Looking for Dublin / Belfast are breweries

Hey,

Bit of a copy and paste here but hopefully it'll help:

Dublin

One thing to note in terms of the Irish breweries is that due to ridiculous laws here most of them can’t sell directly from their breweries unless they have a bar license so tap rooms aren’t really a thing Rascals https://rascalsbrewing.com/ is the only one currently in the city if you want to visit - this is in the process of changing but it won’t be in place for the next couple of months anyway. You’ll be able to find the better breweries in most of the bars I’ve linked and in all the off licenses if you want to bring some home.

Currently the best craft beer bar in Dublin is probably Underdog https://taplist.io/taplist-269059 it has a great selection and is also very central.


Urban Brewing is a cool place https://www.urbanbrewing.ie I personally don’t rate their own beers very highly for the most part but they’ve a huge selection of other stuff and their food is excellent.

The Galway Bay Brewery http://www.galwaybaybrewery.com/bars/ have a large number of bars in both Dublin and are all good bars with a mix of their own beers and guest taps. In Dublin the most central Galway Bay Brewery Bars are


The Brew Dock - http://www.galwaybaybrewery.com/brewdock/


The Black Sheep - http://www.galwaybaybrewery.com/blacksheep/


The Beer Market - http://www.galwaybaybrewery.com/beermarket/


Against the Grain - http://www.galwaybaybrewery.com/againstthegrain/


Alfie Byrnes - http://www.galwaybaybrewery.com/alfiebyrnes/

Paddle and Peel - http://www.galwaybaybrewery.com/paddleandpeel/

The Porterhouse http://www.theporterhouse.ie/bars-dublin-temple.php (Taplist https://untappd.com/v/the-porterhouse/45633) is a long established bar in Temple Bar and also another one near Grafton Street I personally find them both not great these days but the one in Temple Bar can be good for live music if you’ve had a few drinks already.


If you want a quality craft beer bar that does good food I’d strongly recommend L Mulligan Grocer http://lmulligangrocer1.weebly.com/ it’s not exactly central but a quick taxi ride or 20 minute walk from the city centre.



Some other bars in the city that are not linked directly to a brewery but all very good for craft beer are:


P Macs - https://www.facebook.com/pmacspub/

The Big Romance - http://thebigromance.ie/ Taplist https://untappd.com/v/the-big-romance/8415610

The Bull and Castle - http://www.fxbuckley.ie/the-bull-and-castle/

Cassidy’s - https://www.facebook.com/Cassidys-Bar-27-Westmoreland-Street-

Bonobo - https://www.facebook.com/BonoboSmithfield/


Irish breweries to look out for Whiplash, Galway Bay, Kinnegar, O'Brother, Trouble Brewing, Rascals, Whitehag, 8 Degrees are just a few of the Irish breweries. Most of the Irish breweries are making styles similar to what you’ll find in the US so you’ll still see plenty of canned NEIPA’s even in Ireland!


Also other Euro breweries to look for are Cloudwater, Lervig, Northern Monk, Magic Rock, Wylam, and many more. We get some 3F and Cantillon but probably best to message me directly about that so I can give more specific advise if you want to get some lambic.

Belfast

I don't have as much knowledge of the Belfast scene as I live in Dublin but from what I've read this page lists most of the best places https://craftandslice.com/beer/beer...r-city-guide-best-bars-taprooms-bottle-shops/

One point worth thinking about in Belfast, if you wanted to pick up any UK beers you'd be able to get them delivered to you very easily and quickly from a lot of the breweries for example:

Cloudwater - https://shop.cloudwaterbrew.co/

Buxton - https://www.buxtonbrewery.co.uk/browse?view_all=true

Northern Monk - https://northern-monk-brew-co.myshopify.com/collections/beer

Brew by Numbers - https://shop.brewbynumbers.com/collections/beer

There's lot of others and you can do this from Dublin it's just a little more complicated.

I know that’s a huge information dump but just shoot me a message if you want any specific information – more than happy to help.

Liam

 

No problem, any specific questions just give me a shout.

 

Thanks Liam, I've copied the whole post to my phone. We arrive Dublin June 17, and head immediately to Galway for a cycling trip. We leave July 1.

 

Cool man enjoy - hopefully you'll get good weather for the cycling as that part of the country is a fantastic area to get out on the bike!

I'll leave this here for you for Galway - as I had sent it someone else separately

So unsurprisingly the Galway Bay Brewery bars are good over here with the Salt House and Oslo (This one is actually in Salthill which is about 2 miles outside the city) are good options. There’s also Bierhaus, Caribou, Universal and McGinn’s though I’m not overly familiar with Galway so this is based mainly on a weekend I spent over there recently. I’m not really sure what the best option for bottle shops is but McCambridges https://mccambridges.com/ has a decent selection of beer and wine.

Galway is a very compact city and you’ll be able to get around and figure it out very easily

Galway Restaurants
http://www.oscarsseafoodbistro.com/
https://brasseriegalway.com/
https://www.facebook.com/TheQuayStreetKitchen/
https://www.facebook.com/caribougalway/ great for beer and a burger

If you're doing a cycling trip I'm guessing you'll be going south towards the Cliffs of Moher - I've done a bit of that spin myself and the cycle from Doolin - Cliffs of Moher - Lahinch is really amazing.

Fire away with any questions!

 

Thank you @LiamoMill for all the content in this and other threads! I am headed to Ireland for a counter-clockwise tour of the Island.

Any suggestions for the following towns - either traditional pubs or craft?
Portstewart (Harry’s Shack looks good)
Clifden
Doolin
Kenmare

And a general question.... for beer selection do you recommend SuperValu or Aldi?

