Beer, Food & Travel: Sage, Midleton, Co. Cork - Wise Choices

Your memory can be flawed, seriously flawed.

That is why I try to record as much as possible so that when I come to report on, reply to or simply describe an occurrence I'll have something factual to fall back on.

Some of the places that I have eaten or drank in that sit high on my list of best experiences are recorded in my notebooks and subsequently - or eventually - on this blog and are therefore written with the benefit of hindsight and the cooling-off-period that can help you speak rationally and clearly with controlled passion about any subject.

So as I sit here looking at the notes I hastily scribbled in Sage restaurant in Midleton a few weeks back I can feel confident that what I write about will be accurate where it needs to be and as factual as possible where it should be, allowing for a pinch of poetic licence of course!

We had visited Sage's younger sibling the afternoon before and were impressed enough to think about coming here for the early evening menu, with only the lack of visible kid's menus - on the actual building and online - making us wonder whether they would be fed or even tolerated. But a quick Tweet confirmed that there was indeed a kid's menu and I can only assume that its absence is just to stop hordes of unruly children from running amok in the restaurant and annoying those who have come for a romantic meal or those who don't like hearing discussions about Minecraft, or having to pick small pieces of strewn Lego or worse from their beef carpaccio ... and who can blame them?

We would have persevered even if they hadn't responded to my Tweet ... I like their ethos with regard to their main ingredients coming from within 12 Miles of the restaurant, and also the place had been recommended by a couple of people on the Twitter machine.

Arriving without a reservation didn't appear to be an issue as we had came early enough to avoid any evening rush. Our waiter got the nod from the manager that we looked ok and so we were seated, a little close to the door for comfort for me but only because of some ancient need I have to sit with my back to a wall facing an escape route. Not knowing how loud our kids might be, it was probably the correct decision, as we were a fair distance away from the rest of the diners.

Our surroundings tread a fine line between the warmth of wooden furniture, vases of cottage flowers and low lighting, and the clean angularity of modern chicness. The staff played their part in this look too, sporting jeans with waistcoats and crisp white shirts. This worked incredibly well by putting you at ease and giving you the feeling that this was a place that was easy-going and friendly but with that clinical polish that makes a place really click.

The early evening menu had a few interesting items on it; lamb's tongue, bone marrow butter, beef carpaccio all sounded a little different but Sage's own black pudding appealed as a starter while the brisket seemed like the natural follow-up main course to my palate's logic. Herself went with the chicken and smoked pork rib terrine followed by the hake, while the kids decided on a garlic bread starter between them and then fish and chips, with the memory of Skinny's still in their little minds. To drink I chose O'Hara's Leann Follain to go with my meal while herself went for 8 Degrees Barefoot Bohemian from a beer menu of 10 or more Irish beers.

We were served tasty breads with a sage butter as we waited for our starters, which arrived quite promptly. My black pudding was served with a crispy potato, onions and shiitake mushrooms, and looked like a little dark tower sitting in a sea of bearnaise sauce. The pudding itself was perfectly cooked, pink and moist inside slightly crisp on the outside, with a subtle sweet flavour. The terrine was a seriously smoky, greasy, meaty combination with tons of taste - we were off to a great start, as the kids munched on their garlic bread.

Our two main courses arrived quickly too, the hake was nice and perfectly cooked but my brisket was amazing. A subtle and shreddable, no-knife-needed lump of beef with exquisite creamy mash and a carmelised whole carrot, with gravy and creamy sauce.

There was a short delay with the kids food - I think they might have forgot about them! But their fish arrived not too long after our main courses and although the batter was a tad undercooked it was still gobbled up quickly and enjoyed, with chips dipped in tiny jars of red sauce.

For dessert herself had the the Midleton Brick - a chocolate and toasted marshmallow slice while I decided to have the baked cheese cake I had the day before and choose 12 Acres pale Ale to go with it this time, sticking with two beers that were local to me in this local-focussed restaurant.

The brick arrived and so did my cheesecake, but it turned out to be fridged cheesecake and not the baked one I thought I was having! No matter as it was lovely anyway and still suited the bitter lemony pale ale.

