Author Archives: Rob Nesbit

About Rob Nesbit

+Rob Nesbit Beer drinker and all round annoyance. Likes drinking, football, cricket and having a good time.

The Spanish Craft Armada

Thanks to Dominic Lombard, from the website http://www.drinkingspanish.com/, for this article looking at the small but growing world of the Spanish Craft beer scene. He also reviews a nice Bottle of Parking C Pelicano.

Join Dominic on twitter, at @domgetxo, for all things on wine and beer down in sunny Spain. (Lucky fella!)

The Spanish Craft Armada

Let’s face it, Spain has never been famous for it’s beer quality. To be honest the main brands in Spain are very cheap, tasteless lagers usually made with low cost malts mixed with rice or corn or both adjuncts. Served chilled in small glasses called Cañas, which is perfect on a hot summer’s day if you want a cold liquid to refresh you. But in the last 4-5 years Spain has been going through a mad slightly out of control craft beer revolution. It seems that increasingly the natives have found out that there is more to beer than what they are served by the big Spanish brewers.

The Spanish craft brewers and owners are made up of beer enthusiasts, home brewers, business men, ex-property developers, and marketing people. Some are doing it for the love of beer and an interest in being able to make a living from it, while others are in it to make money. The problem in Spain is that at the moment there are far more brands then consumers and that the quality is often poor. Though there are 10 or 15 notable producers that constantly make good quality beers.

The next 2-3 years will see many producers or brand owners fall by the wayside and hopefully, with a bit of luck, the truly good producers will be able to survive. We have seen that some of the bigger brewers, like Mahou for example, are taking note of this craft revolution and are releasing very soon a special edition of 4 distinct “craft” beers onto the market. Also Estrella Damm, a brewery from Barcelona, brought out the famous Inedit beer which was apparently a collaboration with the renowned but now ex-El Bulli Sommeliers. Unfortunately during the summer the CEO of Estrella Damm made some foolish comments about the Spanish craft scene, basically saying that he feared that Spanish craft breweries where making beer in garages or sub standard conditions and feared a quality failure would damage the image of Spanish beer quality. Which is funny considering that Estrella Damn sells in about 85 countries and only exports 15% of it’s production so the comment seemed to be more focused on the Spanish consumer than the international customer.

Spanish craft beer sales within Spain currently sit at just under 1% of beer sales, but it is growing at quite a pace and I think that the big Spanish breweries are looking at markets such as the USA and Ireland and are worried that they will loose market share as the Spanish consumer decides to want beers that are more exciting and with stronger flavours.

Review: Bottle of Parking C Pelicano, White IPA 7.1% ABV

Parking C Pelicano

Mateo & Bernabe was founded in 2012 by Alberto Pacheco and his wife’s family in Logroño, which is the capital of the famous Spanish wine region of the Rioja. Alberto was born to Spanish immigrants in Venezuela and was brought up in Chile before deciding on a return to Spain to train as a chef near where his mothers family was from which was Logroño. After only 5 months in Logroño he met his future wife and his roots where set. When working as a chef he started to experiment with home brewing and then started to go to Italy to attend brewing courses and increase his knowledge of the industry. He then decided that he would like to brew beer and make a living from it. Sitting down with his wife and his father-in-law, the three of them proceeded to write up a business plan and the result was that, after a couple of years, Mateo & Bernabe was born.

The brewery has 2 ranges of beers Mateo & Bernabe which are delicate beers that are ideal to have with food, and Parking which is the experimental and fun range of beers which they also do collaboration brews.

Parking C Pelicano is a White IPA which was a collaboration brew with Beancurd Turtle who is a brewer named Daniel with 30 years experience from California. Lemon thyme and grated orange peel were added to the beer.

Appearance: Foamy bright white head, lovely slightly cloudy gold yellow with a slight orange hue to it.

Aroma: Malty, dried grass, clove and hints of and dried bitter orange peel

Palette: very delicate bubbles that gives you a lovely light refreshing volume in the mouth then Citrus fruit peel especially grapefruit and lemon followed with freshly cut semi dried grass hints of bitter orange with a long finish citrus peal ending. The beer is wonderfully balanced and the 7.1% is dangerously unnoticeable.

