Supporting craft breweries

dashingdash

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123479471#Comment_123479471

Aside from wanting to support local producers, I also turned to Irish breweries because we don't get a great selection of pils in our imports. If you want a helles, no problem, but only handful of decent imported pils are available and they're rare enough.

Some pretty fresh Bohemian Pilsner from Eight Degrees actually turned up in Aldi shortly after I posted this.

BeerNut

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123489216#Comment_123489216

Amen to that. For a few months recently, my local SuperValu was doing Jever for €2.50 a bottle. If I'd known it wasn't going to be restocked I'd have bought way more of it.

Blisterman

Is Jever no longer being imported to Ireland? I've struggled to find it recently.

Black Sheep

I am no great connoisseur of Irish craft lagers, but Hopburgh Helles has always struck me as good - although I don't know how closely it really corresponds to helles as a style.

I was also recently impressed by Rye River's Bidin' Time lager, which is a more generic summer-drinking lager, but just seemed remarkably fresh-tasting and bursting with life when I tried it.

Are people saying the 8 Degrees Pilsner is worth a whirl then? Anyone else… Dundalk Bay lager? Wicklow Wolf? Kinnegar Donegal lager? Stag Kolsch?

I've had the rice lager and also the pils from Whiplash and thought they were pretty good too.

When I buy imported lager, I really like Grevensteiner, Sam Smith pure brewed organic lager (Impossible to get of late) and I've also like the new Iron Maiden lager brewed with Crew Republic.

irish_goat

Kinnegar DL is good, but it's more in the vein of a light Helles. They make excellent pilsners, but having 2 lagers in the core range can be confusing in the trade. Gets even more confusing when you chuck in their black lager too.

Galway Bay have recently released Figo, labelled as an Italian Pilsner. I've not had it yet, but seen good reviews so far.

BeerNut

Is Jever no longer being imported to Ireland? I've struggled to find it recently.

It's one of Grand Cru's non-core range and they can be sporadic. I'm guessing it'll reappear when a new shipment comes in. In the same shop, Duvel disappeared for a few months and then came back, and Westmalle Tripel has been gone for a while now: all Grand Cru beers.

Hopburgh Helles has always struck me as good - although I don't know how closely it really corresponds to helles as a style.

Yeah, I think it's pretty much spot on. When a brewery only does a small number of beers, that's usually an indication that they're doing them right.

Anyone else…

As mentioned up-thread, Third Barrel's Hello Yes? is very good. I suspect it's a case of the brewer making a beer that he likes to drink. It deserves to find a market.

Black Sheep

Galway Bay Slow Lives any good?

White Hag has Roc Helles, around a while, and I see they have a kind of American style lager coming out now as well… (Kind of reminds me of what the Porterhouse did with Chiller, many moons ago..).

BeerNut

Haven't had Slow Lives since they changed head brewer but I always quite liked it.

JoeLapira

Nitro Red Ale coming out from Brehon 😍 Jesus I hope I can get my hands on some

dashingdash

I see Porterhouse just announced a new Czech pils brewed by Hopkins & Hopkins. A lot of pils action in Ireland suddenly.

breezy1985

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123502907#Comment_123502907

Treaty Brewery currently have a pils on their rotation taps around Limerick too.

squonk

Black Donkey do Western Warrior lager. I like it myself.

irish_goat

Travelling through Dublin on Friday, into Connolly and then onto Heuston. Is there anywhere in between to lift a few decent cold cans?

L1011

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123632776#Comment_123632776

Brew Dock usually - but not always - have some GBB and some guest cans for takeout, cold. You'll be beside it getting on the Luas to Heuston.

BeerNut

You'll get a decent selection of Irish and imported beers in the fridge in Fresh in Smithfield. If you're travelling on a Leap card, the stopover is free.

flended12

https://drinkstore.ie/ is not too far of a detour.

breezy1985

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123632776#Comment_123632776

Be careful cracking any expensive beers open on the train out of Heuston. They have gotten crazily strict on any I have been on.

L1011

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123633416#Comment_123633416

Some Friday and Sunday Galway and Waterford line services have an extra ban - when they had a trolley it didn't even serve alcohol.

They aren't as difficult on other services, usually.

adaminho

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123633426#Comment_123633426

Travel mug in your bag and you'll be grand. I've even known people to grab a to-go coffee and use the cup.

RonanC

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123632776#Comment_123632776

Fidelity are now doing a small selection of take out Whiplash cans too

irish_goat

I have heard they are getting strict on the trains now. Will bring a travel mug just incase.

breezy1985

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123633814#Comment_123633814

Cork Limerick-Dublin has on board security or Irish Rail staff checking so ya just decant it first.

TaurenDruid

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123634128#Comment_123634128

So in theory you could buy a pint in the bar in Connolly or Heuston, have it poured into a plastic "glass", bring it on board a train, and have it confiscated, all by Iarnród Éireann staff.

L1011

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123635336#Comment_123635336

The bar in Connolly in gone (and was operated by Madigans) and the bar in Heuston is operated by Wrights. Irish Rail's last bar was privatised in the mid 00s.

Citizen Six

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123633814#Comment_123633814

I usually just pick up a coffee cup and decant to that. I’m fairly discrete, so not the problem.
Hens and stags going to Carrick on the Sligo train can be a nightmare. Not to mention station staff putting drunks onto trains to get the problem off their hands.

breezy1985

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123635336#Comment_123635336

Having beer poured into a plastic to take away is not very common in Ireland ans also legally a grey area.

Heuston does have a fridge of cans outside the bar for takeaway which is disgracefully misleading for a customer.

irish_goat

And of course once you jump on the Belfast train there's no issues with alcohol at all. They even announce over the tannoy when the bar is opened.

DelmarODonnell

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123632799#Comment_123632799

Yeah I was in there four weeks ago and they had the range of Kinnegar beers, and some White Hag alongside their own stuff.

As an aside, the beer selection on tap was really iffy, our group probably requested 5 or 6 beers that had badges that had "just ran out". The beers we got were quality however. Food was really substandard, not that GBB was ever renown for it

TheWonderLlama

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123637331#Comment_123637331

they should sell duty-free on that, they would make a fortune.

AhhHere

Lots of beers sold out on white hag for a while now. Every thing fine up there?