
A Christmas Barrel
Craft brewing was dead: to begin with. There is no doubt whatever about that. The register of company assets showed industrial machinery and chemical apparatus far beyond what any craft brewery would reasonably possess. Groogan compiled it and…

Brewcasts: brewing information on your mp3 player
As I am one of the very few Irish adults who do not own any kind of motorised vehicle, and Irish public transport being what it is, I spend quite a bit of my time walking. My mp3 player is something of a life line for me, taking the monotony…

Getting Slugs Drunk
One morning I found a pile of slugs having an orgy where my marigolds used to be. I considered humane ways to get rid of them. But then I read this:
"A commonly seen practice among many slugs is apophallation. The penis of these species is…

California Common Kit
Having been brewing basic kits for a while I had been thinking it was time to move on to dry malt extract. So when Séan kindly offered a dry malt extract kit it seemed like as good a time as ever to start, with a California Common Beer.
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Mapping the Lost Breweries of Ireland
Following a post on the forums from a member of ICB asking about old breweries, it occurred to me that given my career path -- firstly as a land surveyor working in an archaeological research institution, to developing Geographic Information…

If this is the House of Porter, why can’t I drink the walls?
I would imagine there are very few craft beer enthusiasts in Ireland who haven't heard of The Porterhouse. Not only did the Dublin microbrewery start a revolution in Irish beer, but it hasn't been slow to build upon its success. As well as owning…

Exactly how many things can go wrong in a brew day?
Since the disastrous house infection cost me two fermentors and huge quantities of beer, I have cooked up four batches to fill those sad empty cornelius kegs. Hops Sweepings Ale, Tettnanger Blond and Cascarillo Pale Ale are all in kegs now and,…

ICB Awards: Rated by Members 2008
For the second year, members of Irish Craft Brewer attending the Easter Beer Festival at The Franciscan Well in Cork selected their favourites from among the Irish craft beers exhibited. (Results for 2007 are here.) The contenders included…

The most heartbreaking thing for a brewer to do
What could that be? Dump beer down the drain.
I, like many others in Ireland, ferment in plastic. The convenient and cheap polypropylene bucket is the workhorse of amateur brewing in the UK and Ireland. We know there…

The Niall Mellon Township Challenge (and Beer!)
Should you consider flying 12 hours non-stop from Dublin to Cape Town (longer in-direct) just to try a few beers? Definitely not! This is no London, Prague, or Bruges. This is SAB Miller country and what you are going to find in 99% of establishments…