realbeer

On a Friday afternoon before St Patrick's Day, Ian treked to the Beercave of Bru Brewery's Daire & Patrick to bring the second of the Brewer's Of Ireland Podcast Series. What instead happened was a stroke of luck & a podcast featuring not only Daire & Paddy of Bru Brewery, but Cathal & Emma from Rascals Brewing, & one of the brewers behind the Loch Ness Brand in Scotland, David Garratt.

For the 10th Episode of 11PM Somewhere, Ian picks up on the discussion & controversy State-side last week when the Brewer's Association once again took to tweaking the definition of #CraftBeer, & how we in Ireland are looking even now at our own CraftBeer industry. What can we in Ireland learn from what's gone before & happened recently in the U.S.? This issue of definition is a clearly global one, & one size may not fit all, leaving some unhappy faces of those who will feel 'wronged' & others who will have their own agendas met.

For Episode 6 of the 11PM Somewhere Podcast, Ian kicks off the first of the 'Brewers of Ireland' interview series with Niall Phelan of the Rye River Brewing Company, better known by their McGargles beer brand to discuss the foundation of the brewery, the brand & its perceptions, the current beer line-up & beers to come, his plans for the brewery going forward, why they chose to set-up in Kilcock, County Kildare, the history of brewing in Kilcock & more.

For the second mini-series of the 11PM Somewhere Podcast, 'Meet the Online Irish Craft Beer Community', Ian catches up with Wayne Dunne, better known as the author of popular Irish craft beer blog, 'The Irish Beer Snob' to talk about his blog, his work with Beoir & to talk about some of his favourite beers. This podcast episode was recorded at The Malthouse in Trim, County Meath over a pint of local craft beer producer Brú Brewery's Rua.

This week on the 11PM Somewhere podcast, Ian shakes off a cold that caused this episode to be late to talk about the concept of 'gateway beers' when it comes to Craft Beer & Real Beer, & draws parallels between his experiences chasing hops & IBU's with his lifelong scoville pursuits.

The day after the day before of the AllTech Craft Beers & Food Fair at the Convention Center Dublin, Ian relives his experience as the Edmund Hillary of the anti-fizzy-piss movement, who found his Tensing Norgay in the form of Ireland's infamous IrishBeerSnob; Wayne Dunne. Covered in this is Ian's experience of some of the beers on show that stood out to him, meeting some of the brewers at the show like Sam of Black's of Kinsale, Patrick from Bru, the N17 Brew Crew, & Paddy from Windsor & Eton.

This week on the show, Ian talks about the progress of the #CraftBeer & #RealBeer revolution in Ireland since 2012, how the big boys are letting their worry & concern show in the form of acquisitions, & how with a market share of 1%, craft beer in Ireland is on the road thanks to discerning taste, consumer interest &with a little help from initiatives such as the Vanguard Beer Collective.

For Episode 3 of the 11PM Somewhere Podcast, Ian shares some stories about the passion for the Real Beer movement in Ireland today, how memories of beer making at home with his parents as a child have help reinforce his love for real beer today as a thirty something, & shares experiences of some of the people he's met recently from the Real Beer scene in Dublin.

For Episode #1 of the 11PM Somewhere Podcast, Ian gives the lay of the land for the show, talks about a very recent local experience with artisan/scratch made food & #RealBeer, & gives some insight to his own background with #RealBeer, & what to look forward to with this podcast as a listener.