Against The Grain

Stopped in on a weekday afternoon while visiting Dublin, fun little place, funky atmosphere, excellent selection of beers including all the Galway stable. Music coming through sound system was just at the right volume, could enjoy it while still holding a conversation. Wait staff was very helpful and accommodating.

 

 

 

Visited here on Halloween weekend 2015. Went on the Saturday afternoon as they had the rugby world cup final on the big screen...

Downstairs was pretty quiet with a few punters dotted here and there. Upstairs was a bit more lively as this was where the rugby was on. Still managed to get a good seat though...

Excellent selection of beers on offer including all the Galway Bay core range and quite a few special. Went for the specials as i hadn't had any of these before... had the Maybe Next Monday (a sour), No Sweat (American lager) and Mare Incognita (Saison). All were excellent..

My wife had the 5.50 euro taster tray of three samples..

Overall an excellent bar that i would definitely visit again

 

 

Maybe the place to go for good craft beer in Dublin. 20 taps with a great selection of the house beers from Galway brewing company. Other Irish craft beers, as well as likes of Brewdog, Mikeller, and Founders and SN stateside. Do yourself the favor and try the house beers, excellent IPA, imperial stout and hybrid oatmeal IPA. Family friendly like most pubs prior to 8pm. Telling that ours was not only family there, also some folks in for just food which is quite reasonable for Dublin and quite good, great fish and chips and Irish stew. Great place in a great city!

 

Vibe: This place isn't that far from the southwest corner of St. Stephen's Green. The front has a long, but wide bar, which opens up to a larger back area with seating areas in two rooms. Although I went during lunch and they had some food offerings, I got the impression that this was more of a place to go for beers than a lunch spot.

Quality: Beers were served at the proper temperate using a variety of glassware (e.g., glasses for half pints and mugs for pints).

Service: It was never busy both times I was there and there was always at least one or two bartenders working so service was very quick. I did see the staff offer recommendations to other customers in terms of which beers they should try.

Selection: The place had 30 beers on tap, cask offerings, and a sizeable bottle list. As the bar is owned by Galway Bay Brewery, they had all of their brewery's selections available, but there were also an extensive selection of beers from other breweries.

Value: Prices seemed reasonable compared to other places in the area.

 

 

 

Against the grain is a godsend to the good people of Dublin. Its about 2 years old and business it seems is booming, which when you consider the country is mired in a woeful recession is quite a considerable achievement. I guess it emphasises that people are more focussed where they spend their scarce euros so Quality Vs Quantity.

The beer selection is impressive. Indigenous craft offerings (no macros) sit up on the bar alongside English and American contemporaries. You'll have a choice of Flying Dog, Sierra Nevada, Brew Dog etc. My biggest motive is to see what they have on Cask or whats on the Rotation taps. There is a wide selection of bottles available also. Its a fun place to go to, especially with some newbies. The food is reasonable, the portions are big and quality is alot better than most of the pub grub you get around the city.

Its only downfall for me is the price of the precious beer. There are no pints under 5 euros here, even their own brew which is not the greatest to be honest, is priced at over the 5 euro mark. Its a little crazy. Some bottles in the Fridge e.g. Flying Dogs Kuji Coffee Stout costs €9.50 which is a huge price to spend on a bottle of beer. Its a shame really and means I can spend less time in there than I otherwise would like. Probably good for my Gut tho it has to be said

This is a new bar (as of October 2010) located in the busy Wexford Street/Camden Street area of Dublin's southside. It is owned and run by the same people that own the Oslo Brewpub (Brewers On The Bay) in Salthill, Galway. That means that their 2 beers (Bay Lager and Bay Ale) are available on tap as well as Galway Hooker, Trouble Brewing Ór, O'Hara's stout and others from the improving local craft beer scene.

It is situated on a corner (the lane beside it is called Protestant Row!), and has a narrow street frontage. It is quite roomy inside as it extends quite far back and widens after the bar area. I first visited on November 2nd 2010 and it was quiet enough, but the first thing I spotted were two guys sitting at the bar drinking Schlenkerla Rauchbier Marzen! In Dublin!

It has a reasonable food menu and I had a nice beef burger and home cut chips.

This is a very welcome addition to the Dublin beer scene.