Trip to Dublin

[monty3777]

I'm heading to Dublin in August. Besides the Guiness plant what else should a beer brewer look for in Dublin?

 

[Larstram]

Bring us some irish moss!

 

[JMG680]

I spent 5 days there last year and had a blast. Be ready to spend about $6 on a pint. Guinness is a must, and there are tons of pubs. I liked the Boars Head and Temple Bar. You should go to the Jameson Distilery and do the tour, ask to be a wiskey taster. You get to try the Jameso, Paddys, Johnny Walker Red, and Jack. So nice. All the pubs I went in to treated me great. Enjoy your trip. You will have a good time no doubt

 

[Loweface]

Don't forget to visit some of the rest of the country. Dublin is a bit of an entity all by itself. If you've come that far you might as well tour...

 

[Laughing_Gnome_Invisible]

I've never been to Dublin, but from what I've heard you won't need to bother planning the trip. Dublin will do the planning for you.

 

[bierhaus15]

Don't forget to visit some of the rest of the country. Dublin is a bit of an entity all by itself. If you've come that far you might as well tour...

I agree. If you are there for more than a few days, definitely get out of Dublin. Visiting Dublin is 'ok' for a day or so but soon feels like any other big city with all the touristy crap and high prices. And the Guinness is overrated.

Galway, Kilkenny, Cork... are much better cities to visit, IMO and offer much more in terms of an authentic Irish experience. And they are easy to reach via bus/train and have better beer and pubs (esp. Cork for beer).

 

[Loweface]

Galway, Kilkenny, Cork... are much better cities to visit, IMO and offer much more in terms of an authentic Irish experience. And they are easy to reach via bus/train and have better beer and pubs (esp. Cork for beer).

You forgot the most important one!!!

 

[olllllo]

Check out the Porterhouse and have the Wrasslers 4X stout and also the Oyster Stout.

When you take the Guinness Tour, go in the morning and go directly to the High Gravity lounge and drink your freebies and enjoy the views in solitude. The lounge fills up quick and so you can finish the tour at your leisure.

 

[bierhaus15]

You forgot the most important one!!!

Oops, sorry!

Limerick. Nice place, especially if you like looking at Georgian architecture and castles.

 

[Doog_Si_Reeb]

I've been to Ireland twice now and absolutely loved it! The people are super friendly and the beer is great. As already mentioned, the Temple Bar is a must see and the Jameson distillery is very cool. Some of the bars along the river have traditional Irish music during the evenings. That's always a good time for the tourists! I spent several nights in the Knightsbridge bar listening to various Irish bands play a mix of covers and traditional Irish songs.

Just remember, when ordering pints or in any situation where you are asking for two of something, keep your palm facing the person when signaling two. I.e. peace sign, not back of the hand V. The backwards peace sign is like flipping someone off.

 

[phrogpilot73]

I've been to Ireland twice, and my wife and I are planning to go again soon. I agree that getting out of Dublin is a good idea. Outside of the Guinness brewery, it felt like any old big city to me.

There's so much to see - Cliffs of Mohr, Galway (where the Claddagh ring originated), Cork, Limerick, heck - even the cheesy castle/pub outside of Shannon (I forget the name). I had 10 times the fun when I wasn't in Dublin.

The Guinness is also 10 times better in Ireland than here. There's also other very good beers in Ireland, I started trying one or two - then tasted the Guinness (at the time I didn't like Guinness so I didn't start with it) and never drank anything other than that.

 

[Loweface]

Oh and the Bull and Castle in Dublin is where the www.irishcraftbrewers.com have their monthly meet...

Just to Showcase Limerick for you a bit...

King Johns Castle:

The City Skyline:

The Hunt Museum:

My University:

 

[Loweface]

heck - even the cheesy castle/pub outside of Shannon (I forget the name).

That'd be Bunratty Folk Park...

 

[phrogpilot73]

That'd be Bunratty Folk Park...

Ahh yes! Now I remember. It was fun because we did it the night before leaving Shannon. The castle is Bunratty Castle, and the pub is Durty Nelly's if I remember correctly. The pub was less cheesy than the castle at least...

 

[Beerzoid]

I'll second what everyone has all ready said. Dublin is fun for a day or two, but it's crazy expensive. The Guinness tour is a must, so is the Jameson Distillery.

I had more fun in Galway and Cork, so try to get out and see the rest of Ireland. We rented a Volvo Wagon and the driving is scary in some parts, though definitely worth having a vehicle.


PS try some Smithwicks. I probably drank more of that than Guinness.

 

[Brew Alchemy]

My girlfriend and I are flying out to Dublin this Saturday to hang out there during St Patrick's. This is her 2nd time out. My first. We're definately going to the Guinness Brewery and the Jameson Distillery, and I want to hit the Porterhouse and a few traditional pubs like the Brazen Head on Lower Bridge Street, which is supposed to be Dublin's oldest. We're going to hit the actual Temple Bar just to do it, but will probibly stay out of the Temple Bar area for the most. We're also going to try to head outside of Dublin as well.

I'm going to keep an eye out for anything interesting as far as home/craft brewing goes. I'll be back towards the end of next week and let you know if I find anything.

 

[monty3777]

Thanks everyone!

