcite formations of any Irish cave and are well worth a visit.

When you are done with the tourist activities though, you will no doubt want a beer and there are many fine pubs to chose from. The next article highlights one of our favourites.

By Reuben Gray @TaleOfAle www.taleofale.com

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Pub Spotlight - Kilkenny Brewery Corner With the explosion of craft beer bars in recent years it’s a little surprising that, at time of writing, only one pub in the country pours exclusively Irish craft beer and cider on tap: not even the brewpubs can boast that. Brewery Corner in Kilkenny City is connected to a brewery, being the sole bar owned by the Carlow Brewing Company, 25km away in Bagenalstown. With all the Smithwick’s now being brewed in Dublin, it’s good to know that quality local beer is still available to the Marble City’s residents and visitors.

The pub is situated on the edge of the city centre within easy walk of the many first rate restaurants Kilkenny has to offer, though there’s a working pizza oven onsite with a full food menu coming soon. From the terraced frontage the premises stretches back along a long bar room, with real fires at the front and a sunny beer garden to the rear. There are regular DJs and live music, plus comedy gigs in the upstairs function room during the Cat Laughs festival, as well as a selection of board games for the quieter evenings. The décor is classically modern, picked out in pale wood and local stone.

On the bar you’ll find the full O’Hara’s range including the latest seasonals and a house beer – The Widow’s – brewed exclusively for the pub and named after one of its former incarnations. Ireland’s other independent breweries are also well represented, with regular and guest beers by Metalman, Trouble Brewing, Eight Degrees, The Porterhouse and many more. Brewery Corner was the first pub to serve Stonewell Cider on draught, and that’s now a permanent feature, as is Kilkenny’s only cask ale beer engine. With all this fresh, local beer and cider I’ve never taken too much time to explore the other drinks offerings, but suffice it to say there is a sizeable whiskey collection on the shelves and an international bottled beer selection to rival many of Ireland’s first-rate off licences.

Plus, of course, a plentiful supply of the rare bottled vintages from Carlow Brewing itself. Service is friendly and helpful and I’ve always found the staff knowledgeable enough to have some geeky banter with while also utterly approachable for the craft beer neophyte.

These days Kilkenny offers a wealth of eating, drinking and entertainment possibilities. Brewery Corner provides the visitor with an ideal base of operations for planning how to make the most of it over a pint or two of something cool and hoppy.

By John Duffy @TheBeerNut thebeernut.blogspot.ie

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Stateside - New York

New York State of Bine: Session IPAs from NYC and beyond

By Richard Lubell @slugtrap

It was inevitable. After a decade-plus arms race between American hop bombs, there was bound to be a backlash.

Puckeringly bitter 9% Double IPAs are all well and good, but they don’t really suit a noontime kickoff or a family camping weekend. Enter the Session IPA: take the body and strength of a lighter ale, but add the same mountain of hops that goes into a full-on India Pale Ale. You get your dose of resiny goodness, with the bonus of being able to stand after three pints. Since 2009, breweries around the States have rushed to add a Session IPA to their portfolios, and New York is no exception. So whether you’re summering on a J1 or doing some early Christmas shopping, check out these 5 easy-sipping New York brews.

Southern Tier - Farmer’s Tan - 4.6% Top 50 in sales, rave reviews, quadrupled size in three years - Southern Tier is a playa. They make some of the biggest IPAs outside of California, so it’s odd that their entry into this hot category is so tame. There is some zesty lime and melon character, but it’s wrapped in a thin, fizzy body. Still, it would quench on a scorching day, and you do need an IPA to give your Carlsberg-drinking mates.

Blue Point - Mosaic Session IPA - 5.2% In February, Blue Point became the second craft minnow to be swallowed by Anheuser-Busch for a reported $24 million. Beer geeks flamed them as sellouts almost instantly, but you wouldn’t know it on Long Island, where they maintain a fierce local following. Hop-of-the-moment Mosaic is a bit of a flavour chameleon; here it plays like Nelson Sauvin, giving gooseberry and kumquat. The crisp finish makes you reach for another.

