Favourite 'boutique' beers?

electrogrimey

I'm currently on a mission to try every beer readily available in Dublin, in order to decide which is the nicest. I've gotten through most of the cheap/common ones, Oranjeboom coming out as the nicest cheap beer, and have just started with the better beers, the €2.50 a little bottle types, and thoroughly enjoyed Leffe (obviously) and Chimay Rouge, but didn't really rate Bishop's Finger. Used Duvel to wash down a too-spicy Indian so I'll have to try that one again. Anyone have any suggestions for nice beers that you can get in most supermarkets/good off-licenses?

dylbert

If you like Leffe then try Hoegarden much nicer IMO, and O'Briens Stout is tasty, most of the Polish stuff is nice too.

BeerNut

dylbert wrote: »

O'Briens Stout

O'Hara's?

Which is your local good beer off licence, OP?

Stuff not to miss, off the top of my head: Goose Island IPA, Westmalle Dubbel, Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout, Schneider Weisse Original, Porterhouse Plain, Sierra Nevada Torpedo, Schlenkerla Rauchbier Märzen, Bateman's Dark Lord, Anchor Porter, Red Frog and Liefman's Goudenband.

electrogrimey

dylbert wrote: »

If you like Leffe then try Hoegarden much nicer IMO, and O'Briens Stout is tasty, most of the Polish stuff is nice too.

Have had Hoegarden alright, it's pretty tasty. They have it on tap around the place.

BeerNut wrote: »

O'Hara's?

Which is your local good beer off licence, OP?

Stuff not to miss, off the top of my head: Goose Island IPA, Westmalle Dubbel, Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout, Schneider Weisse Original, Porterhouse Plain, Sierra Nevada Torpedo, Schlenkerla Rauchbier Märzen, Bateman's Dark Lord, Anchor Porter, Red Frog and Liefman's Goudenband.

Sweeney's on Prospect Road is round the corner from me, so I usually go there, they've loads of beers, all in lovely little regional sections. Wow, loads of ones there to try, cheers! Any one's that stand out?

mayordenis

electrogrimey wrote: »

Have had Hoegarden alright, it's pretty tasty. They have it on tap around the place.



Sweeney's on Prospect Road is round the corner from me, so I usually go there, they've loads of beers, all in lovely little regional sections. Wow, loads of ones there to try, cheers! Any one's that stand out?

For me the standout beer in that list is Goudenband - there's plenty of things great stuff there, keep trying things you haven't had really - Westmalle Dubble, La Chouffre and Mc Chouffre (which both come in big bottles), Ale Mary, Brewdog (Scottish Brewery) have some great beers, of the ones that are readily available in good beer off licensees here I would go with Riptide Stout.

There is any amount of great beers, the problem will soon become finding a beer you haven't had.

BeerNut

electrogrimey wrote: »

Sweeney's on Prospect Road is round the corner from me, so I usually go there

Nice place. I heard they had Ola Dubh in stock recently.

electrogrimey wrote: »

Any one's that stand out?

Schlenkerla Rauchbier is the one that stands out for me in particular. DrinkStore down on Manor Street is the only place that has it regularly. Torpedo IPA is one of the best of its kind (superhopped American ale) around.

mayordenis wrote: »

keep trying things you haven't had really

Couldn't agree more. Once you learn the basics of beer styles you can direct your purchases in all sorts of different direction. But the only way to learn is to keep drinking.

mayordenis wrote: »

the problem will soon become finding a beer you haven't had.

Ha! Been at this game eight or nine years, man and boy, and it hasn't happened yet. And the selection has never been better in Dublin.

Zulu

Affligem (Blond beer)
Franziskaner (Wisse beer)
Spaten

I prefer Chimay Blue or White myself, but there you go.

electrogrimey

Zulu wrote: »

Franziskaner (Wisse beer)

Have had that on tap in Germany, and amn't as much of a fan of the bottles, anyone know if they have it on tap in Dublin anywhere? Definitely my favourite Weissebeir.

Cheers for the input, looks like it's gonna be tasty weekend!

Zulu

electrogrimey wrote: »

Have had that on tap in Germany, and amn't as much of a fan of the bottles, anyone know if they have it on tap in Dublin anywhere? Definitely my favourite Weissebeir.

