Supporting craft breweries

I sometimes nip into Spoons in Dun Laoghaire and have a pint or two of cask, and almost every choice you make is greeted with a "sorry, that's off".

Maybe cover the tap if the beer is finished then, lads?

It's great value but that is annoying. Now I just ask what cask is available and typically it'll be just one or two of the five or six they have on show. And it's almost never Jaipur

:(

I know, I asked once why they didn't just take off the fisheye when the beer is gone but they didn't know what I was talking about.

Had this issue in Wetherspoons at Grand Canal earlier this year. Majority of their taps were off, but had to keep guessing until I got to one that was available. Blamed delivery issues.

Speaking of line-blockers, was in the Queens in Dalkey last week for the first time in ages and asked for a Wicklow Wolf Elevation on draught and the barman said quite openly that a condition of Bulmers supplying their outdoor parasols etc was replacement of that with Five Lamps IPA, got a can of their Tundra Tropical instead. So Five Lamps can go hang their......

Ya I never believed his story tbh. The takeover had all the hallmarks of the usual macro buyout.

I wouldn't mind a couple of Friar Weisse tonight.

Friar Weisse was a great wheat beer. Used to love pints of it in the Gingerman in Dublin.

Franciscan Well beers have been absolutely dire for years.

I'de still drink Rebel Red over a lot of things on tap but it's rare I see it anywhere except the offie these days and most of the Limerick offies have the much nicer Treaty red ale and O'Sullivan's red.

I'm curious about deals like this.

Are they legal?

I presume they are, if C&C are doing them...............

Took a tour of Hope Brewery last night with my Adult Ed Craft Beer Brewing class, they have some lovely steel there - but more to the point, they have a really great taproom that overlooks the brewhouse, with seating around a large table for about 8-10 people. It's really such a pity breweries have to jump through so many hoops to be able to sell a pint of beer after a tour.

Was nosing around the White Hag website yesterday and in their FAQ they stated they are only allowed by their licence to sell full cases by mail order, nothing smaller... yet another bizarre and pointless legal restriction, why???

They do half cases each month for Clann but you have to sign up for a year.

Wicklow Wolf still only let you buy cases on the web*, unless it's the pre-packed mixed case or gift set (which you also see in Off Licences). White Hag have the "Bar in a box" which has 12 beers, 12 packs of Black Boar, so I'd say (like Wicklow Wolf) it's could be convenience/ staffing as much as licence.

*obviously you can still rock up to the tap room and buy just a single can if you want - supposedly, never managed that myself!

Anyone ever heard of JJs Brewery in Killmallock, Limerick.

Seems to have a very very low profile even in Limerick city. It's almost like it's a back of a pub job except they don't seem to have a pub.

21 is the only place I have seen it. The bar in the Southcourt has them too apparently.

I'm heading to Kilmallock Saturday but they don't seem to have a bar or taproom to visit.