By Dominic Lombard
@domgetxo

http://www.drinkingspanish.com/

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Dublin beer crawl, part two

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Dublin beer crawl, part two.

Dublin, beer, drinking, Guinness, beer crawl, pub, Craic, Smithwicks, drunk, irish wit, craft beers

Ireland!

Plan was to head up to the city for the biggest Dublin derby of the year between Bohemians and Shamrock Rovers, and have a day out about town sampling the pubs of Dublin. This time round without the Guinness. Drinking mostly Smithwicks, and for all you beer snobs, it’s a beer crawl not a craft beer tasting session, so get over it!

The Ha’penny Bridge Inn 42 Wellington Quay, Temple Bar, Dublin 2, Ireland https://www.facebook.com/HaPennyBridgeInn

The Ha'penny Bridge Inn, Dublin, beer, drinking, Guinness, beer crawl, pub, Craic, Smithwicks, drunk, irish wit, craft beers

In the Ha’penny

Got off the bus just near O Connell Street, so we (me and the brother) decided to head for our first pint, and an early one at that, at The Ha’penny Bridge Inn, just across the Liffey from the Ha’penny Bridge (imagine that!). This popular bar in Dublin is a good place for comedy and live music. It has comedy nights a few times a week, with the odd live mike thrown in now and again, and it’s where you can see well known and up and coming comedians try out their new material. And the music they have on offer isn’t just your standard Irish pub fair, bluegrass and blues can often be heard upstairs on a cold wet Dublin night.

The bar is just around the corner from Temple bar, but it’s cheaper (around €5 for a pint) and probably better than anything on that tourist blighted area. Quieter and with a mostly local clientele, this bar is a good place to sit down and have a friendly chat, without any music blaring off a radio, or sports on the box turned to the max.

Just over the Liffey

The bar man/owner/manager “Mick” is a bit of a legend, with his piercing wit and comic outbursts. For people that are not used to his one-liners and banter they might be a little unnerved by his directness, but he is a funny fecker, and chatty to boot. It’s always good sport watching a lost tourist wander in trying to figure out if they were insulted by the barman, or not! Once my brother, not a regular, walked into the bar one morning, and without a word Mick threw him the keys and told him to open up the jacks (toilets) for the customers! He is definitely a character. But don’t be put off by that description, Mick, the bar staff and the regulars are all very welcoming, and it’s very easy to strike up a good chat in this old style Dublin boozer. The rumour is that Mick might be the inspiration behind a famous bar man off a very popular comedy show on RTE, an Irish TV station. Perhaps, or so the story goes!

Harp lager, Dublin, beer, drinking, Guinness, beer crawl, pub, Craic, Smithwicks, drunk, irish wit, craft beers

Pint no.1

The Guinness is pretty good in this place as to be expected with the Brewery only up the road, but I wanted to lay off the black stuff, so I went for a pint of Harp, since it was such a long time I had seen that drink on tap!

Sitting down with the brother, ready to enjoy our drinks, it wasn’t long before we were joined by some good company. Met a lad from Cork, who was up for the Hurling match the previous day. They lost to Tipperary, quite heavily it has to be said. Sure enough Mick got involved, telling us he was a Tipp man, and needless to say that’s when the friendly ribbing started. All good fun, and a perfect way to start the beer crawl. Good pint in good company, talking about sport, and it was only about 12 in the day. Can’t ask for much more in life than that!

Unfortunately we couldn’t hang around, and off we went to collect the tickets for the game.

Casa Rebelde 4 fownes street Upper, Dublin, http://casarebelde.com/

Casa Rebelde

Prized shirt

Was collecting my tickets from this football store in Temple Bar. Could have bought them at the game but wanted to show the brother this shop. Casa Rebelde stock all sorts of football t shirts and jerseys, mostly with a political or ultra-slant. It’s the kind of shop if I ever had a decent wedge of money I could spend a packet in here. Was particularly impressed with the tees for Dead Man’s Shoes, awesome!
The owner was friendly yet refused to sell me the signed Diego jersey on the wall. Bastard!

