Some bottles ready for consumption.Brian Moore, the Sheffield Whippet.Holding the scoop for consumption.This is the Steampacket "minibus" in case you were wondering.A trayload of winners, fresh from Sal's cellar!The "Vital Spark", Para handy's famous puffer.Gose in Bayerischer Bahnhof, Leipzig...Tasters in Buller, Buenos Aires!Otley Arms, TreforestA big, claggy, loud ALCo beastie!

   Dublin beer gen   

Last Updated : 29/04/11

ome bang-up-to-date gen on Dublin's rapidly increasing beer scene is here, thanks to John Paul Adams and Stephen Jackson who also sent me gen.

See my Google map Here!  Dublin - and Ireland in general - seems to be coming alive with love for craft beer at present; see the map for where to hit!

 

Brewpubs.  Now Porterhouse have moved their brewing out of the Temple Bar pub to a suburban industrial estate (where the beers are, if anything, even better) there is just the one now.

Brewpub - brews on the premises Messrs Maguires, 1/2 Burgh Quay

A boot. Close to Tara Street Dart station on the north bank of the Liffey, you can't miss it... no, you really can't, it's feckin' huge!

A ranting mouth... This brewpub has recently (late 2010) begun brewing again following a couple of years when everything was from White Gypsy in Templemore, the brewer's own place, and sent up to Dublin in keg.  Now, with a new (female) brewster, the Dobbins kit is finally being put to use once more although it's not easy working out which beers are brewed in-house and which from Templemore; when asking about the Brown ale I got three answers from three barstaff (here, Templemore and don't know!).  There is now a new bar - if they can be arsed to open it up - in the cellar which is nominally a beer lover's retreat with more beers on sale and, presumably, more gen about them but on both our visits the bar was closed.

 

Pubs.

Pub or Bar Against the Grain, 11 Wexford Street.

A boot. On a street corner close to St Stephen's Green and very much one of the essential visits, my February 2011 "pub of the month"!

A ranting mouth... Owned by new Bay brewpub in Galway, this pub sells a dozen beers on tap including some unusual guests for the city and some lovely, filling food too.  Cask beer on sale.

 

Pub or Bar Bull & Castle, 5 - 7 Lord Edward Street, Christchurch

A boot. Just opposite Christ Church Cathedral in the centre of the city. 

A ranting mouth... The "Beer Hall" upstairs (Daily from 17:00 although does sometimes open earlier) can get very noisy but, on the upside, serves the widest beer range in the city (and maybe all Ireland) including Galway Hooker, Franciscan Well and Carlow plus the newer craft brewers Trouble Brewing, Dungarvan and Clanconnel.  There's usually a beer on cask, too, and a house beer from Carlow.  All in all, then, an essential visit and pretty close to Porterhouse Temple Bar.

 

Pub or Bar L Mulligan Grocer, Stoneybatter 18.

A boot. Bus 39 goes from Bedford Street (by Messrs Maguire) to Stoneybatter every 10 minutes or so, or it's pretty close to the Smithfield Luas too.

A ranting mouth... Great new "gastropub" with loads of micro beer on tap, over a dozen, plus Irish craft bottles and even cask ale!  A great new beer destination with brews from pretty much all the Irish brewers on sale (including Northern Ireland) and a delicious line in top-end pub food which, whilst expensive, is bloody lovely!

 

Pub or Bar M J O'Neill's, 2 Suffolk Street.

A boot. Just off Grafton Street in the city centre.

A ranting mouth... Big, sprawling pub with many rooms and levels and a bar absolutely covered with keg fonts... I don't think I've ever seen so many!  The issue is that most are crap although, with some drastic pruning, you'd be able to both see the bar and turn over the craft beer quicker!  Still, the food is amazingly good (carvery) value and quality plus there's around 6 Irish craft beers on tap including Trouble Brewing.  Given it's location well worthy of a visit just to see the effects of OCD in beer buying!

 

Pub or Bar O'Byrnes Beverage House, 199 King St North.

A boot. In the North of the city not really close to much else although not a million miles from the Cobblestone Bar.

A ranting mouth... Bizarre place, reminiscent of an American "dive bar", all dim lights and shady characters!  The beer range is similarly bizarre with some Hilden on tap plus a range of American beers in bottle for, sometimes, bargain prices.  Not a destination venue but worth a visit for a very different experience than the city's other beer bars!

 

Pub or Bar Palace, Fleet Street, Temple Bar. 

A boot. At the far Eastern end of Temple Bar, before it gets all lary, easy to find.

A ranting mouth... Traditional and deliciously old-fashioned Dublin pub which just happens to sell Galway Hooker on tap after years of selling just Guinness after the untimely demise of the Dublin Brewing Company.  It's a masterpiece of wood panelling inside and is one pub you should visit for the atmosphere as well as a pint of craft ale!

 

Pub or Bar Porterhouse, 16-18 Parliament Street (corner of Essex Street), Temple Bar. 

A boot. At the diametrically opposite end of Temple Bar to the Palace (although still only ten minutes' walk) this huge street corner building can't be missed.

A ranting mouth... They don't brew on-site anymore but this is still the spiritual home of Porterhouse beers!  There are other bars in the city with a central one at  plus one in

 

Pub or Bar Porterhouse Central, 45-47 Nassau Street.

A boot. Just off busy Grafton Street, close to St Stephen's Green.

A ranting mouth... This pub has some surprising guests on tap and should be checked out if passing.  It's a lot more "yoof" oriented than the Temple Bar location but does have the full range of PH beers plus guests.

 

Try Also...

Cobblestone Bar, 77 King Street North.  Dungarvan and Big Hand Revolution Red from Trouble Brewing.
Dice Bar, 79 Queen St / Benburb St. Big Hand Revolution Red from Trouble Brewing.
Ginger Man, 40 Fenian Street.  Carlow & Franciscan well on tap
Pifko, 41-43 Usher's Quay.  Has dabbled in craft beer although not sure on the score now; on the South bank of the Liffey across from Smithfield Luas stop.

There are two other Porterhouse pubs, one in the North of the city at Cross Guns bridge, Glasnevin, and the other south of Dublin out at the seaside at Bray on Strand Road.  Given that the beer range will be very similar at all these there's not a lot of point in visiting except for completeness and OCD; I still need the Glasnevin one but haven't managed to get there yet despite loads of buses going there: Bus 4 (Monkstown) from O’Connell bridge/st to Prospect Road/Botanic Road (every 15 mins), No.19 (Bulfin Rd) same stops or 19a (Limekiln Ave) same stops or No.83 (Kimmage) from Bachelors Walk/Lower Liffey Street (Stop EN).

 

Beer Shops.

Bottle shop or Offie drinkstore.ie, 87 Manor St, Stoneybatter. 

A boot. 50 metres further along Stoneybatter from the superb L Mulligan Grocer pub on the other side of the road, bus 39 goes to the city centre regularly.

A ranting mouth... Has a superb bottle list including just about every Irish (and Northern Irish) beer... Clanconnel, Dungarvan, Carlow, Porterhouse and the rest plus a massive range of Belgian and American beers.  I honestly can't believe they fit everything into a space not much bigger than a large front room!  The owner is well sociable, too, and will give you the gen on any new Irish brewers and may even get beers from out the back which aren't currently on the shelves!  Highly recommended; it's just like being in an Italian beer shop which is a truly massive compliment!

 

Bottle shop or Offie Redmonds Off License, 25 Ranelagh Road. 

A boot. Close to the Ranelagh stop on Luas Green.

A ranting mouth... Apparently has a decent range of Irish craft beer although we didn't visit having filled our boots at drinkstore!

 

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