We had been well looked after all evening by the attentive staff and although it wasn't yet busy you could see that service ran like a well drilled army troop.

The meal itself was very good value, the key being the use of local, affordable ingredients cooked correctly and respected, with just a tiny bit of essential faffing. Personally I'd highly recommend Sage and it certainly lived up to the hype surrounding it.

Anything I'd change? Well being a family man I'd like to see some nod to the fact that they do kids food, a mention on the website or on the menu near the entrance would not go astray. But as mentioned earlier, in the interest of peace and quiet, maybe they've made the right decision to keep the kids meals under wraps!

I'd also love to see them with their own nano brewery too, producing beers to compliment their food, but I can appreciate that that's a serious investment in every way. Even if it would fit in with their ethos of local produce.

Anyhow, Sage is a great spot and hopefully we'll get back some day soon.

Oh, and they serve wine too by the way!

Visited 8th July 2015

(Apologies for the photo quality!)

Beer, Food & Travel: Kilkenny Craft Beer Festival 2015

A beer festival in Kilkenny is hardly a new idea. After all, the original Kilkenny Beer Festival that ran from 1964 to 1975 was one of the most popular events in the country attracting as many as 200,000 people. In fact it was so popular that it became a victim of it's own success and the management of that many people, and their behaviour, allegedly led to its demise. It wasn't just about beer - although it had an Oktoberfest-style big tent, a German Oompah band and even German folk dancing - it had loads of other fringe events too such as ballad competitions, smoking contests, horse racing and, er, a doll conference. Did I mention the international cat show? No? Well there was a cat show too. (Appropriate really...)

It could be argued that this festival set Kilkenny up for the arts festivals and comedy festivals that followed, as there were a lot of B&Bs to be filled in the aftermath of its demise, and the restaurants and bars were used to dealing with an large influx of people. And these events preceded Kilkenny becoming the tourist Mecca it is today.

In the last year or so there have been a couple of new mini beer festivals too. O'Hara's ran one in Brewery Corner last year and also organised a tent in Savour last September, and as High Street and The Parade weren't knee deep in drunks and vomit slicks it was presumably deemed a success by those with long memories and short sight.

So perhaps those events paved the way for this one, and let's not forget that Kilkenny has a pretty rich brewing history and heritage too. For whatever reasons, it's certainly appropriate that it has a beer festival again.

This year's Kilkenny Craft Beer Festival was organised by Costellos Brewing in conjunction with the host bar, Billy Byrnes on John Street, a bar I really liked when I last visited it at the Beoir AGM last year. The fact that the double decker of food heaven that is The Bula Bus is parked at the back of the bar was also a major factor in deciding to go to the festival. Not that I need much persuading when there's one just down the road.

So here I was on the train with Nige, another train and another trip. There was the usual mix of travellers getting on in Carlow including one particularly nosy biddy who asked a million questions before telling everyone her life's story. Luckily we had avoided her sitting next us but a poor man with a hat and a walking cane festooned with travel badges wasn't so lucky. She asked him his life's story before in turn boring him with her's.

He got out in Kilkenny with us even though I'm pretty sure he was planning to go to Waterford...

We were meeting another friend of ours, Pablo, in the bar itself and sure enough when we arrived he was waiting for us. We paid our entrance fee, collected our wristbands, tokens and a cool pint-shaped-half-pint glasses (Yes, actual glass not plastic) emblazoned with 'Kilkenny Craft Beer Festival' in bold red writing, and proceeded towards the back of the bar where the festival was to be held. I'm pretty sure that the place had gone through some renovation in the past year, as the front bar appeared newer and the counter itself moved. The back area had changed a little too but still remained a complete contrast to the front. While the front was cool, modern and classy, the back was shabby-chic meets, er, a modern opium den. Old couches, mirrors and defunct electric fireplaces were used to great effect, with whitewashed pallets forming more seating. The big, fat Bula Bus was parked out the back, behind picnic benches and other mismatched furniture, forming an impressive back drop to the area. Sheaves of barley had been placed on the tables and there was a gentle buzz about the place, like a low vocal murmur running under the chill-out music that was playing.