Quays Bar Temple Bar Dublin 2 https://www.facebook.com/quaysbartemplebar?fref=ts

Quays Bar

Retro

Pint no.2

After the shop was dying for a pish so went straight to the Quays. With its central location and very classic exterior it was hard not to go into this bar. Noted the standard toilet setting that all good bars seem to have, and was ready for another drink. Quays Bar in the heart of Dublin’s famous Temple Bar is a bit of a touristy bar, but it does offer great live traditional music every day.

As it was still relatively early there was very few customers in the bar, so I can’t really write up too much about the bar. Had a decent pint and some small chat with the bar man. I chided him for including David Costa in his fantasy football team, how wrong was that! I drank a pint of Smithwicks, which as you can see from the photo, was great.

The Dawson Lounge 25 Dawson St, Dublin 2 https://www.facebook.com/TheDawsonLounge

The Dawson Lounge , Dublin, beer, drinking, Guinness, beer crawl, pub, Craic, Smithwicks, drunk, irish wit, craft beers

Dublin’s smallest

Next up was the Dawson Lounge, a pub the brother wanted to show me, which was situated just around the corner from St Stephens Green. Apparently it’s the smallest pub in Ireland, so yeah I had to see this small boozer. It was very easy to pass by, in fact we did! It has a very small entrance with a stairs that leads down to the dimly lit basement pub. The staff said that when full to capacity it can hold about 50 to 60 people, at maximum squash! The bar was busy for that time of the day, but it was surprisingly easy to find a seat and some leg room, maybe we Irish are tiny bastards?

Pint no.3

Had a Smithwicks, which was fine, and enjoyed the bar room atmosphere which was lovely and cosy. I definitely will try and return for a cold wintry day as I can imagine how warm it would be snuggled up sipping a nice hot whisky as it snows outside. The novelty factor is very enticing, definitely a bar I would love to show to a foreign friend visiting Dublin for a few days, as it’s a fun bar to check out.

The only problem I had with the bar was its so small that you can overhear what others are saying. No problem for me that talks shite, but unfortunately I had to hear the conversation going on beside me which was all about Shopping and “My course in Trinity”. A little off putting, but that’s the luck of the draw I guess.

Madigan’s 4 Lower Abbey Street, Dublin 1 https://www.facebook.com/pages/Madigans-Abbey-St-Dublin/187768177973132?fref=ts

Madigans

Always get my scruffy hair cut in Dublin, in Dobro Polski on Talbot Street to be exact. The Polish give cheap haircuts that are quick, easy and don’t mess around, simples. So we had to leave the Southside and head across O Connell bridge and make our way off too Talbot Street.

Pint no.4

But we decided to try a quick pint in Madigan’s on Lower Abbey Street, just across from the Luas stop, to break up our walk. The pub appears lovely from the outside, a real old fashioned bar, and inside it has the hallmarks of a decent looking boozer. The pub was very quiet, but perhaps that is what trade is like off O Connell Street on a lazy Monday afternoon. Madigan’s do good food, but we decided to have another pint of Smithwicks and stave off the food for another while. Its perfect location means that it’s a good bar for a pit stop, a quick pint after a day’s shopping or whatever. Nothing really to rate as there was no atmosphere or chat, but the pint was good, service fine, and batteries refreshed.

Mother Kelly’s 74 Talbot St, Dublin 1 https://www.facebook.com/pages/mother-kellys-talbot-street/116806058354122?fref=ts

Mother Kelly's, Dublin, beer, drinking, Guinness, beer crawl, pub, Craic, Smithwicks, drunk, irish wit, craft beers

Ma Kelly’s

Pint no.5

Got my hair cut in Talbot Street, took a little bit too much off, but heh at least it will do me for a few months! Met the brother who was waiting in the nearby Mother Kelly’s, a bar I had never drank in before, not many of them left, eh! Tired, sat down and enjoyed another good pint of Smithwicks, in a small but lovely looking pub. Didn’t get to chat to anyone but sensed that a good atmosphere was building up. A decent crowd was present, the bar staff were extremely friendly, and I’d say if we had stayed we would have met a few interesting characters no doubt. Really enjoyed my pint and time in Mother Kelly’s and will definitely be back in this boozer next time I’m up for drinks in Dublin. A nice little boozer in the heart of Talbot Street, recommended.

