Post-Alltech 2017

What a festival it was this year! Have to start by thanking all involved for their fantastic hospitality at this years event! We were spoiled all day, can't wait to get back again next year. I arrived early enough in the day (around 1) as I had to collect tickets and wanted to wander around a bit while it was still quiet. 

Firstly what hit me what how better laid out everything was. I missed last years festival and noticed a big improvement on two years previous. There was considerably more seating, most noticeably benches in front of the stage/big screen which were full all day so obviously appreciated. Picnic style tables were located out in the foyer of the centre also with a massive screen projected onto the white wall for the match. This would be perfect for people wanting to get away from the madness to watch the rugby! Very impressed 

Pool tables, giant connect 4 and the like were scattered around the venue which added a bit of extra fun to the day. The food vendors (such as Mr. Donut, Barry John Sausages and Keogh's crisps which were all sampled with delight) were located in an L-shape along the side and back walls. This made more sense than being interspersed around the venue haphazardly as I remember from before. Keogh's chorizo and cherry tomato crisps are amazing by the way. Finally, although not a new addition to the Alltech festival, I have to say the glass rinsing stations are a God send. Other beer festivals really ought to take note here!  

 
First up for me was to pop by Eight Degrees to chat to my mate Derek and as I had had a Touching The Scald (Whiplash/Galway Bay collab) smoked porter in The Brew Dock on my way up I was happy out to see their Bandit smoked brown ale. Good choice for my first beer of the festival! I would stop by Eight Degrees later on in the day to sample their latest IPA offering - Trans Pacific New World IPA. As we have all come to expect from the Mitchelstown gang, this is a nice bitter but citrusy IPA. Combination of Aussie and US hops make a tasty tasty beer. Can't wait to pick up some bottles to see how they measure up. 

I had great plans for the day, loads of beers I planned on trying but I can't say I got to them all unfortunately. Of the ones I had ear marked, I got to try 2 out of the 3 'beers that sound like desserts' - the Strawberry milkshake from Rascals and Trouble Brewing's Hard Candy rhubarb custard and vanilla cream ale. Both of these had the potential of being genius or down right awful! I was pleasantly surprised by both of them! For starters they tasted like what they were named for which is tricky enough to get across in a beer. But also neither were sickly sweet or cloying. I tried the strawberry milkshake ale first and the two friends I was with were very dubious. All tried and enjoyed with one of the more sceptical of the lads buying a half pint of it after tasting mine. Trouble Brewing's Hard Candy left a bit of a sharp after taste in my mouth so of the two, I preferred Rascal's beer. 

Fellow blogger and Rye River Brewing's beer guru Simon Broderick gave me the heads up when the much anticipated Brewdog v Cloudwater New England IPA was tapped. I got to try a very small taster of it and it was very fresh and fruity. Very low to no bitterness in my opinion, I enjoyed how soft and fruity this was. I did hear some were underwhelmed by it however. 

Stone Berlin had a stand next to these and I know several people sang praise for their Woot Stout. Didn't get a chance to try myself. Among the other non-Irish breweries were Barcelona Beer Company, St.Austell's, Shipyard and Schneider Weisse. I bought a pint of Proper Job from St.Austell's and got a free beanie hat!! Inner hipster satisfied for the day! Great to see some other breweries there that you may not get to try beer from otherwise. 

The beer highlights of the day for me were probably Hope Brewery's Oatmeal IPA and Lough Gill's Mac Nutty - macadamia nut brown ale. Both of these are relatively new breweries releasing some exciting new brews. Can't wait to try more from both. But aside from the obvious beery highlights, the great thing about Alltech is it's a fantastic social event. There is always a really friendly atmosphere at this event and it was such a pleasure to catch up with fellow bloggers and some brewers I've gotten to know. Also a great opportunity to meet new people and it can feel like a networking exercise at times. I may try in future to pop along on the opening evening for blogging duties and leave myself free to socialise properly on the Saturday! I found myself talking through most of the rugby even though I really wanted to watch it. 

The trouble sometimes with these things is you can't find time to do everything you'd like to and you certainly can't try all the beers you would want to. I tried a good few and tried to make sure overall they were beers that wouldn't be readily available elsewhere. That's what I love about this festival, there are so many one-off or hard to find beers and it provides that opportunity to the punter to taste beers they otherwise may never get to. Once again Alltech you have impressed me and proven to be the best organised festival of the year. Roll on next year, I can't wait to fill my boots already. 

Cheers - TBH

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pre-Alltech 2017

Who's looking forward to The Alltech Brews and Food Festival 2017? It all kicks off tomorrow evening and I for one can't wait to get there and try all sorts of strange and wonderful Irish and international beers.... albeit for me, it will be Saturday before I get my ass to Dublin. Fuck you day job!! 

So what beers are people looking forward to trying? Or any breweries anyone is hoping to try for the first time? Personally I can't wait to try beers from Lough Gill Brewery. They're probably the newest Irish craft brewery to pop up. Based in Sligo, and set up by former White Hag man, their cheeky branding has caught the eye. Names like Thieving Bastard (a sly did at Heineken) and Heino-weiser (also obvious digs) are playful and will endear them to many craft beer geeks! 

Some international breweries such as Brewdog, Stone, and Shipyard will be exhibiting at this years festival. The latter of which I have yet to try any beer from too so will be heading to their stand. 

