Coinciding with the growing number of microbreweries in Ireland, and the pubs that serve their beers, there’s also an increasing number of special events around the country where Irish craft beer can be tried. Often, the brewers use these to launch special edition beers that can’t be had anywhere else. Several of the specialist beer […]
For the amateur brewer in a hurry, we present seven important ready-reckoner tables, covering attenuation, alcohol content, hydrometer correction and yeast pitching rates. All files are in PDF format. The tables were produced using the online calculators at Pint.com.au and MrMalty.com.
After the inconclusive previous rounds of testing for Kit v Extract v All-Grain (round 1; round 2), it was decided to have a third round, for the purpose of answering such crucially important questions as: 1) Can you tell the difference between them? 2) Which tastes nicest? 3) Do old kits taste different to new […]
It’s a style that is quintessentially ours, yet is recently evolved from a foreign progenitor. It has been a mainstay of dumbed-down Irish macrobeer for decades, yet has seen a revival at the hands of newer craft breweries. Just what is the story with Irish Red Ale? Late last year, a small group of us […]
I am a somewhat frequent visitor to Kent so I thought I should take the time to visit Faversham and the oldest surviving brewery in the world, particularly since I do enjoy many of their offerings and eagerly await the start of each new season for the seasonal specials. However I was aware that not […]
It’s twelve years since Tess and Mark Szamatulski published the first edition of Clone Brews, a slim volume containing detailed instructions on how to recreate 150 different beers from around the world. The book was a hit with homebrewers, with its combination of clear, concise instructions and the enhancement of extract recipes with minimash and […]
On Saturday April 3rd, the fourth and final Irish Craft Brewer Beer of the Year Awards were announced at the Franciscan Well Easter Beer Festival in Cork. As with 2009, voting had been open to all members of the community and every beer brewed and available on the island of Ireland was eligible for a […]
There’s no shortage of reference books about beer on the market, from the wordy official guides published by the house of CAMRA to the glossy encyclopedia-style tomes that come from the likes of Dorling Kindersley, more often than not bearing the name of the late Michael Jackson on the cover. The former can tend towards […]
No beer aficionado needs to be told what India Pale Ale is — the style is brewed anywhere there’s a market of drinkers who really care about what’s in the glass in front of them. American craft brewers have made it their own, with their signature bitter fruity hops and ever-increasing levels of alcohol. And […]
When The Franciscan Well offered ICB the opportunity to stage a live event in its back yard, the membership leapt at the opportunity. Five months of planning ensued, and at 2pm on sunny Saturday 18th April the doors opened on Ireland’s first homebrewing exhibition. Volunteer members of Irish Craft Brewer had travelled from as far […]