Peekskill - Lower Standard - 3.9% Since former Ithaca brewer Jeff O’Neill took over, this Hudson Valley brewpub has been punching above their weight; they took home Silver from the Great American Beer Festival in October. The weakest member of the “Standard family” (Eastern Standard is the IPA, Double Standard is the DIPA) still lands a one-two punch of Simcoe and Citra – think lemon boiled sweets. Bright and – at this strength - insanely drinkable.

Great South Bay - Hopsy Dazy - 4.5% The gateway to the Fire Island resorts, Bay Shore is kind of town where families spend Sunday on their boat. Great South Bay’s nautical branding is right on theme that way and their tasting room draws weekend crowds. They take a different angle with their session ale, letting floral Cascade defer to some stern IBUs and a fuller body. Not as easy to knock back as others here, but more bang for the buck if you’re looking for a proper IPA.

Singlecut Billy - 18-Watt IPA - 5% Craft breweries in Queens were like buses: none came for ages then three came at once. Of the trio of new openings in 2012, Singlecut was the most feted, with Twitterati chasing their tap-only offerings from pub to pub across the boroughs. Fortunately, they backed the hype with knockout beers like this: incredibly juicy orange peel notes but also a slick, oily body. A clinic in how to pack in those flavour hops.

Not leaving Ireland? Blacks of Kinsale - The Session has a touch of Citra that is more cuddly than clobbering, but at 3.5% it’s tough to argue the drinkability. Trouble Graffiti delivers pungent citrus in a creamy body at a quaffable 3.6%.

And if you’re not stuck on having something local, Michigan’s Founders All Day IPA is a 4.7% beauty, among the best in the style and a steal at 4 cans for €10 from better off licenses or on tap in certain craft beer bars.

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Food & Beer Pairing With O’Hara’s O’Hara’s IPA: A Curry’s best friend Beer: O’Hara’s Pale Ale Food: Indian Cuisine - Copper & Spices, Ludlow St, Navan, Co Meath (www.copperandspices.com) Hoppy beers, and spicy food. It’s a natural match. Indian food is growing in popularity in Ireland, we are not quite at the stage the UK is at, but it’s a good fit with the blossoming craft beer movement in Ireland. Indian food certainly is packed with flavour and is one of my favourite types of cuisine.

I am fortunate to live in a town that has a superb Indian restaurant run by husband and wife team, Nitin, and Carmel.

This restaurant uses Irish produce locally sourced and uses no flavour enhancers in any of their food. They also offer Irish craft beer & cider alongside their wine menu.

Once the beers were purchased in my local O’Briens off-licence, I went to pick up the curries.

On the menu that evening was: • Chicken Pakora - chicken cooked in chick pea flour.

• Chicken Balti - a medium spice dish flavoured with onion, pepper, fenugreek, cumin & ginger.

• South Indian Curry with Chicken - strongly flavoured with garlic, red chilli and coriander Sides of pilau rice, and cheese & onion kulcha naan Now, the two curries were very different, and they each reacted differently to the beer. The Balti is a favourite dish of mine and it worked very well with the beer, really intensifying the flavours of the spices in the dish. The beer nicely compliment the Balti and didn’t overpower the flavours.

The South Indian curry is a bigger test with a lot more spice, initially the hops amplified the spice but the bitterness and malt base carried the spice away smoothly. It allowed me to enjoy this hot curry immensely. The change in flavour thanks to the curry was very welcome as it mellowed out those strong garlic flavours.

As always, the naan was used to mop up the leftover sauce in the bowl, and washed down with the remaining Pale Ale. Truly a great match for nice spicy food. It also goes really well with home made buffalo wings!

Lublin to Dublin is a collaboration with Pinta Brewery in Poland.

It is a traditional stout with addition of rolled oats and a dark ruby colour.

This will match well with any strong cheeses, and cured meats. This would be great with a meat and cheese board served cool of the shelf.

The beer itself can also be used as an ingredient in beef and stout pies, and stews. I also found it very tasty alongside barbecued meat.

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Food & Beer Pairing With O’Hara’s What’s for pudding?