I relaxed into festival mode immediately and with a nod to Gerald from Costellos who was sorting out a few minor glitches I went looking for a beer. Priorities are important after all...

There was a bar set up to my right and behind it a wall of beers - well eight beers and one cider to be exact, there was supposed to be ten but there was one no-show so there was a forlorn hole at one end of the wall. The beer ticker in me was a little disappointed at first at 'only' having 9 choices but I soon rallied as I realised that I hadn't had five of them.

So first up for me was Trouble Brewing Remix, a 4.9% India Pale Lager. I took my glass down to the wooden pallet seating and only then noticed a homebrew set-up and demo behind me emblazoned with a 3 Sisters Brewing Company posters, I made a mental note to check them out. (But forgot soon after!) I also noticed that there was a glass washing station near the bar, which was a good touch, although there was no drinking water that I could see. (Maybe this was drinking water too?) I usually come prepared with my bottle of carbonated water so this was no real issue for me. My eyes wandered back to my beer, I like these type of beer glasses as they fool the mind into thinking you're drinking a pint without the actual volume that that entails. Trouble's beer was refreshing and dry with a tropical fruit medley bite, and left a lingering taste of custard cream biscuits. A good start to the day!

Totally relaxed, the conversation wandered to Jiu Jitsu, Bruce Lee and Yip Man, topics I had no real interest in but the other two conversed across me as I chilled out, and I greedily gulped my beer a little too quickly so soon I was anxious to try another.

Radikale Dubbel was whispering to me from the tap so I chose it next - and an excellent choice it was too! It's a 7% abv full-bodied beer with a sourish barley sugar flavour and a pleasant metallic taste. I slowed down my drinking and got more involved in the conversation this time, as this was a sipping beer. We relaxed a little more and had a nice discussion about beer in general, our surroundings and other beer festivals in particular, as we tried to persuade Pablo - a beer festival neophyte - to come to more with us.

Gerald called over to us to see how we were doing and he asked if we would be interested in a meet-the-brewer style discussion with himself, Paul from Trouble, Conor from O'Hara's and Mathis from Wicklow Brewery - plus a few other non-brewers. We jumped at the chance and plonked ourselves down in the middle of the group, feeling only marginally like interlopers.

We had a great time, with sample beers from each brewery when each brewer spoke, we got an insight into how a brewer's mind works, and how and why they brew. I found out that Bennetsbridge in Kilkenny was the last place that grew hops commercially in Ireland; I heard the story of how Mathis had come over from Germany and why he did; we debated the need for foreign beer influences and supply; how hard it is to get a tap into bars; plus a multitude of other pieces of information. I could have talked and listened for hours, and indeed myself and Nige might have hogged the conversation a little too much to be honest.

The beer samples were generous and appreciated, plus I got to try Costellos red ale again. I had tried it at the Beoir AGM but not since, at the time I had struggled to get the style even though perhaps it should have been obvious that it would be an Irish red. It seemed different this time around, more malt forward maybe and more body considering it's only a 3.8% beer, with a tiny touch of ginger. Gerald mentioned that he had tweaked it over the last year and was very happy - understandably - with this final version, I certainly enjoyed my sample anyway! He also told us he would be moving to a premises in Kilkenny city soon and that he also would be bottling in the very near future. There was a moment of levity too when Trouble told us they were going to brew an Irish Red soon, which elicited and sharp look in Paul's direction from Gerald...

Next we got a sample of O'Hara's Sorachi Ace, which I had already tried a few weeks back, and it was still as good as I remembered.

Our last beer in the talk was the Wicklow Brewing Weiss, which is normally not a style I am overly fond of, but it was certainly fine and light, with a little barnyard-like funk with banana on top. I could have swore I got a smoky flavour too but, Mathis assured me that they hadn't used any so it was obviously just that the mind was telling me that I was hungry and that I needed to eat!

So we thanked the brewers and headed off in search of nourishment of the non liquid kind. The clever people in The Bula Bus had cooked all of their food with the beers that were on offer here and some of them looked like inspired combinations.

