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On Unusual Ingredients in Beer
I've been sitting on this post for far too long, having previously intended to publish it as a #beerylongread but then Boak and Bailey published a very similar analysis as I was planning. I have...
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Whisky cocktails
Its been a while since I've had a chance to participate in one of Steve @TheWhiskyWire's organised TweetTastings (and even longer since I've written one up!); so I jumped at the chance when the...
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What's Lego-ing on?
Far too often beer reviews can be staid an boring (perhaps I've been guilty of that too?); so its always nice to come across and interesting and refreshing take that's a bit more fun too. Pottering...
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Dear Old Donegal
By local artist Barry BrittonThis coming weekend sees the sophomore edition of the Wild Atlantic Craft beer festival hosted at Dicey O'Reilly's in Ballyshannon, Donegal (home of Donegal Brewing). Last...
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Carlowboration
Its been a while since I've featured Irish beers on this blog; so hopefully this post goes some way to redressing that omission. As I mentioned in my post earlier this year, Carlow were the first...
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Tyrone's Turn
For too long the focus on good beer in Northern Ireland has been centred around Belfast. Well not any more: enter the Wine Rack in Stewartstown. Now, as you would guess from the name, wine plays a big...
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80 Brussels Boozers (and what to drink)
My title doesn't have quite the same ring to it as that chosen for the book that this post is about. The 80 beer series has returned to where it began with the release of the second eidition of around...
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#TheSession #103: Difficult conversations
Warning: what follows is little more than a stream of thought outline rather than a cogent post, I may get a chance to cajole it into some semblance of logical thought, then again I'm off to Belgium...
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What do you mean by sour beer?
My trip to Belgium for #EBBC15 has driven home how eclectic the styles termed "sour" truly are. Aside from the fact that not all non-pure-Saccharomyces fermented beers really are sour, the sour/wild...
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The State of Belgian Beer
There has been a bit of an explosion in both numbers of brewers and creativity within worldwide in recent years (if you hadn't noticed, where have you been?!). One country that has been surprisingly...
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Heading to Manchester
Most people who are in to decent beer in the UK will have heard of the Independent Manchester Beer Convention (or Indyman BeerCon for short, or even IMBC if you're feeling particularly lazy) (if not,...
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Sour and Wild ales in Ireland
With sour beers enjoying a renaissance amongst the keener craft brewers and in trendy beer bars its only right that Irish brewers aren't resting on their laurels and attempting some of their own.First...
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A tradition or an old charter or something
(Hat tip to one of my favourite authors Robert Rankin for the borrowed title quote)The beer scene in Belgium is quite fractured, with no real large grouping to represent all brewers interests. I spoke...
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Sourfest: the results
A stand-out beer is pickedThis time last weekend I was in Belfast judging at the Freshman year of Sourfest, a competition to find the best sour/wild ale both commercially and from amateur brewers for...
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Where's the Cheese & Beer Book You Were Writing?
Image kindly created by Simon @ CAMRGBIts a question I'm often asked and certainly valid, given the number of people I told I would be writing it! Its a difficult topic to write about because it...
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To Stewartstown from Manchester Picadilly
Shiny stainless FVsThis weekend I've had the pleasure of drinking my favourite UK beer this year (so far) and one of the best I've ever had. It was a special edition Double IPA to mark 1 year of having...
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ALL the hops
I'm a big fan of hop forward beers done well, we've had decent pale ales and IPAs but until recently there was a dearth of the elder siblings the double IPA on these shores, other than the occasional...
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What's New?
A number of posts lined up for December (if I ever get them finished) including the now obligatory Golden Pints and summary of Irish beer for the year. There's also been a number of Christmas specials...
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Golden Pints: Ireland 2016
As per last year, I'd like to put together some nominations from the island of Ireland as this bog is all about highlighting the growing beer scene over here. I'm not going to look back at last years...
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12 Beers of Xmas
After Andy posted his selection of twelve beers I decided it was about time to clear out my cellar a bit; so I'm joining in too (though may stick to Twitter for the daily beers). Hosted by the Beer...
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Whats New? 2015 edition
2015 brought us another bumper crop of new breweries (see last years round up here), though there are a few that have fallen by the wayside (I had a chance to try most of what I'd missed last year but...
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Golden Pints 2015
Best CaskOne of my favourite places to drink this year has been the new Moor tap room. It was here I probably drank most of my cask offerings (not bad considering I'm not often in Bristol!) and it was...
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Popping down to Cork
Last weekend saw the annual winter cask beer festival hosted by Franciscan Well in Cork. I travelled down to judge the beers for the inaugural Beoir Cask award with some fellow Beoirites. More on that...
View ArticleGolden Pints 2016
Well its been a while since I blogged, but I figure missing out on my golden pints nominations would be a step too far! Not going to separate out UK & Ireland this year, partly because now...
View ArticleBrewery Speed Dating at Beer Now
Its been a full 18 months since I last participated in one of these; so may be a bit rusty. Bear with me; I'll try to repost the blog after each new beer but sometimes can get caught up in the...
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