Beer: O’Hara’s Leann Folláin Extra Irish Stout Food: What’s for Pudding Homemade Chocolate Pudding.

Check www.whatsforpudding.ie for stockists. Based in County Meath Earlier this year at a food festival my wife and I came across these delicious puddings made by a local family that were ready to go in the oven to be heated and served for dessert. Their company is called Royal County Puddings, but their branded desserts are under What’s for Pudding. Their labels are very distinct and you will spot them easily.

We picked up a chocolate pudding, and I knew instantly that I was going to serve this with Leann Folláin which is one of my favourite stouts.

Lets take the chocolate pudding itself; it’s decadent with lovely soft sponge, and luxurious chocolate sauce. All it needs with it is a dollop of freshly whipped cream, or vanilla ice cream. On this occasion we went with the cream.

Along side this bowl of luxury the Leann Folláin excelled. Its notes of vanilla and mocha complemented excellently the rich chocolate sauce. Once that richness of the chocolate subsides the bitterness from the stout balances beautifully the sweetness of the pudding. It may seem like an obvious match, but its often the simplest ideas that are the best.

Leann Folláin would also be great with a hearty beef, or lamb stew, fresh oysters, and of course with some strong cheeses like Cashel Blue.

Whiskey Aged Series - Barley Wine Having previously had the Leann Folláin for Christmas I was excited to see the Barleywine getting the same 90 day treatment in the whiskey barrels. This is a heavy hitter at 9.6% abv but it doesn’t taste like that. It has an underlying sweetness that’s taken on the whiskey notes, and finishes smooth and sweet. I had matched this to an oven roasted chicken breast that was stuffed with Cashel Blue, and wrapped in pancetta.

The sweetness was the perfect counterbalance to the strong flavour of the cheese and the saltiness of the pancetta. This is a perfect end of the evening drink served with a cheese and cured meat platter.

By Wayne Dunne Wayne is currently the Membership Officer for Beoir and Regional Rep for the Midlands area.

He is a passionate advocate for the craft beer consumer and helped local pubs and off licences with their craft beer offerings. He also ensures their presence on the BeoirFinder app. Wayne also writes an internationally read blog called www.irishbeersnob.com where he covers a wide range of areas including food as well as Craft Beer in Ireland. @IrishBeerSnob

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Recipe Time Craft Irish Stout Truffles Ingredients: 100ml double cream 100ml Irish craft stout 200g 70% (or higher) dark chocolate (drops or chop fine) Note: This recipe scales up easily

Make the ganache: Scald the cream in a pan. Bring to a boil and take off the heat the moment the cream starts to bubble. Allow it to cool and then add the stout. Cover and leave in fridge for 24 hours to infuse. Then melt the chocolate in a microwave (we’re not tempering so no need for a bain marie) and whisk it into the cream/stout mix.

There are 3 methods of what you can do next.

1. Using chocolate moulds. Temper more chocolate, I use milk for this to offset the bitterness of the ganache. Make your shells (good instructional video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ETiJYi4Pb00), leave in the fridge for 20 minutes. Then fill each mould with the ganache. Again leave in the fridge for 20 minutes. Finally “seal” the shells with more of the tempered chocolate.

2. Enrobe. Again temper more chocolate. Put the ganache in the fridge until solid (20 minutes-ish). Then using a melon baller, make a truffle from the ganache and then plunge it into the tempered chocolate and then place on a tray. Repeat. Dust with brewers/confectioners sugar.

3. Rolling. This is almost the same as enrobing but without the tempered chocolate. When you make the balls, just roll them in cocoa powder. You will need to make a thicker ganache for this so add a further 50g of dark chocolate to the original recipe.

A note on tempering chocolate.

Chocolate tempering is when chocolate is heated to a particular temperature and then cooled in order to cause the formation of Class 5 crystals (Class 6 is better but usually only achievable in laboratory conditions). Using a bain marie, or a bowl suspended over a pan of just simmering water, bring two thirds of the dark chocolate up to 50 degrees Celsius.

Take the bowl off the heat and then seed by adding the remaining un-melted chocolate. Cool, stirring continually until the chocolate reaches 28 degrees Celsius. Finally, bring the chocolate back up to 32 degrees Celsius and maintain this heat. The chocolate is now ready for use.