Thanks!

 

Hey,

So looking at each place in order:

Portstewart - from what I can see the following should be worth checking out but I'm not familiar with the town

http://www.kiwisbrewbar.com/
http://www.theanchorbar.co.uk/anchor-bar
http://www.ramorerestaurant.com/harbourbar.php

You're probably going to struggle a bit for craft beer in Clifden, Doolin and Kenmare so might be worth having some with you - more on that later. None of these are big places so you'll easily find a good pub.

Clifden

https://www.lowrysbar.ie/
http://mannionsbarclifden.com/
http://griffinsbar.ie/
http://guysbarclifden.com/

Doolin - I can only remember being in Gus O'Connors but I may have been in a couple of the others my memories are a little hazy, they're all really close - just go in to the one that has music playing and seems like good craic. Doolin is great fun in general.

http://gusoconnorsdoolin.com/
http://mcdermottspub.com/
https://www.hoteldoolin.ie/fitzs-pub-doolin.html

Kenmare

https://www.facebook.com/CrowleysBar/
https://www.pfskenmare.com/- Should get some craft beer here.
https://www.thehorseshoekenmare.com/
http://davittskenmare.com/restaurant-bar/

in terms of Supervalu or Aldi. Supervalu would generally be better but it does depend on the shop some versions of Supervalu are a lot better than others. I would say if you see Aldi you'll generally see Lidl beside it and they have a half decent range that are super cheap. Their own Crafty Brewing (the IPA and American Wheat are good) range and The McGargles (the Session IPA, IPA and Double IPA are all good) range are all brewed by the Rye River Brewing company and are good bang for their buck.

If wanted to pick up some better beer I would suggest you look at the Tesco Superstore in Portrush as its in the UK I would imagine that it has a lot of good beer now as Tesco recently launched a huge range in their UK stores - https://www.tesco.com/groceries/en-...nd-cider/beer-craft-and-specialist/craft-beer There's some really good stuff there and great value.

However if you are flying in to Dublin or Belfast I'd maybe take a look at some of the shops there to load up before you head off on the trip. It looks like you're maybe doing the Wild Atlantic Way? If you're driving yourself you could also maybe stop in at Dicey Riley's in Ballyshannon in Donegal - this is a great shop and has a huge selection, well worth stopping for http://diceys.com/off-licence/.

I hope that helps, let me know if you've any more questions.

Liam

 

Glad I checked back.
Galway: Salt House is wonderful, bartenders friendly and Galway Bay IPA and Pale Ales great. Dinner at McQuinns Hop House also good. A bit more mainstream beers on tap, but I think I had a Wicklow Wolf Pale.
Ennis, has dinner at Brogans Pub, nice traditional music right in front of our table. Had Western Herd Pale.
Kilkee, dinner at The Strand, but no beers of remark.
Lehinch, lunch at Flanagan’s, only open a few weeks. Had Western Herd Pale, wife had Full Sail from Galway Bay. Friends had Vanilla porter they really enjoyed.
In Doolin now, Fitzpatrick’s seems to be best pub for local beers; had Ohara’s Dry hopped pale. Dinner at Ivy Cottage with Treaty Brewing (from Limerick) Pale, wife also had bottle of Treaty Brewing Shannon River IPA.
Tomorrow, Inishmore by ferry.

 

Sounds great so far - I hope the weather is a bit better on the west coast than it currently is in Dublin!

 

Sitting at Guys in Clifden, drinking Galway Hooker Pale Ale. Ordered dinner. Had Bridewell Red and Blonde at Mannions before hand. Thanks for the info! The internet is awesome!

 

Another update: rode ferry from Inishmore to Rossaveel then rode bikes to Clifden. Guy’s is an excellent place, food, beers, music. Also ate at Mannions. Rode from Clifden to Leenane, very small town, but we got Bridewell Blonde at Hamilton’s (petrol pumps out front!). Final ride today was from Leenane to Westport, local brewery is Mescan. Bottles for sale at the Top gas station market down Distillery street from our B&B. Had Mescan blonde on tap at Cosy Joe’s pub downtown for lunch. Working on place for dinner now. Stopped in a couple pubs, saw “regular” taps and of course Guinness.

 

Sitting in the airport, going home. Final note: arrived in Dublin Sunday via train from Westport. Did 3 beer bars one afternoon. Had vg beers and great convos with folks at Brew Dock Sunday at lunch. Food also thumbs up. Then we checked in to hotel and took bus to Underdog. What a place! No TVs!, yay! Also great info from bartender and friendly convo with locals. Didn’t recognize any of the breweries and the bartender didn’t recognize the few names we threw out from the west coast. Wife had truly excellent Sour, we both had nice IPA, sorry didn’t write down names. Then to Black Sheep for food and a last beer. Look me up for info about Northern California, San Diego or NYC beer joints or beers. Cheers!

 

Great to read the updates and sounds like a brilliant trip. Some great recommendations from some of the smaller towns around Ireland too!

 

found my receipt from Underdog
Bone Machine IPA. I had a Cask Pale. Tropic Thunder was the excellent sour. Bucket and Spade was ordered due to name and type (rye). It was a bit meh due to being lighter on rye than I liked, plus it was a session. Both Pictures of You and Big Bunny were very good. Had a great trip and in the future would probably work things like NYC: do an activity/tour or museum then lunch at a beer place. Then another early afternoon activity, then snacks/beer. Then naps, the finally later, head out for dinner and more drinks. Great trip, now jet lagged home.