Brilliant stuff, as ever ...

Well, this is right on the money for my palate. Nicely balanced, maybe leaning into its hops side, and not sickly, and nice to see a sort of nod to the past with the use of invert sugar. Plus, it's actually clear and bright - my faith in Irish brewers has returned! ...

Brewers take note ...

Once again, I've made a huge mistake ...

Near enough right ...

Firstly, it's a great word - I'm ploeteren myself at the best of times. Secondly, I wonder if it's related to the word 'plodding'? ...

So this is a Belgian Pale ale? Looks more like a Witbier, and tastes a little like one too. Is it too much to ask Irish brewers to clear their beers or at least let you know if they're murky? I never, never thought I'd be encouraging the use of BJCP guidelines, but yet here I am ...

This week's edition of news, nuggets and longreads is now up, with all sorts of great stuff, including several responses to one of our own posts from earlier in the week. 🍺🍻 boakandbailey.com/2025/10/news...

This is the feckin' mood ye put me in at times. And, thank christ I have two hands ...

I'm continuing my English odyssey tonight for first supper, with a couple of Greggs sausage rolls and a few Walkers ready salted crisps, plus added kimchi - as you do ...

My much-better-half picked me up these today, so it seemed a good enough reason to break out some English Wedgewood in the gorgeous shape of this Keith Murray designed tankard from c. 1940 ...

#HouseOfGuinness: Where Are They Now?

Pubs must try new ideas to draw in customers.

Have you ever been to Bonn? My latest blog post/newsletter is up now. www.katiematherwrites.com/the-gulp/bonn

I possess a sort of 'tapering glass, slender and barley-wreathed" so mentioned in the essay highlighted in my post, and I will drink from it tonight some Old Ale - although he'd say Mild - in remembrance of Charles Hugh Davies ...

A new blog post, and a small departure from my usual obsession to highlight a wonderful piece of writing on pubs and beer that I believe was lost until now ...

A new blog post, and a small departure from my usual obsession to highlight a wonderful piece of writing on pubs and beer that I believe was lost until now ...

Loved this - and I'm very curious and intrigued about the 'annual Irish cask beer festival'! ...

My god, poor and inaccurate reporting like this is the reason why many of us were concerned about the show. How many errors can you spot here? ...

I wouldn't pretend to have a fantastic palate, and it's always changing (like everyones), but I can be sensitive to certain 'off' flavours like the fishy one from vegetable/rapeseed oil, pork that's just on the turn (to me), and DMS in beer. Another big one is the mouldy taste off dried thyme ...

I found a lovely piece of pub-prose in an old newspaper earlier that seems to have been lost to time. I need to track it back to the source and will put it up on my blog in the coming days. And no, the beer is unrelated ...

Has anyone any thoughts on what and where the real oldest pub in Ireland (don't!) might be? It would need to be 17th century or older, have roughly the same footprint and walls, and have always been an alehouse/tavern/drink-focused spot. So not just an inn - or a different trade ...

Inside Dundalk Bay Brewery’s bet on innovation www.drinksindustryireland.ie/inside-dunda...

Think While You Drink on Thurs features Local Archaeologist & Brewer Nick Fitzgerald and Heritage Brewer @beernouveau.co.uk. Together, they'll explore what early (pre-historic) beers might have tasted like, and what flavours are still used today. goodchemistrybrewing.co.uk/pages/think-...

They asked for a response, so I couldn't exactly let them down, could I? On Belgian beer, Hegelian dialectics, and why Belgium's craft beer turn makes perfect sense. In response to @boakandbailey.bsky.social: boakandbailey.com/2025/10/we-d...

'We had a better time again in a corner cafe near our hotel which, like many of the best boozers, was densely layered with history while still feeling like part of the modern world. How can shiny and new compare?'

This is an excellent piece - it really is. It reminded me too that I've been hoarding information on the seasonal migration of Irish hop pickers into England in the 19th century that I really need to write up ...

