Das Blinde Schwein und Der Schlaue Fuchs

Over the weekend I made a wee trip to Limerick with the family. We headed straight for the excellent Milk Market where you can buy lovely ‘artisan’ (don’t really like that word) food and even some records. Everything you could possibly want really, I didn’t see any milk vendors though.
After a lunch made up of our market purchases I persuaded my host to show me a couple of spots that had been recommended to me. Our first stop was The Blind Pig which had a fine selection of Irish and international craft beers. I went for the guest beer, an Amber Ale from White Gypsy.  It’s a pretty smooth beer with a decent flavour, I would say it’s very sessionable. The pub itself looked like a rockish venue and there were decks set up in one corner. The staff and customers were friendly and the atmosphere was fairly relaxed.

My host said that Mickey Martin’s was a nice spot and sure we were walking past the door so we said it’d be rude not to call in. A pair of hirsute gentlemen were engrossed in a serious looking game of chess and we had to move them to get to the bar. I nearly felt a bit bad. There wasn’t as big a selection as The Blind Pig but I spied an India Pale Ale from Shepherd Neame and said that’ll do me nicely. A lovely pub with some,eh, unique toilets.
Our final stop was The Crafty Fox. This pub/venue opened about a year ago and I don’t really know what I was expecting of it. The minute I walked in one of the customers decided that I knew nothing about craft beer. Now I don’t claim to know everything but I know a bit, so I had to set him straight about the cardinal sin he was committing by drinking a perfectly good beer straight from the bottle. The young bar man agreed and then we all made friends. I had a Flying Dog Snake Dog IPA but with all of the excitement neglected to take a picture of it. I’d say this pub is at it’s best later at night with a band in full flow on their stage. I didn’t stay around to find out though as it was time for dinner.
The next day myself and the Cider Correspondent aka Mrs Fantastic Wife and I found ourselves child free for a few hours and were able to wander around Limerick’s shops. I really liked O’Mahony’s where I managed to find a Pelecanos book I hadn’t read. We went into Nancy Blake’s where we met a very entertaining German barman.

They had Leffe on draft so I went for one of those. I sometimes forget how much I like this, a bit like the cornflakes of beer. Then I spotted a beer list. There was an American brewery I hadn’t heard of; Fordham Brewing.

I had the Copperhead Ale which was a bit average to be honest. The pub itself is a cozy spot on a cool Sunday afternoon with a blazing open fire. A very enjoyable visit to Limerick all told, I’ll be back!