(I nabbed this from their Facebook page but I don't think they'll mind, it saved me a lot of typing.)

I was debating what to have and considering the pork belly burger when I spotted a wood burning pizza oven at the side of the bus and made a bee-line in that direction instead.

The menu looked appealing and as I was going for a palate cleansing Highbank Cider next, the flammkuchen was the obvious choice.

I placed my order and we sat down with Alain from Radikale, as I wanted to compliment him in person on his Dubbel. We chatted about various topics, the beer scene in Cork, US west coast breweries and a multitude of other subjects. Soon my flammkuchen was ready and I got stuck in. It was really good, a great base to start with, with the tangy, sweet red onion and the sour cream contrasting perfectly. My only minor gripe was that the bacon was a little scarce but that's probably just the greedy pig in me coming out. Paired with the wonderful Highbank Proper Cider it was even more excellent - the cider tasting like tart Granny Smiths, so refreshing, dry and basically superb. It reminded me of some great ciders I had enjoyed in Somerset in England a few years ago.

After that we said goodbye to Alain, and Nige and I headed to Brewery Corner for a 'break', while Pablo stayed to listen to a band that were just starting up.

___

Later on, we arrived back to the festival to see a table being laid for a beer pairing dinner. We would have loved to stay for this but time and Irish Rail ( Why the hell are there no late trains anywhere in this country?!) wait for no man so our minutes were limited. A TV company were filming the event so I spent most of my time avoiding the camera and the rest drinking beer, as I needed to try another new one to me.

Four Provinces The Hurler is a 4.2% red ale that reminded me of red lemonade from childhood summers when the sun was shining just right, add in a couple of malted milk biscuits and that was this beer to a tee. A great tasty finish to our day...

... except it wasn't.

With a close eye on the time and another eye on the hipsteresque maître d' who was serving/embarrassing those seated for the dinner - It was a performance as well as a meal! - I decided to finish my day with an O'Hara's Sorachi Ace IPA, to toast the festival. (Apologies to 12 Acres, which is my standard tipple in Tully's Bar back in Carlow so I didn't have it here, and to Dungarvan - I forgot about you!)

We thanked Gerald, said our goodbyes and wobbled our way to the station and the 7pm train home, with just enough time to get a sensible coffee in the station. I was beginning to get hungry again but I was secure in the knowledge that a pork red curry awaited me at home, which would be a great end to a great day. Now, what beer to have with it though...

So, My thoughts on the festival?

I really enjoyed it and it's a great addition to the already festival-laden city of Kilkenny. It was well managed, with plenty of food choice and fun, in an intimate and unique setting with a great atmosphere. Proper glassware and good music definitely helped too.

Would I change anything?

Not a lot, the beer ticker in me would like to see more choice in the beer range I think. No stouts for example seemed strange to me... so maybe 20 beers next year?

Will I be back next year?

Yes, definitely - and that's the best indicator really. Isn't it?


Oh, and lastly ... maybe they should revive that cat show...

27th June 2015

Beer: Two-by-Two New Brews - My Views

In case you think that I work in the PR department of O'Hara's - with two posts about them one after another - I can assure you that I don't! I just needed to get my detour to Brewery Corner out of the Kilkenny Craft Beer Festival post, which follows soon.

I found out a few weeks back that O'Hara's - Carlow Brewing - had brewed a collaboration with Starr Hill Brewery from Crozet, Virginia in the US but only discovered the day before travelling to the Kilkenny Craft Beer Festival that it was going to be on tap in Brewery Corner - O'Hara's own bar in Kilkenny - the same day. So, ever the beer ticker, I took a break from the festival and toddled off towards Parliament Street.

Arriving at the bar I spotted the sign on the pump - a hastily used bottle label - for the new beer and greedily decided to go for a pint, although my normal portion size on a day out like this is a half pint. Less quantity equals more variety in my book, er, blog.

After being informed that I was the first member of the public to try the beer, I sat there for a moment admiring my pint, and with a rare sense of superiority at having one over on the rest of the Bloggers, Tweeters and Beer Tickers in the country.
Wow!
Was this how they felt all of the time?

