This year’s event is going to be the biggest yet. We have more breweries, lots of music and Don is expanding the space. Craig Kearney of Brewww.ie has done a savage job of updating the website so give it a look: https://mcbf.ie/
Hope to see lots of you there. Sláinte!
When you go on a family holiday in France and stay in one of those campsites you don’t have high hopes for the beer selection in the supermarket. Imagine my surprise to find, not one, but two local breweries on the shelves. Argelès-sur-Mer, a small seaside town is spoilt, it also boasts a rake of vineyards. So you definitely wouldn’t die of thirst.
Brasserie Cap D’Ona doesn’t seem to have a tap room on site from a quick check that I did. La Canya does though so I rented a bike and did the 5km cycle (with a steep hill) to whet my appetite. The guy there didn’t have much English and I have terrible French so I contented myself with a few beers. All very drinkable but I found the pro Ukraine American Red Ale the most interesting. I like their cartoon style labels too.
I thought it would be rude not to try some of the local wine so I visited Cellier des Vignerons where you can try a few samples before buying. If you are very clever you can even bring bottles to fill for a couple of euros. I’m also pretty sure the bottle I paid €9 for would be a few times more expensive here due to the huge duty that we pay. Anyway, I know very little about wine so I’ll just say that I liked it!
Arbor et Sens was a local restaurant which was recommended. They proudly grow their vegetables on site. This coupled with an IPA from Cap D’Ona made for a very enjoyable locavore experience.
A pub near the harbour boasts a selection of beers from around the world, mostly bottles from what I gathered. Unfortunately it wasn’t open when I was in the area. I would advise checking opening times for anywhere you’re visiting in the area as many close from 12/1 to 3/4 in the afternoon.
I contented myself with a few beers at La Fine Mousse. I’m not sure if there’s any connection with the pub of the same name in Paris. Nevertheless, it was a grand way to pass an hour and I had a couple of tasty croquettes with my beers. When returning home I was impressed to see Cap D’Ona beers on sale in the small airport café. Hopefully this will be useful to some of you if you visit Argelès-sur-Mer this summer. À votre santé!
Grainne Ale Festival has been running at Westport House since 2013 and it only took ten years for me to get there. (It hasn’t been on all the time, just one weekend a year like, barring certain recent events. ) It is beside Gracy’s Pizzeria and Restaurant and I think it is fair to say they’ve got it well sorted at this point with a nice sized marquee and even a covered stage for the musicians. I was happy to see Mr Whippy’s Soundsystem too, apparently he’s a regular feature. The first person I met when I arrived was Cillian from Mescan and he decided that I was going to kick off with their 8.5% Westport Extra, a Belgian Style (sure, aren’t they all) Golden Ale. So I was off to a great start. They also had little cubes of local cheese from Dozio which really enhanced the Belgian vibes.
Last week in Mullingar Conor from Reel Deel just happened to mention their Hop Dog, brewed with fresh Mayo grown Fuggles, which was going to be pouring exclusively at this festival. Not that I needed an excuse. It was really lovely. Not fancy, just straight forward and enjoyable company, like the lads.
A few of the lads had recommended Lough Gill’s Pain and Perfection Mango Passionfruit Pastry Sour, I went instead for their Helles Lager (pictured), as I had to work my way up to it. When I eventually was ready, I was very pleasantly surprised. It was sweet but there was balance with some refreshing bitterness too.
It was good to see Michaela and Richard from Black Donkey again. And I enjoyed a Sheep Stealer. I might have even lent a hand for a few minutes pouring. I was talking to John from Lough Measc too and finished up the afternoon with a Gin and Tonic, which made for a nice change of pace. I will definitely have to attend this festival again.
Brehon Brewhouse in Monaghan were hosting a Mary Wallopers gig in their yard Sunday evening and I wasn’t going to miss that. I was happy to see Seany McCleary from Blasta Street Kitchen on the way in, it has been a few years since I was able to get stuck into one of his epic burgers. Perfect soakage material.
I enjoyed a couple of pints of the appropriate for the occasion 3.5% Brehon Seisiún and the Lager before moving on to cans of Imagine and Stout. The lads were having a bit of trouble pouring unfortunately but we didn’t let that dampen our mood. My friend Helen, who wouldn’t be a big beer drinker enjoyed two glasses of the 10% Barrel Aged Imperial Stout Crann Beatha.
If you have not checked out The Mary Wallopers yet then you really should! Their ribald humour is tempered with some very emotive story telling. A very unique event to be sure, we were all lucky to be part of it, fair play to the good people at Brehon Brewhouse. Sláinte!
Wild Wet Westmeath. A miserable Saturday afternoon in April saw a horde of mixed fermentation beer enthusiasts gather in the somewhat unlikely spot of Mullingar. I say unlikely, because you would normally be hard pressed to find some of these unusual beers in the Irish Midlands. Thanks to Paul Varley for being brave enough to get this up and running in 2022 and putting it on again this year.
The first beer I tried was Otterbank’s Just The One, a Lambic inspired Pale Ale. He hasn’t got a coolship above in Muff *yet*! But this was a cracker as it was.
I was very much looking forward to trying Many Hands, a combined effort by Wide Street and Land and Labour. In their own words: ‘In 2020 we brewed a turbid mashed
saison which we co-pitched with both of
our mixed cultures and left it to primary
ferment and age in Chardonnay barrels
for a further 2 years where it evolved and
matured. Having spent a further year
conditioning in the bottle we are
delighted to finally release this
celebration of collaboration and
friendship which involved many hands
to brew and package. A light to
medium bodied sour ale with a complex
aroma and balanced funkiness
supported by citrus fruit notes with oak
character playing a supporting role.’ I know that’s cheating but sure look…Anyway, the beer was outstanding. And well worth the wait!
Tom from Land and Labour has been at the mixed fermentation game for a while now and it was great to see him being awarded Best Brewery in Ireland by Beoir. Well deserved recognition. Aibreoga was the only beer I had twice on the day which was an accident, but a happy one. Apricot, tart, beautiful.
It was also great to see beers from our English and Scottish neighbours. Pastore, Little Earth Project, Burning Sky were all represented and Gareth Epochal Young made his way over from Glasgow. I was encouraging him to organise his own festival in Glasgow. It would be a good excuse to go visit!
I was pouring Lives Well Lived, a dark sour that everyone agreed tasted almost exactly like cola cubes. And I was asked to bring a ‘normal’ beer for those in attendance who weren’t yet on the wild beer train so Slow Lives ticked that box.
Pic taken from @ YahtzeeLad on Twitter
So, the beer was great, the craic was massive and it was brilliant to see some people I haven’t seen in a while, and meet some that I only know from various social media things. Well done to all concerned. Sláinte!
I was interviewed last week by Odran Mac Gearailt. We had a fairly rambling chat about how we first met, my career in beer and somewhat inevitably, Guinness. Here’s the link 
if you’d like to have a listen: Mindset on you
