Beer: Irish Craft Beer Festival RDS 2015 - 30 beers, 5 Hours & 4 Glasses

Beer festivals seem to be coming a bit of a 'thing' for me. I look for them and forward to them in equal measure and count down the time leading up to one. I can't get to all of them, as time, money, family life and public transport seem to get in the way of my plans with increasing frequency.

But there are a few I try not to miss, and the Irish Craft Beer Festival is one of them.

It's not just the festival itself but also the trip there, the company and the general feeling of camaraderie that abounds at these events that appeals to me. This year I had managed to rope in three traveling beerites, so along with the almost ever-present Nige I had two other companions, which suited the beer ticker in me as if they were amenable to sharing, it meant that I would be able to quadruple my tastings.

We met at our usual starting point at the local train station and after a small flirtation with a mini-swarm of love-struck wasps and some well deserved abuse of Nige for, well, being Nige we were on our way. The train was relatively quiet considering there was a protest and a rugby match on - they weren't connected to each other by the way - and we arrived in Dublin city centre early enough to grab breakfast and for me to make my usual pilgrimage to Chapters bookshop. Breakfast this time was taken in Anne's on Mary Street, as two of our company wanted a 'proper breakfast'. So I had to forgo my usual coffee and toasted mozzarella ciabatta in favour of a 6 piece breakfast that would set me up for the day.

We decided to meet under The Spire and to catch the bus to the RDS from the top of O'Connell Street, so after dodging the usual fruit and fag sellers on Moore Street on my way back from a rushed trip to the bookshop, I was the first to arrive at our meeting point. I took in the sights and sounds of the city, admiring the pallette of colours that Dublin displayed regardless of the weather. Soon the others joined me. Unsurprisingly Nige was last to arrive.

We waited patiently for our bus and when it arrived we held back as a little old lady hobbled towards the steps. Well we didn't all hold back, Nige barged in ahead of her, oblivious to the world around him or distracted  by the thoughts of the festival. Who knows?

The bus journey was slow and uneventful until we reached Nassau Street and Judge Dredd got on and sat opposite me. Comic Con was also on in the RDS - in another hall - and as I looked closely around I noticed a few other attendees such as a baby dressed as Superman and few other characters I didn't recognise. Judge Dredd had a DIY outfit that wasn't too bad to be fair but he was upset that the holster for his Lawgiver had got ripped on a previous journey. He spent a worrying amount of time talking to a small Judge Dredd figure that seemed to be his mascot, promising it that he would get it a Lawmaster at the exhibition. I felt a twinge of envy as I thought how self conscious I can be but how uncaring this guy was about what people thought of him or how he looked. When we stopped at the RDS I wished him luck with his event and we headed our separate ways, as the beer festival was around the corner in the Industries Hall.

We were very early so there was no queue or hassle getting in, we picked up our glasses - 3 of us upgrading to the fancy stemmed ones, while Nige - naturally - refused to pay the extra 2 euro for the fancier glass. (It was the next day that I realised that the stemmed glasses were also bigger and that many stands were filling them to the top! This might have explained my fuzziness later in the evening, and for the next day or so...)

The layout this time looked better than last year's, with drink stands up the middle now as well as around the periphery. There was still a good deal of space for punters but perhaps a lack of tables? An area for live music was marked out in the centre of the hall and food stalls were set up out the back around a nice marquee with very cool recycled pallet furniture placed underneath for seating. The food offering had increased from last year too, with something to suit everyone I thought.

Some of the stands were still not manned so we did a circuit of the hall to get our bearings - and were struck immediately by the thought that we would not get to try everything, but with 4 of us at least we'd make a good stab at it!

My first stop was at White Gypsy to try the Cream Ale brewed by the owner Cuilan's son Dylan. It was served on nitro, which of course added to the creamy taste that reminded me of gooseberries and custard. A lovely clean beer and a good start to the festival. Proof that the brewery is in good hands for the next generation at least.