Best chocolate to use?

I prefer single estate chocolate, especially ones with fruity rather than roasty notes. A couple of great examples would be Wilkes’ Tumbes and Valrhona’s Caraibe.

By Andrew Moore @BeoirFinder

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Brewer Spotlight:

Seamus O’Hara - Carlow Brewing Company I conducted an interview with the brilliant Seamus O’Hara for this magazine and have transcribed it below. Seamus is the founder of the Carlow Brewing Company and one of the most approachable brewers you will ever meet. He answered all of my questions and had plenty to add himself. Seamus is also responsible for three of Ireland’s beer festivals, the largest of which is the ICBCF in September at the RDS in Dublin.�������� I have met Seamus many times over the years and worked closely with him in my role as Beoir Chairman. Beoir runs the volunteer staff at the beer festivals to ensure it runs smoothly and that there are knowledgable staff on the ground with a passion for craft beer and who can answer any questions that attendees have whether new or experienced with craft beer. While most Irish brewers have passion, Seamus can back it up with knowledge and experience.

What prompted you to open a brewery in the 90s?

My background was at biotech in DCU and brewing was part of that in the 80s. I moved to the UK in the 80s and was working for a biotech firm. I had already been home brewing in college and beyond and then drinking cask beers.

When I moved back to Ireland in 1992 and realised what Ireland was missing, my eyes were opened. It was combination of home brewing and the more interesting beers available in the UK that got me thinking about it. The idea to brew commercially was after a visit to the US in 93/94 and seeing craft beer, brewpubs etc. Myself and my brothers over a couple of years spent time figuring out the regulations, a building and the money. Our first brews were in 1998. Little did we know what the market would be like. Having lived abroad, there were always craft beer drinkers around but not in Ireland.

Was it tough starting out?

Yeah it was, Porterhouse started up about then along with Dublin Brewing Company (now gone) and Franciscan Well as well as Brew No. 1 in Newbridge (Irish Brewing Company) and we were all in it together. It was tough, the excise breaks weren’t there at the time. Pubs weren’t really open to craft beer, they didn’t know what it was. Our solution to keep going while the Irish market was stagnant was to start exporting within a year or two of opening. We were making progress all the time and gradually, year by year we persevered and the market for craft beer gradually developed.

How important was the tax break?

It was hugely important. By that time, some of the breweries that had started with us had closed down. Looking back at that time, it wasn’t really viable without the excise break, that’s really it. I think it was essential. The fact that craft brewing is more labour intensive, it uses more ingredients so it’s more expensive to produce the beer. There was a general consensus among breweries at the time that beer in Ireland was already at a premium price. It wasn’t a case that a big brewery’s beer was €5 so we could charge €7.50 so it would be very difficult for craft breweries to come along and charge more. So in order to compete with the big brands, you would have to cut corners on what you were brewing which nobody wanted to do. The excise break came to the rescue. The result was an increase in breweries and new jobs all around the country. It was a good move and the lost tax comes back in anyway due more beer being produced.

You used to export when the Irish market was small, would I be right in saying that most of your beer is now consumed in Ireland?

Export peaked at about 75% of our product but now it’s about 50% as the Irish market has shifted. It’s a better place to be than exporting most of our beer. It’s great to see the Irish market pick up. So about 50/50 now and I am very happy with that.

Continued.

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Beoir Magazine

Brewer Spotlight: Seamus O’Hara - Continued What are your impressions of the new microbreweries?

To me, it’s all very positive. On the one hand, we are all part of a growing market, which is great but I think also that every brewery that comes on stream brings its own angle and more people so they are all helping a little in moving the sector forward and I think it’s a very positive development. Overall, I think craft beer is a relatively small share of the total beer market here so I think collectively, there’s lots of scope for new craft breweries to help grow the market.

Have you seen your own demand increase as a result of the new wave of craft breweries?