J and M Cleary 36 Amiens Street Dublin 1

J and M Cleary

The Big Fella

For our next drink we went to J and M Cleary’s just under the railway bridge to Connolly Station on Amiens Street. One of my favourite old time Dublin boozers, always like to pop into this bar just so I can ogle at all the cool old style photos and pictures on the wall, mostly commemorating Irelands 1916 Rising and War of Independence. Apparently a few of the people on the photos actually used to drink in this pub too! And I was also told that the pub was used a few times as a bar room setting in the movie Michael Collins.

Apart from all that, the pub had a good friendly atmosphere with some interesting characters in attendance, the bar staff were up for a good chat, and the pint of Smithwicks I had was top stuff! Overall a good experience and definitely a pub that one could easily while away a good few hours in. Recommended.

Mullets 45 Amiens Street, Dublin 1

Mullets , Dublin, beer, drinking, Guinness, beer crawl, pub, Craic, Smithwicks, drunk, irish wit, craft beers

Mullets Bar

Not bad!

Just down the road from Cleary’s we ventured into Mullets bar. From the outside there seemed to be a lot of noise coming from the pub. Sure enough the place was pretty busy, with a rather boisterous atmosphere building up. Even though I used to live up the road in Fairview I never drank in this bar before. No particular reason but never really noticed it before, which sounds a bit mad when I think about it. This is where we started to see the Tuborg promotions, which we would subsequently encounter a lot from there on in. But we stuck to the pints of Smithwicks, which were nice and cold. The bar has a definite republican leaning and that could be seen all over the walls, with an awesome collection of Bodhrans adorned all around the pub. The two country lads had to endure a bit of Dublin wit but we are well able for that kind of “banter”. A decent pub and will definitely be back again for a longer stay in the future.

Lloyds 46 Amiens St, Dublin 1 https://www.facebook.com/pages/Lloyds-Bar-Lounge/186269958152548?fref=ts

Lloyds

CCTV

Didn’t have to walk too far to get to the next pub, Lloyds is right beside Mullets bar. They should really knock the adjacent wall and have a walk through! Lloyds is a family run pub that dates all the way back to 1893 and has a fairly lively atmosphere going on at all times of the day. The horse racing was one so we decided to have a few bets, all losers of course, but good fun with a nice pint of Smithwicks, friendly staff, and some good company. Funny to see the CCTV camera at the bar, but I guess this part of Dublin can get hairy at times, a fatal stabbing just up the road the previous night! Not a bad old pub, and one to return to in the near future.

Molloy’s Bar Talbot Street, Dublin 1 https://www.facebook.com/pages/Molloys-Talbot-Street-Dublin-1/124000427635583

Molloy’s Bar, Dublin, beer, drinking, Guinness, beer crawl, pub, Craic, Smithwicks, drunk, irish wit, craft beers

Molloy’s Bar Side Entrance

Food!

We were getting hungry at this stage. Eight beers and not a bit too eat, so we decided to go back on ourselves and head over to Malloy’s Bar on Talbot Street, in at the side door to where they serve their food.

Now I already had reviewed Molloy’s bar before, in my ten pints of Guinness ten pubs Dublin beer crawl, but I know they have good food and it was handy for a pit stop. Just to say that I like this pub: near the bookies, always a decent lively atmosphere, good pints and nice food. Did the business.

Previous review here>

O’Reilly’s Bros, ( The Chancery Inn) Inns Quay Dublin 7

O Reilly’s

Pint no.10

As we were heading back into the city I really fancied a pint in O’Reillys Bros bar near Smithfield. The bar is well known as one of the few remaining bars left in Dublin that has a license to open at six in the morning. I have drank it in from six before, after an all-nighter, and it’s a pretty cool experience to be drunk at the same time as so many are heading off to work in the morning. It’s a decent old style boozer, rough and ready, with some real characters in attendance. Had a pretty good pint of Smithwicks, and listened to some classic music off their jukebox. I like this bar, always great fun in it, and one I definitely would recommend for people who want to start an early bar crawl in the city. Recommended.