From The White Hag, the stars of last years festival, I tasted Meabh Rua Irish Bog Ale, which tasted of bacon and popcorn and was excellent, plus Beann Gulban Irish Heather Sour Ale - strong for a sour at 7.5% abv I felt but not noticeable on the tongue. The sourness came across a little too diluted for me but it was a fine beer. Their White Sow Oatmeal Chocolate Stout that was pushed through a rocket of fresh coffee beans was a tongue tingler of flavours with the coffee mingling with the dark chocolate flavour and backed up by a dose of full bodied goodness - a great breakfast stout if there ever was one!

Next I had Hillbilly Heaven from Mountain Man Brewing, based on their Sneaky Owl but aged on American bourbon oak. This had a light body and tasted of how old bookshops smell, that's not a negative but I did feel it was a little short in body for me, which was strange as I like Sneaky owl in bottle. Later I sampled their Vincent van Coff based on the same beer but with coffee and vanilla, I could get the coffee in this one and perhaps the touch of vanilla. I preferred it to Hillbilly Heaven even if it was subtle and, well, sneaky.

I tried Wicklow Brewery's St.Kevin's Red, which was a great take on a red ale. As in Kilkenny when I tasted their Weiss, I got the faintest taste of bacon from it along with bags of malt. It was very tasty indeed and I can only presume that the bacon-like taste if from the yeast strain. Perhaps German given the brewer's nationality?

Lagunitas Chicago-Style Fusion XXX Saison was an interesting one that I only sampled but although it was Saison like it seemed sweeter somehow, like honeysuckle scent with an edge of sourness. I meant to revisit it but sadly didn't get back to it.

Next I headed to Dungarvan Brewing Company as they had a two-part stout pouring from cask that echoed back in time to how stout was served before kegs and nitro arrived on the scene. I also needed to reaffirm that my palate was right when I had been given an off pint of cask Black Rock in Waterford the previous week that tasted slightly of cider vinegar. I didn't blame Dungarvan for this though, and wanted to get to their stand to try Black Rock as it should be served. The two-part pour stout was excellent, one cask was fresh and the other aged 9 months. It tasted of mild cocoa and had a lovely chalk-like finish that I really enjoyed. Also from Dungarvan I tasted Black Rock with added raspberries, which was also excellent with a liquorice flavour and chocolate mixing with the raspberries on my tongue. Their Seaweed Saison was great too, a savoury, almost salty beer that made me hungry for both more of the beer and food too. The Imperial Red was butterscotch in a good way with a hit of alcohol but was perhaps a tad harsh for me. Later I had the Strong Ale that lived up to its name! It was viscous with whiskey, molasses and treacle - and I loved it. A sipper I didn't sip!

Radikale's Curious Radical Brew was one I had earmarked as a must try when I saw what would be at the festival. It's a beer made with gin botanicals and not a hop in sight! It was gorgeously dry with cardamom and a backwash of peppery heat. More flavours appeared, lingered and faded on my tongue - this was an ongoing taste experience. An excellent beer again from Alain.

From Carlow Brewing (O'Hara's) I sampled the Barrel Aged Leann Follain on cask, which seemed to have more body and flavour than the bottled version I had sampled previously. This version was really good and I forgot to ask if it was a new reincarnation of the bottled version or whether it was just sitting around longer. Falling Apple Dry-Hopped Cider was truly bizarre, with a nice cheese rind quality maybe ... It was certainly hard to place but I did like it and it cleansed my palate and made me think of food again.

Out in the food marquee I headed to Jane Russell's stand to try the Merguez lamb sausage, while the others headed to a hotdog stand apart from Nige who bent the ear of a friend he had spotted, although I'm not convinced she wanted her ear twisted by him at this point of the day. My cuminated sausage was fantastic, served in a bun with just a little dressing. It, combined with the fresh air, restored my flagging palate and tired legs and I was ready to go again.

Rye River Brewing had promised a few specials so it would have been a bit rude not to try them. They had been getting a bit of stick because of their McGargles range, most of it unjust in my opinion, and I think they were keen to show everyone what they could do. They had done something similar at the Alltech Beer Festival earlier in the year.