Cheers for the input, looks like it's gonna be tasty weekend!

It's nice on tap also, but I don't know anywhere in dublin that has it (on tap that is).

Another lovely beer I tried recently was "Goose Island" - their summer beer was beautiful.
Or "Trade Winds" is a stronger flavour, but very nice.

electrogrimey

I had a really interesting beer in a restaurant in London one time, but it was on tap so I've no idea what it was...Restaurant was called The Yard, and the beer was kind of fruity and spicy at the same time...Doubt I'll ever find it though.

the beer revolu

Orval is a must have!!

billyblanks

Coopers Vintage ale .....serioulsy good.

keeps for up to 5 years, improves with age.....Something I will never experience as I can hardly keep a beer for a day never mind 5 years.

grenache

There's a Polish beer called Zubr, you'll get it in Superquinn and other good offies. Superior to both Lech and Tyskie in my opinion.

I'm sure you've tried Staropramen OP, it has to be the hoppiest beer i've yet to taste. If you're after a nice tasting bargain beer in a bottle, try Moosehead from Canada. Most offies stock it. Really skunky flavour to it, similar to Heineken only much better and cheaper!

electrogrimey

I'm heading up to Sweeney's in a bit to get a couple of these, assuming they have a good couple of them. I'll let you know how I get on!

SMcDDB

Sierra Navada is a lovely beer. It's for sale at Molloys off-licence. Highly recommended.

electrogrimey

Ok, here's what I came back with. I got:
One Sierra Nevada Pale Ale (didn't see Torpedo, and someone recommended this too),
one Orval (cheers the beer revolution, I had to trust you with that avatar) ,
one Spaten,
one Chimay Blue, and one Chimay White (On Zulu's advice).

Saw a bottle of Goose Island, but it wasn't IPA, it was a bitter, so I though I'd leave it, and they only had Westmalle Triple in, so I left that too.

Anyone know are there any special drinking procedures for any of these? I.e glasses etc?

BeerNut

For the Orval and Chimays you need a wide-brimmed glass to let the aromas out. A wine glass will do it.

Good call on the Goose Island Honkers: why buy fake English ale when the real thing is sitting next to it?

electrogrimey

BeerNut wrote: »

For the Orval and Chimays you need a wide-brimmed glass to let the aromas out. A wine glass will do it.

I have a few of something like these: http://www.kegworks.com/images/product-images/128540-belgianGlass-B1.jpg, they'll do the trick nicely. The Spaten is just a regular lager I'm guessing, so a regular glass for that, what about the Sierra Nevada?

BeerNut wrote: »

Good call on the Goose Island Honkers: why buy fake English ale when the real thing is sitting next to it?

Thought it a bit suspect for an 'authentic English bitter' to be sitting in the American section alright

BeerNut

electrogrimey wrote: »

what about the Sierra Nevada?

I'd use the stemmed one for that too, to catch the lovely hoppy aromas.

electrogrimey

BeerNut wrote: »

I'd use the stemmed one for that too, to catch the lovely hoppy aromas.

Will do. Just cracked open a Chimay Blue, very nice. Not as much of a wow-factor as the red for me, but a lovely flavour on your tongue all the same. It was the most expensive of the bunch though, €3.80 a little bottle.

FruitLover

grenache wrote: »

Zubr, you'll get it in Superquinn and other good offies. Superior to both Lech and Tyskie in my opinion

Don't think I've tried Zubr, must keep an eye out. My Polski beer of choice is Zywiec, with Okocim (particularly Mocne) another fine choice.

Tyskie isn't bad, but a bit bland in comparison to the above. Lech is like Polish Budweiser.

electrogrimey

FruitLover wrote: »

Okocim, another fine choice.

Tried that when I was over in Krakow, simply because it was the cheapest berr in the shop, about 20c a can, and it's so nice!

electrogrimey

Holy crap Chimay White is good...thank you Zulu!

the beer revolu

electrogrimey wrote: »

Anyone know are there any special drinking procedures for any of these? I.e glasses etc?

I'd echo Beernut here.
I use a large wineglass for almost any beer.
Also even a 33cl bottle can be shared nicely between 2 (or 2 between 3 at a push) by pouring into wine glasses.
That way you can taste lot of stronger beers without being too excessive on the alcohol.