Precisely, we have seen a huge growth of demand in the last few years. To what extent the increased the demand is due to what new breweries are doing and what’s happening in the market or what people like Beoir are doing is unknown. There’s a lot of factors but I definitely think that more breweries coming along with exciting new products is getting the message out and they are all doing their own thing in their region so it’s getting the message out. A bunch of them started out a while ago and they were all producing the same beer so the new breweries are producing a diverse range of beer and creating excitement about beer and craft beer in general. If I was talking about starting a brewery today, I wouldn’t be doing the same as I did back in the 90s. Many of the new guys that have come along are being experimental and pushing the boundaries. The greatest thing about craft beer is innovation and it’s nice to see new breweries picking up on that and making their own contribution.

You did a collaboration with Pinta (Poland) recently, the wonderful Lublin to Dublin. Are there any more collaborations on the cards?

Yes, it’s partly down to time and space to do it so I definitely see more collaborations in the next couple of years. We are looking at one or two things at the moment. It’s all down to capacity on both ends. It’s a positive thing though, when you are so busy and the market is so vibrant it actually gives you less space to do new things. We’ll get there but we have been at capacity so we need more time and space to do more. We have to restrict this sort of thing somewhat but we will be doing more.

Where do you see Carlow in the next 5 to 10 years?

As a company, we are ambitious. I don’t think we would still be around if we weren’t. We love the craft beer business. We are all very hands on here, we have a great team. We are up to 20 something people but we are still a tiny company. I think if craft beer is to stay stable and really become something, we need to be aiming to be 5-10% of the market like in the US. Some of the companies are going to have to grow substantially. It can’t be we grow to 100-250 breweries. Part of that is going to have to grow to a reasonable scale. Some independently, others with partners. Some will be bought probably. For me, we are at a level which is more sustainable but we are still a very small company. Our ambition would be to push forward. The key thing about craft brewing is to be independent and have the choice to do what you want, when you want so we want to grow independently. We are continuing to put things in place in terms of our capacity.

Seamus, have you anything you would like to say?

To me, the market needs to grow and things like craft beer festivals help that. It helps get the products out there. This year we started to get more involved with other festivals as well. We were the exclusive beer at a few festivals this year such as The Sea Sessions in Donegal and Light Colour Sound festival in Kilkenny (Paulstown). We were also sponsors of the infamous Cat Laughs (comedy) festival in Kilkenny. Hopefully that’s a sign of things to come. I think festival organisers wouldn’t be doing it if people weren’t interested in it. We have our own pub, Brewery Corner, as well as doing other things.

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Issue 1

Beoir is Ireland’s craft beer consumer group. We are a volunteer run, non-profit organisation seeking to raise awareness of Ireland’s independent breweries. We also campaign on a European level with our partners in the EBCU. We are the voice of the Irish & European beer consumer.

We are only as effective as our membership and we are always seeking new members.

Beoir membership costs just €10 per year, a very modest amount considering what you get back in return.

Did you know that not being a Beoir member actually costs you money?

It’s true! Here’s how: • Beoir members get €10 worth of vouchers for use in Galway Bay Brewery bars. That’s your money back right there.

• Members get 10% off Irish Beer & Cider at Drinkstore.ie • Members get substantial discounts on entry to many beer related events around the country.

• Access to many brewery & beer launches throughout the year.

• There are too many discounts to list here, see the member benefits page on Beoir.org for more details.

Do I have to get involved in activities?

As with everything in life, you get out of it what you put in. If all you want to do is support us and use the member benefits, that’s fine. If you volunteer your time at events, you will get more out of it than you can imagine.

Beoir Needs Your Help!

Here’s what we use the money for: • Website & Hosting costs.

• Printing of marketing items such as beer mats, flyers and any other items we need.

• The cost of this very magazine to inform general consumers and tourists about Irish Craft Beer.

• App Development • Beoir Awards trophies • Competition prizes • And much much more

How do I join Beoir?

The quickest option is to join online at www.beoir.org If you would prefer not to join offline, that’s fine too. Simply fill out the form below and post it along with a cheque for €10 made payable to Beoir at: 265 Lower Kimmage Road, Dublin 6W Cut Along Line ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Name: Address:

Town: Postcode:

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Autumn - 2014

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