The Celt Pub 81 Talbot St, Dublin

The Celt

Pint no.11

We ended up next back up to Talbot Street for now the third time, as we got a call from a few people who were heading to the game who were drinking in The Celt Bar. I was never in this bar before as I figured it was a touristy kind of bar what with its fancy looking menu and its cheesy enough name. But to be fair it does have a very good reputation and has music seven times a week on show. Unfortunately no music was on when we arrived but the bar was heaving at the seams, which goes to show you that it must be a decent pub considering it was a lazy Monday afternoon. The Smithwicks was fine, and the service friendly, but can’t really rate the bar as it was so packed and we were beginning to notice that the game was fast approaching. But I made a mental note to return to this bar someday in the future just to experience the live music and ambiance that everyone raves about. Oh yeah, they also have two parrots at the back of the bar on watch! As we were about to head out the door, and make our way to Dalymount Park for the match, we were told that the game was off, but no way did we believe it, surely it was more of this “Dublin wit” that we heard throughout the day!

The Game

Dalymount in sight

Postponed!

But it was true. At the time we had no idea why. I figured it might be some kind of trouble as this game does have a bite to it, a big Dublin derby with a lot of headers always around for a scrap, and the area was absolutely teeming with filth. After mulling about with supporters outside we heard that the real reason it was called off was due to a failed late pitch inspection. WTF!!! After heading up for the day especially with this match in mind, I was a little peeved at the late notice. Maybe I should have stayed the day in The Ha’penny Bridge Inn all along. But that’s life, especially life in the badly run League of Ireland. Not sure if it was the correct decision, but shame on Bohemians FC for not making the pitch playable despite many warnings the week beforehand.

http://extratime.ie/newsdesk/articles/12850/bohs-v-shamrock-rovers-called-off-due-to-unplayable-pitch—twitter-reacts/

The Bohemian (McGeoughs) 66 Phibsboro Rd Phibsboro, Dublin 7

Lunch

McGeoughs

So nothing was to be done only head to the Bohemians bar not far from the ground. The Bohemian bar is nearly as old as Dalymount Park, if not older. It hasn’t changed a whole lot in those 100 years or more with its distinct old style feel to it. A decent boozer with a nice pint of Smithwicks, with a good friendly crowd present despite the postponed game. Had a very deep and long conversation with what looked like two of Dublin’s biggest Cliff Richard fans. They were sticking by their hero, lock him up I say! Good banter though!

Tuborg, finally!

After seeing so many promos for Tuborg all over town and in a lot of the bars we had seen I decided to try the damn thing. It was fine I guess, bit strong, but hard to say as it was drank a little rushed. At this stage we were both very tired, a long day, a lot of walking, not much to eat but a good bit to drink. After getting a bit of food in a local chipper we decided to start the long trek to the bus station.

The Brew Dock Amiens Street Dublin 1 https://www.facebook.com/thebrewdock?fref=ts

Just across from the bus station is The Brew Dock which used to be known as Kate’s Cottage. The old rustic style décor is more or less the same as the old bar, but the beers on tap and on offer are totally different. Gone is the Guinness, the Smithwicks, the Bud, and all the mass produced beer and in its place is some of the finest craft beers you can find in the capital city. Their selection is boundless, 21 taps, with craft beers from both Ireland and the USA. They have a sign outside that reads “No crap on tap”. Anyway it’s a handy pub for a pint before heading home, and we changed our beers again. No Smithwicks this time round so we went for Boston’s finest, a pint of Samuel Adams. A decent pint and it was refreshing to be in a nice relaxed bar with no loud music or a TV as an unnecessary distraction. Now Kate Cottage’s was a good pub that was relatively popular, so it’s a big step for The Brew Dock to set up a trendy craft beer pub this side of the town. I am guessing that they are hoping to attract a lot of attention from the office types that work in the nearby Irish Financial Services Centre (IFSC). But that’s the thing, I found the atmosphere a little dead to be honest. Nice and relaxed and calming, but not really a place that you would meet someone new, have the “craic”, or a place with some serious true Dublin character. A little bit contrived, but heh these places are supposedly popular nowadays so it remains to be seen if it works out for them in the long run. I would like to have a good taste of all those exciting looking beers though! Some day!

