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Discuss beer travel and regional information, including the best bars and places to check out around in Canada and around the world, and other chat that is not specific to Ontario.
I have spent a fair bit of time in Ireland and without a doubt the beer scene (particularly real ale) is better in the North than the Republic. I believe you said you will be spending most of your time in the North, so you are in luck.
There are a number of pubs in Belfast with good cask conditioned beers. Absolutely do not miss the Crown Liquor Saloon downtown. I also really liked the Botanic Inn near Queen's University. The Hillside pub in Hillsborough and the White Horse in Saintfield are also real ale stalwarts. There is a large JD Weatherspoon pub in Coleraine. Check out the NI CAMRA site for others - not sure what part of the Province you will be visiting.
There are two microbreweries in Northern Ireland to look for. Both produce cask ales. They are Hilden and Whitewater.
As for the Republic, the non-Guinness/Smithwicks/Bud/Heineken options are extremely few and far between. The Porterhouse in Dublin (already mentioned) is a great brewpub. There is the Biddy Early Brewery in Inagh, Co. Clare if you are heading to the southwest. The O'Hara's Celtic Stout that we had over here in bottles last year exists in theory, but is not easy to find. Surprisingly, Beamish and Murphy's are also quite difficult to get on tap (except in Cork).
Needless to say, there are lots of fantastic pubs in Ireland. It's just that you have to resign yourself to the same beer selection at every one!
Last edited by midlife crisis on Thu Jun 19, 2008 10:31 am, edited 1 time in total.
I'm from Belfast and I concur with others that from a beer geek perspective Ireland is a desert. To people there drinking is a social activity and most - no , ALL - acquaintances of mine would consider beer elitism as middle class consumerism/status seeking. That said, the place is a lot more middle class than it used to be so who knows what the future holds.
The only decent local brewery I'm aware of is the Whitewater company somewhere in Co. Down. Their main beer Belfast Ale (along with one other ale) is served by cask at the famous Crown bar across from the Europa in Belfast. (Incidentally, the Crown, though having a reputation as a tourist bar has plenty of locals in it at any given time. When I lived there it was one of three after work hang outs in the area so don't worry about it being a tourist trap). I've enjoyed a couple of pints there in recent visits with the barmen insisting it was CAMRA approved.
Whitewater got a boost last year when their Clotworthy Dobbin Ale won some British ale award or something like that.
In my last visit a year ago I was surprised to see Hoegaarden widely available on tap along with other InBev Belgians in bottles in pubs. Surprised because I'd NEVER seen anything other than the usual Eurolagers, stout, Irish cream ale, and Bass in Belfast pubs in the past so who knows maybe they are branching out and trying new things.
Most off-licences also have a poor selection. The one at Sainsbury's in East Belfast is pretty good. It was there I tasted my first Sierra Nevada and Brooklyn beers. Last visit only Sierra Nevada PA and Sam Adams was available but it varies from month to month as they occasionally get more unusual US micros. The selection of bottled English and Scottish ales is usually better.
midlife crisis is right about Beamish and Murphys being hard to find - certainly in Northern Ireland. I never tasted Beamish until I moved to Canada - though TBS stopped it a couple of years ago. Beamish is more common in Paris than any part of Ireland I've been to. Murphys is probably made in the Netherlands by Heineken where you see it everywhere. Their Irish Red or for that matter ANY kind of 'Irish Red' is unknown in Ireland.
Another possible flying option is a budget airline flight to Belgium (Charleroi) from Dublin on Ryan Air or Amsterdam from Belfast on EasyJet. If you book early you can do that for the same price it costs me to get a Greyhound bus (from an hour and a half away) into Toronto for the day!
Philip1 wrote:midlife crisis is right about Beamish and Murphys being hard to find - certainly in Northern Ireland. I never tasted Beamish until I moved to Canada - though TBS stopped it a couple of years ago. Beamish is more common in Paris than any part of Ireland I've been to. Murphys is probably made in the Netherlands by Heineken where you see it everywhere. Their Irish Red or for that matter ANY kind of 'Irish Red' is unknown in Ireland.
Really? I've never had any problem finding Beamish or Murphy's outside of Co. Dublin.
Philip is right about the emergence of some fashionable continental beers. In the south of the Republic Erdinger has become rather popular.
Sadly the most popular beer in Ireland (North & South) at the moment is Budweiser closely followed by the awful Bulmers cider. What a sad state of affairs!!!
Philip1 wrote:midlife crisis is right about Beamish and Murphys being hard to find - certainly in Northern Ireland. I never tasted Beamish until I moved to Canada - though TBS stopped it a couple of years ago. Beamish is more common in Paris than any part of Ireland I've been to. Murphys is probably made in the Netherlands by Heineken where you see it everywhere. Their Irish Red or for that matter ANY kind of 'Irish Red' is unknown in Ireland.
Really? I've never had any problem finding Beamish or Murphy's outside of Co. Dublin.
Philip is right about the emergence of some fashionable continental beers. In the south of the Republic Erdinger has become rather popular.
Well, the only parts of Ireland I've gone drinking in in the last decade are Co Dublin and the eastern part of Ulster! No Beamish in sight. Maybe it is better known elsewhere.
At a Belfast pub I visited last year they were promoting Erdinger - beer mats, posters, etc. and I think it was available on tap. It caught my attention because wheat beers aren't too common in pubs though generally available in bottles at all but the smallest beer shops.
Well, the first decent pub we found yesterday, on our way back from Armagh, and I had to pass on having a proper pint as I was driving and I'm still trying to get used to it. Our cousins here in Lurgan aren't the most "pub"lican of folk so they haven't had us out yet.
Had a fine bottle yesterday though...Adnam's Broadside; a strong ale that had a surprising hop presence on the end of it.
You will be able to grab some really good bottles from your local Sainsbury's, ASDA and Tesco. They really will put the LCBO selection to shame, and the bottles will be cheaper than going to a pub.
Yeah, so far Tesco has been pretty good, as well as the other supermarket we went to. With the exchange I find the prices a bit comparable but then there are specials; I picked up an 8-pack of Tetley's bitter for 5.5pounds. We'd pay nearly that much for a pack of four.
I'm pretty sure you can still get some Rogue beers over there, as well as Brooklyn and Sierra Nevada. Not too sure which supermarkets are in your area but if there is a Safeway, check it out as they usually have a great American & European selection.
Bytowner wrote:If you're down Waterford way look out for World of Wines, best off-license for beer on the island.
Really? I lived in Waterford for a year, passed that place down the small alley/street all the time but never stepped inside.
If you're going to be in Cork you can visit the Franciscan Well brewpub. They have some good ones and they distribute it to a handful of other pubs in Cork and elsewhere. If you go to Galway city, Galway Hooker can be found in a few places. It's an American pale ale, not too hoppy but very good. And if you want to see great old-fashioned pubs without heading into the countryside, Galway has a couple of gems. Undoubtedly though you will end up in at least one pub with a run-of-the-mill selection - if this happens, check if they have bottles of McCardles. It's similar to Smithwicks but nuttier and less hoppy.
Yep. I lived in Tramore for awhile and made many trips out to that place. Wins rewards for best off licence in the country. Fellas that own it are willing to order you anything you'd like too. Liquor store done right.