So, Foreign Affair is a Red IPA (Which might make it a IOA - India Orange Ale?) made with the Falconer's Flight blend of hops from the US and I can only presume Irish malt. Whatever the ingredients, the beer tasted to me of ripe peaches with a splash of lemon, puréed and then sucked through a gingernut biscuit. It was super fresh of course, having only come out of the conditioning tank the previous day. (I think!) That combined with a nice juicy, full body made me doubt that it was only 4.8% abv. This is a beer I could happily drink a few pints of on a Saturday afternoon...

The pub was a little quiet but there was a steady trickle coming and going from the bar, especially for a Saturday afternoon. There were two groups of Americans in and a few locals came and went too. The friendly staff were kept busy; tasting trays and pints of their own cider seemed to be going well. Good music was seeping from the speakers and I felt relaxed, and in need of another drink.

I was tempted to get a pint of Leann Follain but was persuaded - quite easily strangely enough - to have another new(ish) stout instead; the second-coming of Lublin to Dublin, which I hope will continue on to become a series, made in collaboration with Browar Pinta from Poland. Last year's version was a gorgeous oatmeal version of the style and this year's is a 6% abv milk stout, and a 'robust' milk stout at that, or so the label said!

It was little cold to start, as personally I like my stouts off a cool shelf more so than out of a fridge, but even at that I was hit with a smooth and creamy, quality milk chocolate. As the glass warmed up the chocolate was even more evident, as was a bitter very slight black cardamom smoky/spicy aftertaste that stopped the beer from being sickly sweet. It was as gorgeous as last years stout but maybe more sublime.

I was two for two here, and sitting at home now typing this I almost feel embarrassed at finding two more O'Hara's beers to rave about...

Almost...

But back at Brewery Corner time was ticking on and so I finished up and headed back to the festival - my next post.

Recipe - Chocolate, Stout, Chili and Black Cardamom Cookies

I've always liked dark chili chocolate with some of the stronger stouts or porters. I enjoy the combination of rich chocolate with the warming chili, washed away by the coffee-cocoa taste of a really good stout.

I am not a baker. I'm not really even a cook but I do like to dabble and experiment so my recent visit to Savour in Kilkenny and Caroline's chocolate brownies got me thinking about baking something spicy and rich to go with a stout for yesterday's International Stout Day. Rich dark chocolate is more savoury than sweet and lends itself to the use of spices. I wanted to use a whole bottle of stout and also smoky black cardamom pods and an Ancho chili, so I adapted this recipe from one I found in an old baking book. Winging some of the method and ingredients if I'm honest!

As you will appreciate when you look at the ingredients, these cookies are not for the fainthearted! They are very rich and although not very spicy they almost beg for a cool but complimentary soothing rich stout.

I think they work well together but I'm not a baker as I say so I might have missed a trick or two. Anyway, feel free to adapt or change to suit your own palates.

Just promise me you'll eat them with a really good stout!

Ingredients:

200 grms Plain Flour
125 grms  Dark Chocolate (I used 81%)
2 tsp Baking Powder
1 tsp Bread Soda (Bicarbonate of Soda)
50 grms Dark Soft Brown Sugar
100 grms Butter
2 tbs Cocoa Powder
1 tsp Cayenne Pepper
500ml O'Hara's Stout (My localish craft brewery)
6 Black Cardamom Pods
1 Dried Ancho Chili

(Makes 24 smallish cookies)

Method:

Pour the stout in to a wide bottom saucepan and bring to a strong simmer. Chop up the Ancho chili, discard around half the seeds and add the rest plus the chili to the stout. Chop the black cardamom pods in half and add to the stout too. Reduce liquid by more than half until it gets a little syrupy. Pour through strainer to remove chili and cardamom bits. You should have around 150ml of concentrated stout-chili-cardamom light syrup to set aside.


Meanwhile melt 2/3 of the chocolate and the butter together in a bowl over a pan of boiling water.


Chop the rest of the chocolate roughly and set aside.



