Supporting craft breweries

DelmarODonnell

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123667627#Comment_123667627

God I used to hate that branding.

The Rye River Nocturne Export Stout for my money just shades Leann Follain as the best regularly produced stout we can buy in Ireland. Usually 3 euro a bottle or so, fantastic value

squonk

I think Proper Job was where I was happiest with IPAs. Mind you I’ve had Flora And Fauna by Western Herd and it’s very nice but at 10% it’s one you need to prepare for

Clegg

Bought a few bottles of Galway Hooker IPA from my local Molloy's. Was delighted that it's still a very tasty beer even after the recent-ish takeover. Pretty sure it was the first craft beer I drank fadó fadó in Kielys of Donnybrook (RIP). I don't know of any pubs in Dublin that have it on draft still. Kennedy's on Westland Row used to, but it's long gone now I think.

Also had a few Scraggy Bay. Still the best Irish made IPA around.

AhhHere

Agree about scraggy Bay being the best

squonk

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123672269#Comment_123672269

Did they not change Hooker at one stage? I reserve it being suffering very similar task to Sam Adam’s which was no bad thing. I had it a few years ago but recently and it had buried into a pale ale. A completely different beer anyway.

ben.schlomo

Original Hooker was a pale ale. Then when they eventually started adding to their stable they also produced an IPA.

Clegg

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123672282#Comment_123672282

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123672306#Comment_123672306

Apologies, I had forgotten to specify that I had a few bottle of the original pale ale and also the 60 Fathoms IPA. Both tasted lovely.

I wasn't aware that they may have changed the recipe, but I thought they were still great regardless.

Blisterman

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123672306#Comment_123672306

Was this not one of these cases like Cute Hoor or O'Haras where breweries started using IPA to mean "Irish Pale Ale"? As if the term IPA wasn't confusing enough.

10-10-20

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123669235#Comment_123669235

For me a three-thirty mil bottle of the stuff would be fine as a novelty, but a few times I got a pint of the stuff and it's like the drink that never finishes.

breezy1985

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123679471#Comment_123679471

Like a lot of craft beer it needs to be served in 330ml (2/3 pint) for it to be properly enjoyed.

Really annoys me the amount of craft places that don't advertise those measures.

10-10-20

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123679496#Comment_123679496

The societal norm and the currency of drinking in Ireland and the UK is the pint. I had more enjoyment and a better range of beer in Bruge where the norm is 330ml, even up to 13% as I wasn't overwhelming my system volume-wise.

BeerNut

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123679412#Comment_123679412

Galway Hooker was calling their flagship an "Irish Pale Ale" at a time when there weren't any Irish IPAs, so they kinda had the initials to themselves.

Hotblack Desiato

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123669695#Comment_123669695

Proper Job, another Brexit casualty 😕

breezy1985

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123679540#Comment_123679540

Ya but when have craft breweries ever been part of the societal norms of beer culture in Ireland.

Some do have it on display as part of the menu and the ones that don't should.

Yeah Right

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123668226#Comment_123668226

I'd agree, to a certain point. There never really was 'a lot happening' in the craft scene that wasn't already vastly overpopulated by IPAs. At the height of the craft revolution, 90%+ of craft beers you'd see anywhere would have the words 'pale ale' somewhere in the description and not a lot has changed. Both in the pub and the offo. I made a post here years ago under a different name lamenting the lack of variety……at least we've now got a few more nitro stouts and sours etc. but still severely lacking in craft ciders, wheat beers, lagers, pilseners etc. We have at least abandoned the 'how bitter can we make this before people stop drinking it' model that was prevalent for so long.

squonk

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123679796#Comment_123679796

Interesting point. I’m finding stouts harder to find these days and at least there are a good few nice red ales. The black lager thing is welcome too. IPA seems to be where things are still at but they’ve diversified at least. Like you say, the bitterness race has thankfully ended. Some I’ve had recently weren’t bad at all but I wouldn’t be making a night of them. Stouts & Porters seem to be in decline though. I think breweries are still catering to the 20-30 something demographic that seem to drink ipa in large numbers. Nothing wrong with that. They have to keep the lights on at the end of the day but it seems like if you’ve done the ipa thing and want some red ales, bitters or stouts, you’re more stuck for choice.

breezy1985

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123681274#Comment_123681274

IPA is also where they have the market cornered (modern keg not traditional British which is almost a different beer). Its so much easier to get your pale or IPA into a pub line up because it's the one the pub isn't likely to have filled by the macro.

Yeah Right

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123681274#Comment_123681274

it seems like if you’ve done the ipa thing and want some red ales, bitters or stouts, you’re more stuck for choice.

That's exactly my point, I've been like that since the start!

