The Irish Craft Beer Festival returned to the RDS! For some reason it was now dubbed the Dublin Beer Festival and for others it was now in a different, smaller hall. There were 30 Irish and 10 international breweries pouring which is about half the number in attendance back in the heady mid 2010s. That said, it was an improvement on the events in Rathmines and Dun Laoghaire. I was curious to see how it would go. One comment I saw on social media bemoaned the lack of water stations and proper glassware. On arrival I was given a plastic glass but I opted to upgrade to the much nicer glass for €6. Not only did this enhance my drinking experience, it probably unconsciously made me mind it better! And there was one water station – in the farthest corner of the hall…
I arrived about half an hour after the event opening and there was a bit of a buzz, it felt busy but not over crowded. My first beer was the lovely new IPA from Lineman, Supernature.
Caroline (the famous author of cookbooks!) from Eight Degrees told me they had a new version of Cumulus Lupulus with Nelson Sauvin so I had to try that, and it didn’t disappoint!
Lough Gill managed to fit a bar, beer and a rake of lads into a horsebox- I enjoyed their amber lager which was a festival special.
Grand Cru had a bar from Hofbräuhaus Traunstein and I said I’d stick with the malty lagers and tried their Dunkel which was very good.
And I have to say Hopfully’s Dunkel measured up very well after! It’s great to see some of these styles being brewed here.
From the international breweries I tried Baxbier’s American IPA which was great, and Brewski’s Where The Hops Have No Name. They actually brewed it as a collaboration with Craft Central. Apparently they are fans of U2 and experimental hops that don’t have names yet. I am not a fan of U2 but the hops made for a tasty beer.
I rounded off proceedings with a beer from my old friends at Rye River, Round Feet, a collaboration with Dutch brewery Poppels. It’s a well rounded IPA. (Ok, I apologise, I’ll stop now – maybe just one more…)
So, to round up I have to say, I had a very enjoyable afternoon, despite not talking to all of the people I probably should have talked to, and not drinking all of the beers on offer! I’m glad to see the event go well and look forward to seeing it return in 2025. Sláinte!