Anyhow, their Keeping Red was excellent with loads of vanilla flavour, good cola and loads of body ... and maybe a little soul too. Francis McGargle’s Big Bangin IPA - to give it its full title - a new addition to the McGargles range, was certainly a great beer but I think I might be going off big boozy IPAs with their sickly sweet and sour barley sugar taste. The Watermelon Wheat was really good with loads of body and would be great with a barbecue on a hot summers day. Later I snuck back for a glass of the Azacca hopped pale ale, another lovely refreshing beer with a flavour that reminded me of Sorachi Ace.

At this point - feeling sociable, which is unusual for me - I left the others and went scouting for a few souls I knew from Twitter, or at least those whose faces I knew. I found a couple but also missed some notable figures. Who know? They could have been avoiding me!

I returned to my crew and we munched on the free crisps given out by Keoghs as we decided what to try next as time was running out and our train back to Carlow would not wait for four boozy guys who didn't understand the words 'Stop Drinking!'

I wanted to try Yellow Belly beers but as I was heading down to Lambert's in Wexford the following week I took a chance that they'd have something good on their so avoided their stand heading to Blacks of Kinsale instead.

Blacks have yet to let me down by producing a beer I don't like and their Sour Brown Ale didn't disappoint. Although I would have prefered it a little sourer, it had a nice bourbon cream biscuit flavour that worked well with its tartness. Strangely, I always get a wave of arrogance washing over me when I visit their stands and I'm never sure where it emanates from, perhaps it was wafting from the beer itself, with good reason! Sticking with browns I sampled Jester their Imperial one next which had a great spicy flavour with a cheeserind aftertaste and a good hoppy/alcohol burn. I hope they bottle this one!

On we went again and this time I hit the Northbound Brewery stand, as they had an Sticke Alt beer on tap. I have a particular fondness for this style since visiting Düsseldorf a few years back and was dying to try it. Before that I got a sample of their Kölsch, which was super fresh tasting with loads of biscuity malt. The Sticke Alt was excellent, tasting of biscuity cola with spice - perhaps cardamom - too. I brought back memories of Düsseldorf and the great trip we had made to the city one Christmas.

It was time for more food so I nipped out for a box of chips from a fish and chips place that I think promised seaweed salted seasoning but I might be wrong on that description as my notes and memory failed me here. I grabbed four forks and napkins and plonked them down in front of my ravenous mini-hoard, who greedily devoured the whole lot.

It was time for the last few beers so we split up. I headed to Rascals Brewing to try their Chardonnay Saison, which had been recommended by one of the Twitteratti. This certainly had a barrely quality (if that's a word) and was dry and tartish. The others hit Killarney Brewing and I got to try their pale ale and IPA, or so I was told ... Both tasted similar to me so I think they might have both been the IPA, with loads of red lemonade, lemon and grapefruit. They were 'both' excellent!

Second to last was O Brother Brutus DIPA, a big beer at 9.1% and showing every point of it, all barley sugar, blue cheese and citrus ...  and was a very good beer. Truth be known it was a bit OTT for me, which goes to prove I'm not the hop head I once was or that perhaps I was beered out at this stage. Last beer here was 8 Degrees Millennium - another huge beer at 10% but subtle in a way, with sugary sweetness, smoke and lingering alcohol burn. A great beer again!

We were failing fast at this stage so after 5 and a bit hours we left the festival and immediately and collectively decided that a shared taxi was in order. We hopped into a free one and headed back to the train station, giving the poor driver just a small amount of abuse on the journey there. We were at the station a little early so went for another beer in the bar. I had a Hop House 13. I couldn't taste it - and I'm not sure if that was down to my taste buds or the beer itself.

So after grabbing my usual coffee and free chocolate from Butlers we headed to the train and our journey home. A rainbow appeared on the way home, which suited our happy mood, and we then proceeded to annoy the people in our carriage by talking too loud and being 'those guys!'

The greed of having to try as many beers as possible had made me drink too much. Well that combined with me not checking the size of beers I was drinking, which knocked my internal alcohol measurement system off kilter.

Looking back now it's clear that craft beer - for want of better words - in Ireland is in great hands and great shape. Diversity, experimentation and enthusiasm stood out at this festival more than any other I'd been too and it bodes well for future ones!