'... a beer specialist will join Paul to guide attendees through the thoughtful pairing of Paul’s food with the unique flavour profiles of Smithwick’s brews, an experience that highlights the harmony between Irish cuisine and craft beer.' savourkilkenny.com/events/paul-...

'The reason why Irish pubs have family names over the doors - After legislation passed in 1872, it became a legal requirement to display the owner's name over the front door of a pub.' I keep reading or hearing this comment from multiple sources, but it's not quite true, as I've argued here ...

'The story begins with the origin story, which is the probably mythological thing of where the night watchman fell asleep and the barley got burned, and so the Guinness was black.' 'Probably', he says! You'd think you'd fact-check the origin story? The answer to the question below is no, btw ...

An absolute gem of a find from yesterday. An original 1894 edition of Irish writer Jane Barlow's 'The End of Elfintown' with fantastic Beardsleyesque illustrations by Laurence Housman. It has an incredible gold-embossed front and back, and gilded page edges. It made my day - a huge mood-lifter ...

Proper Job is an institution. There, we've said it. Who better to talk about the legacy and impact of this IPA than @atjbeer.bsky.social? www.pelliclemag.com/home/2025/9/...

MORNING! Here's this week's round up of interesting writing about beer and pubs, this time with a few new-to-us voices. 🍻🍺 boakandbailey.com/2025/10/news...

Quare auld shtuff ...

This? Why this bugs the absolute hell out of me ...

Bonus points for the rarer 'baby tulip' glass with the large bottle in Syd Harkins in Kilkenny ...

I know it makes no difference to the taste - and at the risk of sounding like certain beer drinkers - there's something incredibly wrong about getting Hofbrauhaus Original served to you in a tulip pint glass ...

Hanging on in quiet desperation indeed, but it's not just the English way ...

For those interested in those Guinness tankards, here's a piece I wrote a couple of years back on them. Because quite frankly, there's a lot of rubbish spouted about them ...

I'm quite curious about this recipe, but it certainly does read a bit like Rachel's Trifle from Friends ...

Is the fight against people on the metro listening to their phones on loudspeaker? It feels like it’s lost, and civilisation with it

In a bit of a dark mood all day, plus I've been reading a lot about the coal mines from up where I grew up, so a trio of 'black' IPAs seemed appropriate ...

I'm disappointed that a brewery like Theakston would be happy with the wording on the rebranding of their Brennan's stout. 'From the Heart of County Wexford' on the tap badge implies it's brewed there, and it never has been ...

A too-soon taste of my latest historic(ish) Irish homebrew. Great colour, and I was a little worried about the amount of hops, but it's quite balanced - although it will probably change over the next while. It's a bit of fun, but nice to be brewing our beer history as well as writing about it! ...

I've been thinking about House of Guinness and its impact on people's perception of Ireland's history, both beer-related and non-beer-related. I wrote down my thoughts and opinions on Guinness in this post a while back and can't help but think it now needs a sequel with those thoughts in mind ...

An absolute hames of a brewday. A stuck mash and I missed my target gravity by much more than I'd like - so much for 'strong' - even after extending the boil. I also managed to damage a seal on the GF through rough carelessness. But at least I do have a nice batch of wort with a good colour ...

Sparging on a rare weekday brewday. Mostly using localish Hunter malt, and my own very local Magnum and Chinook hops, to make an 'Irish Strong Bitter' if we want to title it ...

Well, I made it through House of Guinness. Now, if you will excuse me, I just need to rinse my eyes and ears out with some Special Export ...

If you think Irish beer mythology is something from the past and only created by Big Breweries, then you need to start questioning some of the tall tales spouted by a number of Irish 'craft' beer entities. Spurious dates, invisible breweries, rebadged beers, pretend historic ales, etc. ...

Well, I'd forgotten just how pleasant this beer can be. I hadn’t seen it in a while - or maybe I've been ignoring it? Red lemonade with a dash of cola, gingernut biscuits, and something dry and vermouth-like. What many an Irish Red Ale should aspire to be, perhaps? ...