www.greatirishbeerfestival.com

fatboypee

On the surface it looks good... but then, looking down the list you see lots of bottled beers.... (at least thats my assumption as La Chouffe, Chimay etc are solely bottle conditioned beers (afaik)), plus the prices are fairly hefty after €16 to get in given that I would again assume most bottles would be classed as specialty beers...

Sampler: €1
½ pint: €2
Full pint: €4
Specialist beers: €6 and €8

Still, a step in the right direction all the same...

FBP.

dudara

"Beer Bucks are non-refundable" - Gah, this kind of thing really gets on my goat. I have no problem with them using an alternative to cash, but refusing to refund you any surplus is terrible.

Good selection of beers there, but horribly over-priced especially considering the entry-fee alone is €16.

BeerNut

It's a step in the wrong direction, IMO. Going to the offy, buying a load of beers, charging people in to a barn to drink them at inflated prices: it's only good for the organiser who will be raking in the cash. I've heard that the suppliers -- down to just six or seven this year -- get absolutely robbed by the organiser. It's why Galway Hooker, with their commitment to Galway, are the only Irish brewer who show up. I'd say they'll be down money on the day.

SeptemberFest is a step in the right direction; Franciscan Well EasterFest is a step in the right direction; Hilden Beer & Music Festival is a step in the right direction: all events which promote local produce and don't charge the producers or punters an arm and a leg to do it.

If it were me, I'd be spending the day in Sheridan's on the Docks.

fatboypee

BeerNut wrote: »

It's a step in the wrong direction, IMO. Going to the offy, buying a load of beers, charging people in to a barn to drink them at inflated prices: it's only good for the organiser who will be raking in the cash. I've heard that the suppliers -- down to just six or seven this year -- get absolutely robbed by the organiser. It's why Galway Hooker, with their commitment to Galway, are the only Irish brewer who show up. I'd say they'll be down money on the day.

SeptemberFest is a step in the right direction; Franciscan Well EasterFest is a step in the right direction; Hilden Beer & Music Festival is a step in the right direction: all events which promote local produce and don't charge the producers or punters an arm and a leg to do it.

If it were me, I'd be spending the day in Sheridan's on the Docks.

If it were me, I'd hop on the nearest 1 cent Ryanair flight to London and head off doing it all properly. Forget the "Boutique Beer" culture and go and get some decent brews. Heck, even if you didn't want to go "native" with UK ales, the UK itself has such a diversity of beers available in most places for a fraction of the cost here.
Tis why I save me little bit dough and head over one in a while rather than go to the Offy for €3++ per tatty bottle of wholly homogeneous brews....

But a step in the right direction it is, even if it serves to highlight the diverse brews available if you step out of the comfort zone and perhaps stimulates debate over what is, and what is not good value...

FBP.

BeerNut

fatboypee wrote: »

If it were me, I'd hop on the nearest 1 cent Ryanair flight to London

Ryanair fly to London now?

fatboypee wrote: »

Forget the "Boutique Beer" culture

I don't know what this means.

fatboypee wrote: »

Tis why I save me little bit dough and head over one in a while rather than go to the Offy for €3++ per tatty bottle of wholly homogeneous brews....

I find drinking the decent Irish beer, available on my doorstep every day, more convenient and cost-effective than international travel. A pint of Malty Bitches costs €4.30 -- not €4.30 plus handling charges, transportation costs and overnight accommodation.

fatboypee

BeerNut wrote: »

Ryanair fly to London now?

I don't know what this means.

I find drinking the decent Irish beer, available on my doorstep every day, more convenient and cost-effective than international travel. A pint of Malty Bitches costs €4.30 -- not €4.30 plus handling charges, transportation costs and overnight accommodation.

Ahhhhh.......

The intention of my post was not to offend, merely to make the point that in my very humble opinion, with Ryanair flights for nothing and a weekends' accommodation in the capital exceptionally good value (given the current exchange rate also), it is a viable alternative for me as, with the demise of Taras' International Beer house, I have no "decent Irish Beer" on my doorstep and must rely solely on over-priced and rather "average" brews, of which I can get maybe two or three differing types.

A trip to UK (in my case London) once in a while is a satiating experience.

FBP.

BeerNut

Gotcha. And a fair point. Though if all your beer money goes to foreign companies there's less chance of things improving on your doorstep. You could do worse than ask your local offy about O'Hara's Stout and Porterhouse Hop Head. And there's always these guys.

domcq

I think it is a step in the right direction, but a little pricey for sure.

I was in ASDA in Omagh last weekend and stocked up on some Whitechapel Porter for £1 a bottle - now that's good value.

It would have been nice to see The Belfast Ale company (Brewers of Belfast Ale, Clotworthy Dobbin etc.) make an appearance, but perhaps as someone already posted, it's not woth it for them.

Had my first Belfast Ale at Septemberfest last summer - great day out.

fatboypee

BeerNut wrote: »

Gotcha. And a fair point. Though if all your beer money goes to foreign companies there's less chance of things improving on your doorstep. You could do worse than ask your local offy about O'Hara's Stout and Porterhouse Hop Head. And there's always these guys.

I agree entirely and honestly, I do often buy O'Haras Stout and Red, but its still "Craft" and has the "Craft" price tag to boot. I'm also a wee bit disillusioned over whether tastes will ever change substantially enough to improve the availability of good brews in my local area (total population sub 3000 people), Tara's was a revelation, but closed due to nobody wanting to frequent it (those who did, returned regularly), the Rusty Ale there was brilliant.

I think I need to get into brewing my own.. solve everything that way

FBP.

BeerNut

domcq wrote: »

It would have been nice to see The Belfast Ale company (Brewers of Belfast Ale, Clotworthy Dobbin etc.) make an appearance, but perhaps as someone already posted, it's not woth it for them.

Whitewater. Yeah, I had high hopes after the first year that the Great Irish Beer Festival would become a great festival of Irish beer, but really it went in the opposite direction.

fatboypee wrote: »

I think I need to get into brewing my own.. solve everything that way

Meant to say that in my last reply: absolutely!

dereko1969

fatboypee wrote: »

The intention of my post was not to offend, merely to make the point that in my very humble opinion, with Ryanair flights for nothing and a weekends' accommodation in the capital exceptionally good value (given the current exchange rate also)

Where you posting from? Is Dublin not your capital?

mayordenis

BeerNut wrote: »

Ryanair fly to London now?

I don't know what this means.

I find drinking the decent Irish beer, available on my doorstep every day, more convenient and cost-effective than international travel. A pint of Malty Bitches costs €4.30 -- not €4.30 plus handling charges, transportation costs and overnight accommodation.

I'm on a ryanair flight to london in a few hours boss

don't be scaring me.

fatboypee

dereko1969 wrote: »

Where you posting from? Is Dublin not your capital?

In context, the capital in the referred to instance is London.