My favourite beers? That's a tricky one but I think Radikale's Curious Radical Brew, Rye River's Keeping Red and Northbound's Sticke Alt stood out for me for various reasons amongst a few other crackers.

Roll on next year!

Alltech Craft Brews & Food Fair 2015 - Beer Heaven/Beer Hell?

I've always thought that there's a fine line between heaven and hell. Not in a religious sense of course but in how we use those words in our not-so-normal lives. Family can be both, work can be both and life itself can switch from one to the other in the blink of an eye.

Beer festivals - especially big, well planned and well executed ones - can be like that, as the elation you feel when you walk through the doors is quickly tempered by the realisation that your limited time there combined with your poor palate being bombarded by beer means you will never, never be able to taste all the beers you want to.

Call me a pessimist but that makes me sad - in reality some times the glass is half empty and sometimes it's half full but I firmly believe that it's more often a case of the glass being the wrong size. A philosophical discussion for another day perhaps...

The day had started OK, or better than OK in reality. I had won tickets to the festival and had managed to get €5 off the bus fare by signing up to some loyalty scheme they bus company had introduced. Little did they know that my ongoing loyalty would be an issue, as I hated travelling by bus and was only doing so today because Irish Rail had decided to feck up my day by bussing people from Athy to Dublin and back in order to make rail improvements in Hazelhatch, allegedly. This was pointless for me, coming from Carlow, hence my getting a bus all the way there. And so I was up a little in monetary terms but the knowledge that my bladder would be playing chicken with time on the trip back down from Dublin filled me with dread. (Why don't all intercity buses have toilets on them?)

But as I sat at the bar in Brew Dock opposite Busáras - 10 minutes and a packet of ready-salted crisps - after stepping from the bus, with a Beavertown Holy Cowbell in front of me that tasted of dense and sweetish-sooty spiced black cardamom, I decided to put the thoughts of the return journey to the back of my mind. Anyway, I had a plan to be as dehydrated as possible for the return journey in order to avoid the ignominy of peeing into a bottle on the bus. I always place personal embarrassment before my health, I think it might be a man thing...

I also got to sample the excellent Siren Soundwave in Brew Dock - tasting of cat pee on grapefruit in a glass, but in a nice way - before heading down the bright, windy streets of Dublin to the Convention Centre where the festival was being held.

Once inside the venue with an 'Eco' (read plastic) glass and a few vouchers in hand, I wandered about in a daze, and it was then I came to the heaven/hell conclusion once more, that I would not be able to try all the beers here - not even close, even with a couple of friends in tow. So as I sipped on a sour, tart, lemonish, medicinally-cleansing Beavertown Londonerweiss I formulated a plan to only try the beers I probably wouldn't be able to get at any other time or at any other festival. Unfortunately that meant leaving out most of the Irish breweries, as I knew I'd pick up most of their beers during the rest of the year either locally in offies, or on other beer or food related excursions.

My first proper stop was at the stand of the Hungarian outfit Legenda Sörfőzde and I was very impressed by the range on offer. The brewer(?) took his time to explain the beers and although there might have been a little bit of info lost in translation it was clear that there was passion and innovation aplenty in the brewery, not to mention some really tasty beers; Bazooka a smoked rye beer - like liquidised smoky ham with a sweet glaze; Olaszházi Meggysör Kriek - quite dry but with glacé cherries and a little Christmas pudding; Pony amber ale - dryish too with the tropical fruit flavours of five American hops and loads of body; Horror - an alcoholic Belgian TIPA that tasted of lychees and coffee somehow; Brettannia Sour Ale - those sweet cigarettes from my youth and cider vinegar in a strangely pleasant blend. I can only assume that inventive brewing is at the fore in Hungary at the moment. Hopfanatic's Fekete Erdő, a forest fruited porter reinforced this to me when I tried it later, a more subtle but equally good beer from the same country.

Next stop was Brauerei Gusswerk an award winning brewery near Salzburg in Austria brewing organic beers in a wide range of styles. Black Betty tasted of mild but bitter milk chocolate with some sort of a herby after-taste I couldn't place; Die Schwarze Kuh is an imperial stout that tasted like a bitter cocoa brandy if such a drink existed; the wonderfully named Horny Betty came across to me as spiced-up Belgian tripel. All were very nice and I made a mental note to return to get a mixed takeaway pack - but forgot to do so!