Generally, if I have a bunch of people around, I give everyone a glass, open several bottles and keep topping up. That way you're not poring half full bottles down the drain after people leave but everyone gets to drink as much as they like.

electrogrimey

Last night I tried the Sierra Nevada, which was very nice, and a Weihenstephaner Hefe Wiess Bier, which I was seriously impressed with, one of the nicest Weiss Biers I've had. Also tried that Inis ad Gunn beer, and didn't like it at all...far too sweet for my taste.

the beer revolu

electrogrimey wrote: »

Last night I tried the Sierra Nevada, which was very nice, and a Weihenstephaner Hefe Wiess Bier, which I was seriously impressed with, one of the nicest Weiss Biers I've had. Also tried that Inis ad Gunn beer, and didn't like it at all...far too sweet for my taste.

Try the Weihenstephaner Dunkle
It's a rather light dunkle - very good!
Schneiderweiss Hefe is wonderful too - it's a pretty dark hefe (not unlike the Weihenstephaner Dunkle)

electrogrimey

the beer revolu wrote: »

Try the Weihenstephaner Dunkle
It's a rather light dunkle - very good!
Schneiderweiss Hefe is wonderful too - it's a pretty dark hefe (not unlike the Weihenstephaner Dunkle)

I'll add them to the list I've also heard good things about Erdinger Dunkel, have you tried it?

BeerNut

electrogrimey wrote: »

I've also heard good things about Erdinger Dunkel

The Erdinger beers are really second-rate compared to the like of Schneider and Weihenstephaner, IMO anyway.

The Weihenstephan brewery, incidentally, is attached to the Bavarian government's beer research institute. Those guys know what they're doing

IronMan

Can we count Galway Hooker as a "boutique" beer? I can't even get it in my local offie (even though I hear a bottled version is being produced??). Had a few pints in the Porterhouse last night, and what a fine beer it is. Was down in Galway recently and it had good penetration in the pubs down there, but if there was any appreciation of local beer in this country, then this stuff should be served in every pub. A session beer that actually tastes of something.

anonymous_joe

Hoegaarden has been a favourite for years.

BeerNut

IronMan wrote: »

I can't even get it in my local offie (even though I hear a bottled version is being produced??)

Nothing more than rumblings from the rumour mill at this stage. Hooker is still draught-only. Unfortunately.

Zulu

electrogrimey wrote: »

Holy crap Chimay White is good...thank you Zulu!

Delighted you liked it - it'll blow the socks off you though!

the beer revolu

Zulu wrote: »

Delighted you liked it - it'll blow the socks off you though!

Only if you drink too much of it!

electrogrimey

Zulu wrote: »

Delighted you liked it - it'll blow the socks off you though!

Oh it did!

the beer revolu wrote: »

Only if you drink too much of it!

Oh I did!

DBCyc

Enjoying a bottle of Brew Dog's Rip Tide imperial stout at the minute. Tis worth a try...mmmm...

mayordenis

DBCyc wrote: »

Enjoying a bottle of Brew Dog's Rip Tide imperial stout at the minute. Tis worth a try...mmmm...

Yep it's dynamite.

winefan

As a recent convert to good beer (my kidneys have had a long relationship with wine), I've had my eyes opened to some really excellent offerings available in Deveney's of Dundrum. I've tried quite a few over the last month or so, mostly recommended by Ruth Deveney.
There hasn't been a disappointing beer but the ones that stood out for me were the following:

Goose Island IPA. Great sipping beer.

Ginger Tom. This is a combination of Old Tom Ale with added Fentiman's Ginger Beer, which according to Ruth is the best ginger beer made anywhere! I suspect that this beer may not suit the 'purists' out there but I loved it and the ginger makes it just a bit more refreshing.

Lowenbrau Oktoberfestbier. This is Lowenbrau beer specially produced just for the Oktoberfest and consequently is not available all year round. Deveney' brought in about 6 Oktoberfest beers from different breweries in Germany. This one was probably my favourite. It was good to taste something not normally available here.

Chapeau Exotic Lambic Pineapple Beer. This again was recommended by Ruth and very unusual. Medium sweet with a strong pineapple character. For me it was very reminiscent of buying my 'breakfast pineapple' on the streets of Bangkok. This is a bit more expensive at 4.99 but great after dinner beer! I think that this is only available in Deveney's.