So overall a good day of drinking in the capital city. Met some interesting people, and had a lot to drink. Despite my drinking tally in double figures, I wasn’t too bad, and I’m already looking forward to doing a part three sometime around Christmas or early next year!! Bring it on!

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Bilger Stümple celebrates its rebirth

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Bilger Stümple

www.fuerstenberg.de

Brewed by Fürstlich Fürstenbergische Brauerei
Style: Dortmunder/Helles
Donaueschingen, Germany

After 38 years Bilger Stümple is back on the market. Bilger, which had been taken over by Fürstenberg in 1968, was set in the small German town of Gottmadingen, where the “Stümple” is now set to return. The cult beer is back again, and a historical wrong is righted at last. Many Gottmadingen natives spoke of the “black day” that the Fürstenberg brewery took over Bilger and proceeded to close it down, market economics at its worst. Some locals of Gottmadingen even went as far as refusing to touch any Fürstenberg brews in protest at their aggressive actions. But Fürstenberg, now at least, are willing to give Bilger another shot at glory and have reissued the “Stümple”, one of the Bilger beers, to introduce to the market, particularly geared towards a young target group, mainly students, from 18 to 29 years. Retro is back.

“Schmeckt auch ohne Durst!”, Bilger Stumple

Werner Hohloch, the former master brewer who had developed the Stümple, is now back to team up with Daniel Hague, a young brew master with Fürstenberg, to help develop a new and improved Stümple. The original style and flavours are preserved with a slight modification to cater for modern tastes, and the original classic bottle is kept.

The reason for the relative success of the original beer, founded in 1821, was that people began talking about this small town beer which was tasty and came in a distinct eye catching bottle. The railways bringing these tales far and wide, and that by the mid 20th century Stümple was already a cult beer amongst the German beer drinking public. Fürstenberg, meanwhile, in the 60’s and 70’s were beginning to show some muscle and started acquiring many smaller breweries to expand its base all over Germany. Unfortunately after buying Bilger they took the decision to stop producing “Stümple”, and that was that until the present reissue. The beer market at the moment craves retro and classic beers so Fürstenberg decided to give Stümple another try, and hopefully it works out for this classic German brew.

Review: Bottle of Bilger Stümple Helles Lager 4.9% ABV

Retro

Comes in a rather cool looking retro style bottle with an interesting label bearing the words “Schmeckt auch ohne Durst!”, which my rather limited German tells me is “taste also without thirst” or something close!

The aroma is very strong with notes of lemon hops. Quite a strong overall smell

The appearance had a nice golden yellow colour with a decent sized frothy head with good lacing which lasts.

I found the taste was very strong, especially the aftertaste. Bready malt tastes were apparent throughout and the beer does settle down to a nice relaxing drinkable brew. Not a bad beer, drinkable and I’m sure it will be a hit with the young hipsters out and about round town!

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A Munich beer hall special. Prost!

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Paulaner Hefe-Weissbier Naturtrüb

http://www.paulaner.com/en

Brewed by Paulaner Brauerei (Schörghuber)
Style: German Hefeweizen
Munich, Germany

Paulaner Hefe-Weissbier Naturtrüb is the number one wheat beer from Germany. The “Naturtrüb” part means that the beer is naturally cloudy. With an alcohol content of 5.5% ( vol ), it has a natural cloudiness due to the fact that during the production of this beer no special filtration is applied, so what remains is a beer that it is rich in vitamins, minerals and trace elements.

A can of the good stuff!

The Paulaner brewery was first established in 1634 on the outskirts of Munich by the friars of St. Francis of Paola. Like so many monks back then they brewed beer for their own personal use. After 1780 they began to sell a Bock variety to the public on special occasions, such as Lent and Easter, with the beer becoming very popular over time. In 1799, the friary closed and the building was converted into a prison. Franz Xaver Zacherl, a brewer, bought the old building and continued with the brewery that had gone on previously, under the new name of Salvator (Latin for “Saviour”). In 1928 an important merger between Salvator and Gebrüder Thomas brewery created the Paulaner Salvator Thomas Bräu brand. Nowadays the brand belongs to the BHI (Brau Holding International AG), in which 49.9% of the shares are held by Heineken .