Mix all of the rest of the dried ingredients (except chopped chocolate) in a bowl then add the melted chocolate and stout concentrate and mix well but don't over work. Add the chopped chocolate and mix carefully again.

Make a clingfilmed sausage from the mix and put in a fridge to chill for a few minutes.

While the dough is chilling rub some butter over baking parchment on two trays and preheat oven to 180C (350F).

Remove the mix from the fridge and mark the roll in to 24 section.

Form a ball from each section and space apart on a baking tray.

Cook for 15-20 mins until barely soft in the middle, and leave to cool.

Serve with a robust stout - I chose O'Hara's Leann Follain as again it's a local brew and thought it would compliment the cookies better than the 'normal' stout I used to make them.

Day Trip - Savour Festival of Food Kilkenny and More

The train was late.

Standing shivering on the platform in Carlow I was reminded that after graveyards, the coldest places in Ireland are train platforms. I was waiting for the Dublin/Waterford train and for the first time in a while I was travelling solo, which is something I've never been very comfortable doing to be honest. Kilkenny is only half an hour from Carlow by rail so it wasn’t as if I'd be in a strange, confusing new country by myself, but I always seem a little self-conscious and awkward when travelling. Travelling in a group, or with at least one other person, seems to dilute that feeling or at least makes me less aware of myself. As I stood there lost in these thoughts the train arrived and soon I was sitting among hen parties, weekend trippers and the odd food-lover on their way to all points south of Carlow. They juggled babies, jostled in and out of seats, shouted as if they were in separate carriages and laughed way, way too loudly for a confined space. I was suddenly aware of the benefits of solo travel and the thought of locking myself in the toilet for the journey did briefly cross my mind.

Kilkenny's Savour Food Festival had captured my attention because it was trying to integrate craft beer – a subject dear to my heart, if shunned by my liver - in to its schedule, stalls and discussions. One thing in particular attracted my attention and that was a beer/cider versus wine food pairing 'Smackdown' that was to take place in one of the marquees.

But there was a problem.

My initial look a week previously at the listing of what was on said that this event was free but the night before I was traveling, while doing a little more research, I discovered that although it was free I should have registered online for it! Checking the booking part of the site showed that it was booked out...

Bummer.

But there was plenty to tempt me to the festival itself anyway and rumour had it there would be a craft beer tent there too, so I decided to head down regardless. And that is how I found myself on a train full of restless noisy people pulling in to MacDonagh Junction in The Marble City.

The Parade in Kilkenny where the main part of the festival is held is just a shortish walk from the station. The walk passes a lot of pubs and the excellent Asian/world deli called Shortis Wong, with The Wine Centre opposite it - which can always be counted upon to have few new or unusual beers to tempt me. I made a mental note to call in to both on the way back to the train.

The festival was just starting to get going when I arrived so I grabbed a bag of delicious homemade crisps from a stall near the entrance and went for a wander. Every type of food imaginable was up for grabs; beorwurst, falafels, crepes and burgers were all available, and coffee, sweets, honey and jams were also on show. The new festival staple - pulled pork - was available on loads of stalls. Even those afflicted with vegetarianism were well catered for including at least one whole stand dedicated to their cause. I spent a while fluttering from stand to stand, looking, listening and taking it all in. Kilkenny is a great city for this type of event, perhaps it's the population size or the attitude to try something different, maybe it's the influx of tourists whose accents I could hear as I walked around but whatever it was the buzz and excitement was palpable as the closed off street started to fill up.

At this stage I decided it was time for a beer or two so I made my way to the craft beer tent that I had already scouted twice. Not wishing to be the first in the door I had hung around for a while before entering. It was still quiet in there as I made my way over to Carlow Brewing - AKA O'Hara's - to tick off a couple of beers I hadn't tried at the beer festival in Dublin earlier in the year. As I sipped my Blackberry Lager (Don't judge me!) I took in the other breweries represented. Trouble, Costello, White Gypsy, Metalman and Dungarvan made up the rest of the occupants of the smallish tent, a tiny but select selection of the incredible number of breweries than are now on this island. Seamus from O’Hara’s – who is responsible for getting this beer festival here and a lot more besides - was rushing around putting the finishing touches to the stand. I chatted to him briefly before he was called away to solve a crisis, or perhaps he just needed to escape from me!