Never was crazy about IPAs bar the odd few exceptions* and was underwhelmed by the selection in certain places that were touted as having 8/9/10 different beers on tap. Not much point if they're nearly all some iteration of pale ale. I think the first time I visited the Black Sheep all but one of the taps were IPAs.

*Coalface (RIP), Torpedo, Weights & Measures, and Yankee being the pick of the bunch

breezy1985

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123683282#Comment_123683282

Mondo London used to have a very diverse range of specials and then stared their DIPA series. I remember them trying to convince me that it was so exciting because DIPA IV had different hops to DIPA II and III. Was my favourite brewery until then

TaurenDruid

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123683282#Comment_123683282

Different strokes for different folks - I'd love a bar with a decent range of west coast IPAs (I don't like hazies) and you'd be lucky these days to get more than two on tap anywhere that aren't DIPAs.

By contrast - https://taplist.io/underdog - no less than four stouts on tap, they'd often have five.

Black Sheep

I'm mindful not to be too Dublin centric, but Fidelity, in Smithfield, also had 3 stouts on tap, and one brown, the last time I was in.

Currently my local (north Dublin) has nitro red ale on tap, from O'Haras… I was quite shocked when I saw that. I'd rather it have been the stout, but they've had that in the past.

Overall, I would have to say I see quite a good range of non-IPAs in the specialist off-licences also, but I accept, again, there's a risk that's being a bit Dublin-centric.

In terms of my local Supervalu, while you won't get a massive range, and the majority of the craft offerings probably are forms of IPA or pale ale, there's plenty of craft lager from Ireland, stouts, 3-4 craft ciders…

In summary, I don't know… I think there's a decent range of styles being produced. There probably was more experimental stuff, and things like sours, several years ago, but I really feel like the "high point" of Irish craft beer in terms of brewer freedom and experimentation might have been in the past. Buyer tastes have somewhat consolidated now, and I agree with sentiments posted elsewhere on this forum that maybe the market has found out what buyers will actually support, and it's reflective of that, at this point.

breezy1985

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123685656#Comment_123685656

For cultural reasons pretty much every craft brewery in Ireland at least has a core stout and a good few have red ales. It's heaven compared to some other places like England where it's is really really pale and IPA lead.

squonk

It’s for sure an interesting one. I have a hunch that 20 somethings might favour IPAs as they’re not what they’re getting from the mainstream breweries and I guess they like the taste. A lot of them are big beers though. >5% and you could be talking 7% In Aldi guessing this demographic will actually be out in craft pubs as nd putting their money where their mouth is.

I’m of an older demographic. Just hit my 50s so these days I favour stouts and ales. I’ve lived away from the big beers. I enjoy one from time to time but don’t really go for them too much as bit with it the following day

Citizen Six

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123683282#Comment_123683282

I used to love Coalface. You could get it in Anseo.

Black Sheep

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123685814#Comment_123685814

I'm of a similar vintage to you. When I'm out in I would opt for things like Rollover, Hop-On, Little Fawn… All well under 5%. I see a lot of sessionable pale ales and IPAs on tap these days.

In fact, if anything, there's a new category emerging of micro IPA / table beers and small beers that is more prevalent now than it ever was. Not non alcoholic beers, but low alcohol beers.

the beer revolu

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123679796#Comment_123679796

The problem is that they've swung too far the other way and what is now sold as IPA has no bitterness whatsoever. Old school/West Coast IPAs are now a really hard sell. Younger folk aren't used to beers with any bitterness at all as they are so used to East Coast/New England Hazy/Juicy/Milkshake/Mountain beers.

I go to the Bierhaus and virtually all the IPAs on the specials board are in the above styles and Dave tells me that he's continually offered really good West Coast IPAs but he rarely takes them as they don't sell.

IPA is dead.

Hodors Appletart

It's one of the reasons I went into the German Pils direction, some decently bitter beers there, if not super bitter like 60+ ibu.

I've also leaned into brewing higher IBU beers at home, where I can control the bitterness level myself. I've learned through brewing a fair few British Bitters this year, that I enjoy beers at around the 40 IBU level for every day drinking, but could go a bit heavier towards 60 ish for a stronger beer, with more malt in the mix to back it up (think IPA v DIPA).

Tinter Box

Seems to be a box up on White Hag linked to Hagstravaganza. It’s 12 beers for 60 euro. Assume it’s a mixture of guest beers as there isn’t a description up.

AhhHere

Does porterhouse still do off sales? Haven't seen their beers out and about in a while

Blisterman

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123712112#Comment_123712112

Any indication if these contain beers exclusive to the box? Or are they just a mixed box of beers you can get in the off licence?