After a quick stop at Tuatara to try their pleasant Ardennes blonde ale and a gorgeously full bodied Bertinchamps next door it was time for food.

I've always had a fondness for pies with beer so I Skoffed a pulled pork pie, which was very tasty but perhaps was a little heavy on the tomato sauce for my palate, also I would have preferred mash to salad, but then again I'd rarely be happy...
Somewhere to sit apart from the floor would have been nice too but I can appreciate that seating would take up too much space and would require extra staff with cattle prods to keep people moving. Perhaps more tables to stand at might be the answer...

Appetites sorted and eager for a palate cleanser we spotted Rye River's stand close by and decided to have a look. Sitting among their usual brands were a row of chalk written signs over taps. My notes failed me here but I can remember that the low alcohol Berliner Weisse was excellent, the Brown Ale - a much underbrewed style - tasted sublime, and the double IPA was ridiculously smooth and drinkable. I get the feeling they brewed these to prove to a few people that yes they can brew tricky beers if need be but that their core focus was beer for the masses. For whatever reason, I hope they brew these again as they are certainly beers I would buy.... hopefully they were testing the market for a premium brand to add to their stable.

Next we found Lagunitas, Thornbridge and Founders all lurking together on one of the side walls and had to pay our dues. Lagunitas Cappuccino Stout was exactly as it sounded - only better - and as we talked to the guy behind the tap I happened to mention Thornbridge Jaipur X and how I had hoped it would be here. Suddenly a bottle was produced, opened and shared with us! It was fantastic with a heavy hit of alcohol balanced with toasted orange peel and a lovely dry finish.

After a coffee/water/toilet break (ever mindful of my dehydration plan for the bus) and a sit down in the atrium we went seeked out Black's Model T stout, which was deliciously smooth with the usual-for-stout coffee and chocolate taste and Hi-Viz, which zinged the taste buds with grape-and-other-fruit bitterness.

At this point my notes were getting sketchy and my palate tired. Ever mindful of the bus journey home, I knew I was nearing my limit so headed for one of the breweries we had been tipped off about earlier.

Freigeist Bierkultur seem to be a bit of an enigma, even as I try to research them now I keep coming up with dead ends and a Facebook page that states; 'Freigeist is the experimental offshoot of Cologne's revolutionary small brewery, Braustelle. Here we strive to break the chains of industrial brewing by reviving and updating, Germany's unique, historical beer styles.'

No matter as their beer itself does the talking and Geisterzug Rhubarb Gose has a lot to say. It's a savoury rhubarb, spicy, herby, sourish glorious beer. A complex beauty that just might have edged it to my favourite beer of the festival, or at least made it into the top 3. This was followed by a smoked Alt beer whose name I never noted, but I wrote the words ' Bitter, Fruit, Smoke' in my notebook. It was superb too if not as memorable as the Rhubarb Gose, which is more a testament to the former's quality that the latter's shortcomings. Inwardly I cursed not coming here earlier to try more of the range and vowed to try and find them in this country.

I finished the festival with a Beavertown Moose Fang that tasted bitter and coal-like but in a good way, and said good bye to Alltech and a few new found friends, both liquid and flesh. We made our way back towards Brew Dock for a perhaps-unwise last beer before the bus and I couldn't help but feel that this was the best beer festival I had ever been to to date. It was so well run, the selection of breweries and beer was phenomenal, but more than that it was that edge of professionalism as soon as you walk in the door that makes a festival like this something special. Most importantly I really enjoyed it, which is the key thing really of course, or all the rest counts for nothing!

Perhaps they'll do two a year? How about a winter and a summer festival Alltech?

One of my favourite Irish stouts Galway Brewing Buried at Sea wasn't on in Brew Dock so I had the Stormy Port porter instead, and after a last minute toilet dash we boarded the bus for home.

By the way, my fears for the journey home were unfounded, I slept most of the way, dreaming of Rhubarb Gose...

Great Day!

(Thanks to John K. for heaven/hell title.)