The lager was nice blend of lemon bitterness and mild biscuit with a very delicate - perhaps too delicate - touch of blackberry. I followed that up with an O'Hara's Dunkleweizen, a lovely, mild, almost stout-like version of the style, like a liquid bourbon cream biscuit with a tiny bit of clove added. This would make a great home-drinking winter beer so I hope it will be bottled at some stage...

I finished off this tasting session with a glass of White Gypsy Scarlet, a weird/wonderful sour beer that tastes of sweet soda bread with a dash of vinegar. A great palate cleanser and although very much an acquired taste it would be great with a cheesy food pairing.

Back out in the festival I wandered back up and down the stalls, taking in the overlapping flavours of grilled meats, cooking crepes, breads and coffee - and the great atmosphere. I found myself outside the marquee where the beer versus wine talk was going to be held. A talk was just finishing and a lady was telling an anecdote about how someone’s child had broken his foot when tins fell out of a cupboard. She maintains it would not have happened if the lady had always cooked fresh food! An interesting notion and she might have a point about fresh food, but personally I couldn't do without my tinned produce when cooking. Think tinned tomatoes, kidney beans, etc. And how could you not have tinned beans in your house? Beans on toast must be one of the best comfort foods of all time! Maybe I missed the point though...

Anyway. There was produce for sale in the marquee and no real security so I decided that I might get away with standing at the back behind the set out chairs, near the exit. The talk was about five minutes away from starting and no one had come near me to ask for a ticket or question my being there, so I discreetly slid on to the chair in front of me, ever mindful of a tap on the shoulder or glaring look, which never came. (Confession over!)

The 'Smackdown' was brilliant. Sommelier Colm McCan, Author and beer aficionado Caroline Hennessy, and Pascal Rossignol from Le Caveau entertained, fed, 'watered', and cajoled us for an hour with great banter and produce. Goatsbridge trout caviar paired with Longways Cider and Menade Verdejo 2013, Lavistown sausages with Costello's red ale and Chaume-Arnaud Vinsobres 2011 and we finished up with Caroline's own extra special double chocolate stout brownies (those words could be out of order) with 8 Degrees Knockmealdown Stout and Banyuls Rimage ‘Mademoiselle O’ sweet red wine. All the food was local and so was the beer – well localish. The wines were not local of course and supplied by Le Caveau in the city.

It ended as a draw but by my reckoning beer won two, only missing out on the sausage course by a whisker.

Having said that - and me being very much a beer person - one of the discoveries for me was that sweet red dessert wine! I will be definitely getting that for after my Christmas dinner...

After that I grabbed a chorizo-style sausage in a bun with chimichurri sauce from an Argentinian grill in one of the tents and went for a walk around the grounds of the nearby Kilkenny castle before wandering back towards the city soaking in the history that this city seems to seep out of its stones. Back on the High Street the 'Slips' that run down to St Kiernan Street multiply this feeling a hundredfold, as these narrow-stepped alleys give the feeling of stepping back in time, albeit with the need to mentally remove the modern sights and sounds of the city. Kilkenny is a good shopping spot too so I spent a little time wandering in book shops and picking up yet another addition to add to our buckled bookshelves back at home.

Finding myself not far from O’Hara’s Brewery Corner I felt that it would be rude not to call in and see what was on tap there. I was greeted by a super-friendly barman who filled me in on what was new. He mentioned that they had just put on a new cask from White Gypsy and I said, ‘Sold!’ I suspect that their Garden's Wild Ale is the cask version of their Emerald Ale - made from 100% Irish ingredients - and the bar man told me I was the first to have a glass from the cask. It was a delicious smooth and subtle pale ale with a bitter, nettle-like quality with some almost honey sweetness. I followed this up with a gorgeous glass of White Hag Fleadh Red, a favourite of mine from the beer festival in Dublin, before heading back to the Festival.

Back in the beer tent the place was hopping (hah!) with tourists, locals and beer nerds. The latter marked out by their our obsessive need to take notes and annoy those serving by inquiring about the hops used in a particular beer or what additions the put in their water.