Below is a bit of a checklist of some beers that are on my must try list.... no change I'll get to all of them or I'll be on my ear! Well probably will anyway... 

Trouble Brewing - Hard Candy: rhubarb, custard & vanilla cream ale. 

 

For sheer curiosity sake as to how they can make this one work, I'm entrigued! Have to try this one. As a dessert it sounds delicious, let's see how it works as a beer. 

Wicklow Brewery - WB40 IPA

Tried an early incarnation of this at the Great Irish Beer Festival. Then called Aurora, this was a fantastic IPA. Have to have more of this. 

Eight Degrees Brewing - TransPacific IPA

New IPA from the guys in Mitchelstown launching at the festival. Don't know much about this one yet but 8D consistently knock out quality IPA's. Also an excuse to drop by their stand and get some Bandit smoked ale while I'm there. 

Rascal's Brewery - Strawberry Vanilla Shake

Seems to be a bit of a theme going on here? Dessert beers?? I'm happy to try them all! Likeminded folks at Rascals and Trouble Brewing - they've even gone and done a collaboration brew for the festival: Something Witty, a lemongrass, ginger, lime and pear wit. Would be rude not to give it a taste. 

Rye River Brewing Co. - Little Bangin IPA, Double Bangin IPA, Export Stout. 

RRB are launching 3 new beers at the festival. Big and little brothers to Francis Big Bangin IPA come a session IPA at 3.8% abv (could be the smart move for the day) and a double IPA at 8% abv. If these live up to the juicy, hoppy freshness of the original we are in for a treat. Finally there's also a 6% export stout launching. Promises big espresso and dark chocolate flavours! Sounds good to me. Maybe I'll have it as part of my dessert trio!! 

Of course, it's not all just about beer at Alltech (there's also cider and some spirits), food stalls and entertainment are a key part in the overall enjoyment of the day. The Pieman, Ploughmans Daughter and Keogh's are just some of the food vendors who will be there. Tokens bought at the event can be used for food as well as beer. And let's not forget... The 6 Nations is on and will be showing on Saturday!! Can't wait, great atmosphere, great beers and great food. 

It all kicks off at 12.30 on Saturday with the Ireland v France match being shown live at 4.50 also.

Hope to see you all there! Cheers - TBH 🍻

6 nations of beer - Ireland

So the Rugby 6 Nations is over for another year sadly! And even worse... England won... again! So I got to thinking in the aftermath, which of the six countries involved has the best beer? Will England snatch the title again? ... possibly. 

IRELAND

May as well start with the most familiar and the country in which we are most spoiled with beer choice. From each of the 4 provinces, there are a great range of beers being brewed. Stouts, Reds, Pale Ales, IPA's, Weiss beers, Sours and barrel aged numbers, we're being spoiled at the moment! 

In Leinster, there are some amazing beers being produced. IPA's are everyone's favourite at the moment, Rye River Brewing's Big Bangin IPA and Kelly's Mountain Brew's Reality Bytes are  my favourite local beers!! Some newer breweries in the province are really pushing the boundaries such as DOT brewing and beer geek favourites Yellow Belly this year - looking forward to seeing what they roll out in 2017. Also this year there are some new breweries/side projects coming up! Third Circle and Stone Barrel have joined forces and moved in to their brewery, should be some good beer on the way from these lot. Also Jason from Wicklow Brewery just announced his own side project Storm Crow will be releasing beers from April onwards. If the beers he is producing for WB are anything to go by we're in for a treat. 

Down in Munster, we have arguably the best breweries as a collective in the country. Stylish beers from White Gypsy in Tipperary, kings of the IPA, Eight Degrees in Mitchelstown and founding fathers of the Irish craft beer scene Franciscan Well in Cork city still bringing great beers to the table (bought by Molson Coors). Eight degrees began a barrel aged series which got good reviews before Christmas and their latest offering, a barley wine aged in Chardonnay barrels in due to be released late spring. Fran Well continue to host great beer festivals in their awesome bar in the city. Make sure you visit next time you're in Cork. Also cant talk about Munster beer without mentioning my favourite stout - Worlds End from Blacks of Kinsale. An imperial stout released late in the year, loads of vanilla and chocolate flavour in this one.

In Ulster, particularly Belfast I believe the craft beer scene is hampered a bit by the pubs being controlled by the likes of Tennants. There is only a small number of free houses in the city. But there are some great breweries up north! I had a fantastic sour stout (interesting style I've only tried the once) from the Boundary brewing co-op at The Great Irish Beer Festival last September. Kinnegar Brewery also releasing some of the most popular beers in the country. They often release beers under the kettle sour series, the latest of which, Olan's Tart - a collaboration with Dan Kelly's cider is out now. 

Finally there's Connacht. Probably one of the biggest success stories since the craft beer boom began here is Galway Bay brewery. To date, not only have they release quality beers such as Of Foam and Fury double IPA and their barrel aged 200 fathoms but they have also opened 11 bars. These bars in Galway and Dublin along with the likes of The Porterhouse pubs have created meccas for beer fans in Ireland. Mescan Brewery over in Westport are brewing up some lovely Belgian style beers with an Irish twist. Their head brewer is a Belgian man so you know he knows how to brew a good beer. The best beer I had from them was the Christmas special, Beoir na Nollaig. 

So next week I'll have a look at England and Scotland? Sure. Why not? 😉

Cheers - TBH