Places You Must Visit - Feature Post : Bull & Castle

Hey everyone.
Today's post is the start of a new collection of posts that will be a regular feature of The Genuine Beer Blog; looking at great pubs, bars & restaurants that serve high quality beer and great food, throughout Ireland. Today's post kick starting this new feature is a fantastic Pub/Restaurant set in the heart of Dublin; today we are looking at the Bull & Castle in Dublin's Christchurch, Dublin 8.

Bull & Castle

5-7 Lord Edward Street,

Christchurch,

Dublin 8

http://bull-and-castle.fxbuckley.ie

The Bull & Castle is a fantastic pub that stocks a huge variety of craft beers from not only Ireland, but all over the world; it also has a reputation for absolutely outstanding food. This outstanding food all comes down to the history of F.X Buckley; one of the longest running butchers in Dublin. Francis Xavier Buckley opened his first butchers back in 1930 on Dublin's Moore street, which has since become a well known cornerstone in Dublin. This prestigious butchers provides the best quality meat to all of their steakhouses around Dublin, which can be experienced in the Bull & Castle. This great meat comes down to the hanging process that is used and also to the knowledge and great breeds of cattle that are used to produce their top quality meat. The knowledge of their meat is also evident when it comes to the cooking process; where you will be given the chance to have your steak prepared however you like it, from blue to well done; not to mention a huge selection of steaks available.

This therefore sets you up for a great meal that can only be accompanied with fantastic beer; this is something that the Bull & Castle has heaps of.
The Bull and Castle prides itself in offering its customers a huge variety of beer and other alcoholic beverages from all over Ireland and the rest of the world. The Bull and Castle provide a huge selection of craft beers; gently persuading its customers to try something different from the main stream beer that is out there. If you have an open mind about beer and are up for trying some fantastic craft beer then you really should give the Bull and Castle your attention. There is a vast menu of beer to choose from which people may find overwhelming and not really know where to start. This is not a problem as the great staff at the Bull and Castle will help you to find a beer that will suit your taste, asking which style of beer you like and what flavours your enjoy; matching a beer to that taste. You are also able to get a tasting tray, where you can try either 4 beers (small tray), or 8 beers (ultimate tray). This gives you the opportunity to try a huge selection of different craft beers from all over, its a fantastic opportunity. The Bull and Castle has beers ranging from Ireland to America, from Scotland to Germany and from England to Belgium, you will definitely find a beer that you will enjoy that you may not have tried before.

If beer isn't your thing, not to worry as they also offer a fantastic range of Wines, Ciders and Spirits; something for everyone; there is also a cocktail menu to help get your evening started.

I really cannot highlight enough what a fantastic establishment the Bull and Castle is; it really will not leave you disappointed in the slightest. I would highly recommend giving the Bull and Castle a try, if not for the great selection of alcoholic beverages available; but for the fantastic steak house menu or even the finger licking good bar menu upstairs.

Overall I would give the Bull and Castle a rating of

for fantastic food and a huge, amazing selection of Craft Beer; a real must visit Pub.

If you are a pub/restaurant interested in The Genuine Beer Blog doing a feature post on you; or if you have any suggestions of must try places, please drop me an email at shaneraiseurglass@gmail.com.

Shane

Continue Reading...

Kinsale Brings a Brand New Craft Brewery to Town :D

Hey everyone, today's post is a really exciting review of a brand new Craft Brewery from Kinsale, Co. Cork, Ireland. Hope you all Enjoy :D

The Blacks Kinsale Craft Brewery
From Humble beginnings comes a fantastic new brewing company down in Kinsale Co. Cork. Like most of us avid beer drinkers and brewers there is always a dream to produce and supply the public with your own beer, for the Blacks Kinsale Craft Brewery this is no longer a dream. This new brewing company started off with a little brewing time in another fantastic brewers headquarters down in Cork,  the Eight Degrees brewery. This gave the guys a chance to start making their first beer, their Pale Ale, which allowed them to get their new beer out to the public as quick as possible. This brewing time acted as a great learning tool for the guys and allowed them to really harness in and perfect that first beer that would be presented to the public. 

As with us all there was deliberation as to whether to start off with a safe Pale Ale or to really push the boundries and make a beer that they love and one that they would want to drink, so this is what they did. They put aside all the boring, plain, pale ales that are out there and really started to work on a recipe that would wow all of its drinkers. This Pale Ale has a great balance of Citra and Cascade hops bringing a whole new dimension to the beer. Several batches of this beer where made in order to really bring a brand new, quality Pale Ale to the public and boy have they made an impression. 

This is what the guys over at the Blacks Kinsale Craft Brewery had to say about their Pale Ale:
"This beer is mostly about the hops but there is some nice biscuit like character in there as well. Being based in Kinsale we also wanted to make a beer that could be paired well with food, and give local restaurants a gourmet beer option for their menu's. The beer works really well with seafood as well as going great with spicy food and anything from the BBQ.  I think the profile and bitterness level is spot on for a Pale Ale but we look forward to bringing in more bittering and hops in our IPA series." 

I was lucky enough to give this Pale Ale a try and I can't tell you how blown away I was with it, it is absolutely fantastic. Here is a full beer review really giving you all an idea of the true character of the Blacks Kinsale Craft Brewery's Pale Ale.

Beer Name:
Pale Ale

Brewery:
Blacks Kinsale Craft Brewery

Alcoholic Percentage:

5.0% Vol

Measure:

330ml

Taste:

Strong Hops, Smooth, Slight Sweetness, Bitter After Taste

Colour:

Deep Orange

Odour:

Strong Hops, Slight Citrus, Slight Tropical fruits

General Thoughts:

The Blacks Kinsale Craft Brewery Pale Ale is a great, full bodied Pale Ale, which packs a real hops punch, which I love. There is a bitterness that comes from the two hop varieties used in the beer, Citra and Cascade, this gives the beer a real moreish quality, making you want to keep going back for more and more. The Blacks Kinsale Craft Brewery Pale Ale is a real easy drinking beer, smooth and full of well rounded flavours, ranging from slight tropical fruit notes, to citrus notes, all the way through to the mouth watering grapefruit flavours. There is a slight bitter after taste which helps keep the drinker interested. There is little to medium carbonation in this beer, making it nice and refreshing, perfect for those summer nights and days, drinking in the sun while cracking out the BBQ. This beer really blew me away, for a breweries first attempts at a mass produced craft beer, this just knocks you for six. I was absolutely amazed by it and really cannot wait to get out to the shops and get myself a crate of this fantastic beer. If a brewing company can make a beer like this on their first attempt then I am really excited about what the future has in store for the Blacks Kinsale Craft Brewery and what other new beers will be coming our way in the future. I know one thing, I cannot wait to get my hands on them. All in all a fantastic start to the Blacks Kinsale Craft Brewery's beers, not only making a great beer, but one that is truly different and memorable.

Some Important Information:
The official launch of the Blacks Kinsale Craft Brewery Pale Ale is Friday 28^th June in The folk house in Kinsale. Many local pubs and restaurants are stocking the beer so far and they hope to have it in most places by the end of June.

They will also be rolling out the Pale Ale to other Cork Venues and Dublin Venues in the next couple of months, more on this will be available in the coming weeks.

Shane

Continue Reading...