I'll definitely be going back for the above but since Ruth Deveney's has quite a big range, I'll be tackling the unknowns first!

Zulu

How much of a discount do you get for the plug?

electrogrimey

winefan wrote: »

Ginger Tom.

Lowenbrau Oktoberfestbier.

Chapeau Exotic Lambic Pineapple Beer.

Few more for the list Anybody have any favourite (good) off-licences in town? Preferably central, i.e. around Westmoreland street-ish. I know that one up Camden Street at Kelly's Corner, anywhere else?

DBCyc

electrogrimey wrote: »

Few more for the list Anybody have any favourite (good) off-licences in town? Preferably central, i.e. around Westmoreland street-ish. I know that one up Camden Street at Kelly's Corner, anywhere else?

Best I've been in (not too central sorry):

DrinkStore - Manor Street
Redmond's - Ranelagh
Deveney's - Dundrum
Sweeney's - Glasnevin

All of them are worth the trip, especially DrinkStore and Redmond's

Zulu

I used to go to Portmarnock but there's a chap opposite Fairview park who has the best selection I've come across. Very plesent chap, will order in anything he doesn't have. I swapped over when I was trying to source a milk stout (which I couldn't get unfortunatly) as his selection was so good.

electrogrimey

Zulu wrote: »

I used to go to Portmarnock but there's a chap opposite Fairview park who has the best selection I've come across. Very plesent chap, will order in anything he doesn't have. I swapped over when I was trying to source a milk stout (which I couldn't get unfortunatly) as his selection was so good.

Is that the place with the mirror in the window a few doors down from Marino College? Passed by it but never been in...

Zulu

electrogrimey wrote: »

Is that the place with the mirror in the window a few doors down from Marino College? Passed by it but never been in...

Thats the one. Pop in some time - fantastic selection! Worth the look.

electrogrimey

Zulu wrote: »

Thats the one. Pop in some time - fantastic selection! Worth the look.

Must do, it's not far from me, and I've nearly exhausted Sweeney's' selection of recommended beers!

Zulu

...and I take it you know about the bull & castle pub? Up by christ church? Savage beer selection. Beats the usual selection.

winefan

I should be getting a discount? How much should I look for? How much do the rest of you get?

I like Carvills in Camden street too. Great beers and gutsy Pinotage.

Is it possible to do this and drink for free?

Hey, Redmond's in Ranelagh have some good stuff. I'd definitely recommend that shop.

They're the only off licences I know that are worth a visit. Any others recommended on the south side as good? As you can tell, I use the Luas quite a bit.

I don't do DNS much. Especially now that the evenings are getting darker.

BeerNut

Here's a map of all the quality beer outlets in Dublin. Zoom out for the rest of the country too.

Winefan, have you been to the tasting night's in Deveney's? Times, dates and beer lists are on Ruth's blog.

winefan

Thanks for the link to the map. Very interesting and lots of places that I'd never knew existed. I see that the brew pubs don't seem to do that well in terms of ratings. What's the Bull and Castle like? I've seen it mentioned on this site before. Does it do takeaways too?

Regarding Deveney's beer tastings, I arrived in very late for the Oktoberfest night about 3 weeks ago but wasn't there prior to that. I'll definitely go again.

BeerNut

winefan wrote: »

I see that the brew pubs don't seem to do that well in terms of ratings.

Well, MM's staff are known for being openly hostile to the existence of the house beers. Service in the Porterhouse can be hit-and-miss. Though bear in mind that most of the ratings are based on my opinion alone. New reviews are always welcome on Beermapping.

winefan wrote: »

What's the Bull and Castle like?

Best selection in town, particularly upstairs which is open in the evenings. And it has staff who are trained to know actual stuff about beer. It does get rather packed and loud weekend evenings, though.

winefan wrote: »

Does it do takeaways too?

Yep: menu.

electrogrimey

Fuller's Honey Dew gets a big thumbs up from me. Not nearly as sickly sweet as the Inis and Gunn, just a really complimentary hint of honey. Yum.

the beer revolu

Electro,
Drinking a Rochfort 8 as I type (from a large wine glass) - forgotten how much I love this beer:p
Definitely a 'must try' beer.