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All Ireland Craft Beer Fest 7-10th September

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    #122
    BaZmO*
    Registered Users Posts: 18,625 ✭✭✭✭BaZmO*


    Giruilla wrote: »
    Went on saturday. Had a great day, but honestly didn't have a single beer that I was impressed with and would look to drink again.
    I think the lack of carbonation in a lot of the beers was a bad point for me. Made a lot of the beers taste stale and not refreshing at all.
    Also, some of the beers tasted unfinished or like the fermentation was finished too quickly.. remember one in particular having a strong oaty smell coming off it which was really offputting.
    Nicest I had all day was probably one of the ciders.
    Are you talking about Cask beers?


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    #123
    stuchyg
    Registered Users Posts: 1,491 ✭✭✭stuchyg


    Giruilla wrote: »
    Went on saturday. Had a great day, but honestly didn't have a single beer that I was impressed with and would look to drink again.
    I think the lack of carbonation in a lot of the beers was a bad point for me. Made a lot of the beers taste stale and not refreshing at all.
    Also, some of the beers tasted unfinished or like the fermentation was finished too quickly.. remember one in particular having a strong oaty smell coming off it which was really offputting.
    Nicest I had all day was probably one of the ciders.

    Can I ask what type of beer you usually drink


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    #124
    Donadea Leo
    Registered Users Posts: 198 ✭✭Donadea Leo


    Great day saturday - thank you to the organisers and brewers and the great mix of people who attended and created lovely chilled out atmosphere. Unfortunately had to leave at a point I would have happily sipped another few and lived to regret it Sunday morning but got through a nice few halves.
    Dungarvan IPA my favourite if I'm honest, also liked the Corcha Doibhne Golden Ale - liked the smoky flavour at the finish though it was better earlier in the day for some reason - maybe had the wrong drink just before.


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    #125
    stuchyg
    Registered Users Posts: 1,491 ✭✭✭stuchyg


    Went yesterday with the missus and met another couple of people in there and we were all very impressed with the day.

    I had

    Kentucky Bourbon Barrell Ale - the highlight of the day for me as someone who actually likes bourbon, lovely vanilla hint and very drinkable even for its ABV.
    Metalman Pale on Cask - onyl just tried metalman for the first time 2 weeks ago and so was delighted when I saw it yesterday. Very nice and didnt have too strong a cask flavour which can sometimes ruin a beer. They also knew how to pull it which helped.
    SV Hemisphere Harvest - have seen it in the offie but hadnt tried it due to the price, will be picking up a bottle next week though. Like an even hoppier version of the regular Pale Ale.
    SV Bigfoot - have been dying to try this as any offo iv tried havent had it in stock. Was very nice but much more of a brew to have at home for my money where you can take your time to enjoy it.
    O Hara's Winter Star - least impressive beer of the day for my money, just didnt have anything different about it
    White Gypsy Imperial Stout - I Have been trying to get into stouts lately and if this was sold in pubs I would have found them quicker. Very light despite the ABV, gorgeous beer.

    Herself had

    Stonewell Cider - very nice brew, you can actually taste apple juice off it unlike the majority of cider which just tastes like apple syrup.
    Tempted Strawberry Cider - she nor I were very impressed with this, she in particluar likes fruit beers but she was pretty underwhelmed.
    Metlaman Chameleon with Chilli on Cask - this was her favourite of the day, nice ginger taste with a very subtle hint of the chilli in the aftertaste
    Tom Crean Lager - Very crisp beer, would be ideal for a BBQ. Will be bottled and sold within the next two weeks starting of course in Kerry.

    Overall a great day, my one complaint would be the fact you werent allowed to buy bottles to take away, would have loved to be able to bring a few bits home with me


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    #126
    Saruman
    Registered Users Posts: 11,389 ✭✭✭✭Saruman


    I'm glad most people enjoyed it.
    Sounds like Giruilla went around drinking cask ale (hand pumps) and anyone not used to it will find it flat and sometimes watery. There were one or two bad offerings on cask but most of them were excellent.
    Giruilla, next time stick to regular kegged beer. Cask is not for everyone.

    Should be great fun next year, we got a lot of things right this year that were taken on board from last year like the water station for rinsing and hydrating.

    The only issue I found when I was on the desk was the guest list and pre-paid users who paid online etc. Ticketmaster must not have sent us the full list and next year I think we need a computer for quick lookup as pages of random names are impossible to get through.

    Highlight for me was working behind the bars and talking about the beers with the punters, many of which had never had craft beer before and almost all of them were very impressed with the quality.

    Highlight beer for me was a surprise. I loved the oak aged Leann Folláin and also White Gypsy imperial stout (dopplebock also excellent) but the number one was 8 degrees Octoberfest, which was a Marzen and it was absolutely perfect and so easy to drink. It was by far the most popular on the 8 degrees stand and I finally poured the last of it on Saturday much to the disappointment of onlookers waiting and those that came later.

    There were a number I did not get to try such as the double dry hopped rebel red (23 mins it lasted) and the Dungarvan RyePA.


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    #127
    Giruilla
    Registered Users Posts: 1,595 ✭✭✭Giruilla


    Think I only had one cask beer all day actually.

    I'd drank a lot of the more famous breweries beers there already so was only tasting breweries that I hadn't before. Only highlight was fransiscan wiesse beer which I tasted from a friend. Was sold out unfortunately when I went to order one.

    Just went hoping to find a gem of a beer I didn't know about before but after ordering 10 or so different ones didn't find it.


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    #128
    BeerNut
    Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators Posts: 11,869 Mod ✭✭✭✭BeerNut


    Giruilla wrote: »
    Only highlight was fransiscan wiesse beer which I tasted from a friend. Was sold out unfortunately when I went to order one.
    Should be easy enough to find in Dublin: The Gingerman, Fitzgerald's on Aston Quay, O'Neill's of Suffolk Street and O'Neill's of Pearse Street, WJ Kavanagh's and Against the Grain all usually have it.

    My beer blog | The Twitter | My other beer blog



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    #129
    slayerking
    Registered Users Posts: 1,276 ✭✭✭slayerking


    Had a great weekend at the beer festival. Had a weekend pass so was there at some stage each day! Had soo many great beers, was thoroughly impressed. My Highlight beers were (in no particular order)

    O'Haras Oak Aged Leann Follaín
    Dungarvan's Rye PA
    Metalman's Moonbeam
    The Well's Double Hopped Rebel Red
    Metalman's various re-incarnations of their beer's (adding chili, blueberries, raspberries etc to Chameleon)!
    The Well's Ma Daza stout
    Hilden's Twisted Hop on Draft
    Hilden's Barneys Brew

    Bloody great weekend, and well done to everyone involved.
    Last years festival was good, this years was much better, cannot wait for next year.... coz I just found 2 beer token scrunched up in my pocket :mad:


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