Paulaner, brewed according to the Bavarian Purity Law of 1516, is one of the six breweries who provide beer for the celebration of Oktoberfest, the German beer festival dating from 1810. The Hefe-Weißbier Naturtrüb is a typical beer garden beer, making it a Oktoberfest special.

Review: Can of Paulaner Hefe-Weissbier Naturtrüb 5.5%ABV

Aerial view!

Paulaner’s have made good beer for close to 400 years, so it was with great excitement that I had a chance to sample a Oktoberfest special and the brewery’s biggest selling product. German beer is always a winner so lets see how I got on…………

The smell was of a very very strong sweet aroma, but lovely on the nose. The aroma is mostly wheat and earthy with some light citrus notes. Going by the smell, its already off to a great start, lovely stuff. This is a beer that means business.

On pour I got a very large frothy white head that took a little while to settle, with a dark cloudy golden colour of a beer appearing. There was very good lacing with some carbonation.

Big head!

When the head finally settled down, I started on the important business of the tasting. The taste was not as overly strong as I had expected, it was extremely smooth and clean to drink, subtle flavours, with a lovely feel to it. To be honest I didnt find too much going on with the taste, as the flavours were particularly soft on the palate, with a mild wheat and yeast taste. There was a very faint but nice citrus hop aftertaste, This has to be one of the most drinkable beers I have had in a long time, was very easy to drink and enjoyable in the process. Such a shame I only bought a few cans! Can see why this beer is so popular in the beer halls of Munich, as I’d imagine you could down these all day long. This is really a top beer. Strongly recommended. Prost!

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Mongolia and Irish bars!

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Irish bars

I spent about a year living and working in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. It was a great year of fun and good times. Mongolians are a jolly bunch, lively and friendly. One thing that did stand out was the amount of Irish (“Oirish”) pubs in the city. I counted just under 20, but was assured that the real figure was close to 40. I can’t really explain why there are so many Irish pubs in the city. I figured some Mongolian Googled the words “good bars” and the search engine came up with “Irish pubs”. So perhaps Mongolians think that “Irish” actually means “decent pub”. I say that as I felt a lot of Mongolians really didn’t know much about Ireland.

Another factor could be that during Ireland’s mini economic boom, the “Celtic Tiger”, many Mongolians got work permits to go and work in Ireland, as it was easier than getting a visa for the UK. As the Irish economy faltered a few years after, the Mongolians without work returned and quite a few of them started opening Irish themed bars. I did meet an awful lot of Mongolians with rather cool Irish accents.

Either way most of the Irish bars in UB were mostly a load of rubbish, as most “Oirish” pubs are. (Read here for my opinions on Irish bars in general). Overpriced, teeming with foreigners, and lacking in soul and some real Irish spirit. Having said that, Ulaanbaatar’s night life is pretty damn good and if you are prepared to hang out with the locals you will have a mad time. For a country with just over 2.5 million people there sure are a lot of decent pubs, clubs and restaurants going around.

Grand Khaan

The biggest Irish bar was The Grand Khaan Irish Pub, a good place for food, with great service, and where all the hot shots of the city hang out. A bit expensive and really doesn’t offer much in terms of decent entertainment, but not that bad for a quiet drink and a chat in the day time.

Dublin Irish bar

My favourite Irish bar was The Dublin Irish Pub, which for an “Oirish bar” wasn’t too bad. They say they were the first Irish bar in the city, but truth be told the city still has to have a real authentic Irish pub. I was a regular customer there and managed to get a tab running, which is always a bonus. Had decent food, good music on the jukebox, had a chilled out atmosphere and sometimes on special nights an impromptu music session would get going. The only negative was the bar staff had terrible English and were a bit dim.

Of course some of the bars do have Guinness, which isn’t too bad in all fairness. But I usually stuck to Tiger beer or the local brew Chinggis Beer, much cheaper than overpriced western styled beers.
Anyway I will return someday to UB as I loved the people of Mongolia, tough people but full of friendship and kindness.