And so I finished the day talking to a few locals and having a glass of Metalman Rubus, a pleasantly refreshing fruity ale with plenty of raspberry flavour and a backwash of grapefruit. Next I had a White Gypsy Dunkel that was all milk chocolate, a bit of smoke and quite nice. I finished with a black IPA - one of my favourite styles - from Trouble called Oh Yeah! I really like that bitter-but-balanced-by-sweetness taste, and hint of acrid burnt toast.

The tent was now closing and my palate was pretty much done, so I bought a bottle of White Gypsy Emerald for my home stash and tottered back to the train station via The Wine Centre to add even more beers to my collection. I hadn’t time to call to the Asian deli too!

Reflecting back on the day the only thing that would have made it better was having some company or me being more sociable - something I should really, really work on! Hats off to the organisers of the festival, it was a grand day out.

Saturday 25th October 2014

Recipe - Smoky Chili with Leann Follain Irish Stout

It was one of those days... cold, miserable and I was a little out of sorts. I wanted some comfort food and I fancied a 'chili-like'* meal. Trawling through the many recipes online I noted than some featured coffee, chocolate and stout, so the idea of cooking with a beer that already possesses those flavours was hardly a huge leap in the culinary thought process.

O'Hara's Leann Follain is a local stout so it made sense to use it, not to mention the fact that it's a particular favourite of mine. As for the rest of the ingredients, well the beef is from our local craft butcher but most of the other additions were leftover items from the fridge combined with a few cupboard staples.

And that's the secret of this kind of recipe. Pick a style - I wanted something smoky, peppery and chocolaty - and build around it with ingredients that compliment or perhaps even contast with one another. Not to mention the need to use up those left over bits and pieces so they don't go to waste.

And like and good chili - or curry - it tastes better the next day!

Anyway, here's the recipe so adapt and enjoy.

Ingredients:

1 tsp Mustard Oil
1 bottle O'Hara's Leann Follain Stout

1 kg Minced Beef
1 cup Smoked Bacon - chopped
1/2 cup Chorizo - chopped
2 cups Meat Stock

1 Large Onion - finely chopped
1 cup Sweet Red Peppers - chopped
3 Garlic Cloves
1 whole Red Chili Pepper
1 whole Habanero Chili

1 tin of Tomatoes
1 tin of Kidney Beans
1 tin of Butter Beans
4 dashes of Smoked Chipotle Sauce

1 tbsp whole Coriander
1 tsp whole Cumin
2 tsp whole Mustard
1 tsp Oregano
3 tsp Smoked Paprika
2 Bay Leaves
1 tsp Chili Powder (Optional)
1 tsp Black Pepper
Salt to taste

Plus leaf coriander and grated cheese when serving.

Instructions:

Toast the whole spices in a dry pan until the mustard starts to pop. You might want to cover them with a saucepan lid to avoid mustard-seed-eyeball!

Blend the tinned tomatoes, toasted seeds, oregano, garlic cloves, smoked paprika, red chili pepper, black pepper, chipotle sauce and chili powder (if using) to a fine paste and leave to one side.

Brown the beef with the mustard oil in a large saucepan, remove and set aside.

Cook onions, bacon and chorizo in the same saucepan until the bacon starts to brown and sizzle.

Add the beef back in to the pan along with the spiced tomato paste, stock and bay leaf.

Stir and add in the stout!

Simmer uncovered for about an hour until the liquid has reduced and thickened.

Add the beans, sweet red pepper and habanero chili. Cook with the lid on for a further half an hour.

Taste and add more chili powder or chipotle sauce if you want it hotter. Or a little brown sugar or plain old tomato ketchup if you want it sweeter. Remove the habanero before serving.

Done!

Sprinkle with grated cheese and coriander, then serve with roast potatoes and a beer.

* OK, so the reason I have the word chili in parenthesis is because I don't want all the pedants telling me that it's not a real chili as it has this, that and the other in it. You're probably right, but I couldn't think of another word that encompasses the style of dish so live with it!