 

[Ryan_PA]

Sorry to hijack, but I am heading to Dublin next month. It is a "no plans" trip. We fly to Dublin, then fly out of Shannon 8 nights later. Anything else we should not miss? We are most likely just sticking to the southern half.

 

[MacBruver]

It's already been recommended, but to reiterate:
- Guinness factory
- Jameson Distillery
- Temple Bar
- Porterhouse

Temple bar is right on the verge of being too touristy, but it's still pretty cool. If you want a good "full breakfast", stop by the boxty house in temple bar. We ate there sunday morning after a long pub crawl on saturday night, and there is nothing like a huge greasy breakfast to set you straight.

Boxty House - HOME OF TRADITIONAL IRISH FOOD!
Porterhouse

Here are a couple of pictures from my trip:

Some nameless pub...

Now that's a mash tun!! (jameson)

I spied this through a crack in a gate, on the way over to the Guinness Brewery:

Mmm, guinness.

 

[MacBruver]

And here's that breakfast I was talking about:

Man, now I wanna go back....

 

[Donner]

And here's that breakfast I was talking about:

Man, now I wanna go back....

ah i the irish fry... it sticks with you that is for damn sure.

 

[Brew Alchemy]

ah i the irish fry... it sticks with you that is for damn sure.

Heart attack on a plate.... yummy.

 

[gartj]

My wife and I spent 2 weeks @ 2 years ago doing Ireland and Scotland.
Did the pubs and distilleries. There's alot of "mom and pop" distilleries on the island.
In Dublin see Trinity College and take the tour pretty fascinating at the end to see the first edition books on display. Take the train up to Belfast for a totally different Ireland. I believe it took @ 2 hrs. well worth it. Definitely rent a car and get out of Dublin asap. Stay in B&B's good prices, food, people. Check out old castle ruins. They're everywhere.
Waterford
Ring of Kerry
Kenmare
Galway
Great cities.
Have fun it's a blast.
Oh, and black pudding's not that bad. But you do get tired of the traditional breakfast's, alot of fried foods too.

 

[Loweface]

Sorry to hijack, but I am heading to Dublin next month. It is a "no plans" trip. We fly to Dublin, then fly out of Shannon 8 nights later. Anything else we should not miss? We are most likely just sticking to the southern half.

PM me and let me know when you passing through Shannon. It's about a stones throw from Limerick.

My girlfriend and I are flying out to Dublin this Saturday to hang out there during St Patrick's.

If you do swing by the lower south/midwest let me know...

But you do get tired of the traditional breakfast's, alot of fried foods too.

Ah, no you don't... In fact I may just go get one now (I was out last night)

 

[Graeme]

As a native of sunny Dublin, I would recommend three bars for you to get your hands off the guinness for a bit and on to some really great Irish craft brews, and the rest. I would recommend three pubs The Porterhouse (Brew Pub), Messrs Maguires, and The Bull & Castle. the Porterhouse does some truly fantastic stouts and a generous bottle selection, in the link below you can see a list of their beers. Messrs Maguires, is really your average pub, not fantastic but they will usually have about four of their own beers on, their stouts are great. The Bull & Castle, my personal favorite has plenty of room upstairs in the form of their Beer Hall, lots of Irish craft brews and a good bottle selection too. See links below

Porterhouse



[url=http://www.messrsmaguire.ie/]Messrrs Maguire -O'Connell Bridge - Burgh Quay, Dublin 2

Hope this helps, sadly enough I find it really hard to recommend more than these three pubs in regards to good selection and craft beer. Of course, there are lots of great pubs in Ireland, and for the most part there is great atmosphere, but we are suffering badly in terms of good beer selection. We are definitely a macro Nation right now, but things are looking up. If you have any trouble finding these places, I'd be happy to meet you for a pint and show you around.

Cheers
Graeme

 

[BeerPilot]

Porterhouse Brewpub! There is one at the river end of Grafton Street and another out near the airport. Great selection and beer prices aren't TOO bad, considering it's Europe...sort of. Also, The Ravenshead (I think!), a pub a few blocks north Templebar, had pretty good prices, very low doorways, and good food. I think. I was there last month, but I was fairly well faced.

 

[Ryan_PA]

I was told by a relative that Cobh is a great little secret on the southern coast. Anyone able to speak to that? Is it worth a stop off?

 

[KatoKiyo]

+1 on going to Galway. If I were to do it again, I would skip Temple Bar. Or maybe have ONE pint. That's where you'll pay $6 a pint. Outside this area and outside Dublin it is more reasonable (I think it was around 3 EUR when I was there). Galway is amazing, and I definitely want to go back and sit on the terraces on Quay Street! Sigh....

 

[Graeme]

Well Katokiyo, it all depends on whether or not you are looking to drink good beer or bad beer, if you want good beer, then I'm afraid you certainly don't want to be skipping Temple Bar because the main Porterhouse is in Temple Bar, not only that but the Bull & Castle which is on par with the Porterhouse in my opinion is very close too. As I said previously, you can't really go too wrong with pubs in Ireland, Galway, Cork, all have lovely cosy pubs, yes more reasonably priced beers, but for the most part, don't expect anything more than Guinness, because you simply won't get it. Cork wise I would recommend the highly praised Bierhaus: The Bierhaus Cork - about us

 

[Graeme]

Cobh by the way is absolutely gorgous, I couldn't recommend it more highly, it's a beautiful place, definitely go if you can