Category Archives: Beer

Galway, Ireland.

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The best part of our trip in Ireland was the time we were in Galway.  If we could have spent more time there we would have.  The whole vibe was much more laid back that the rest of Ireland.  The old part of the city is much more intact that any of the other places we visited, the bartenders/waitstaff was much more engaging and the entire pace of the city was on a different level.

When we first arrived in Galway we made our way around the city looking for dinner and then we decided on doing our own pub crawl.  I’m not sure how far we made it but we did well.  Julie managed to keep track of the places we stopped and what we drank during our entire trip including this impromptu pub crawl.

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Side Notes:

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* At the The Knigshead we found one of the wider selections of beer in all of Ireland (nearly every bar we went to had all of five bears:  Guinness, Smithwicks, Coors Light, Budweiser, and  Balmers).  They actually had a Pale Ale from Belfast called the Headless Dog which we never came across while in Belfast.  Needless to say it was the best beer I had the entire trip.

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** In addition the Headless Dog beer, the best meal we had the entire trip was also at The Kingshead.  We both ordered the grilled lobster and chips and it was by far the best thing we ate the entire trip.  It took every ounce of moral strength not to eat this twice in two days.  The logic being it would never be as good the second time around.

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*** Potato Chip flavors in Ireland is a topic that must be discussed.  They are offensive and bizzare.  These were a small sample of what is availible:

German Bratwurs Sausage
Argentinean Flame Grilled Steak
English Roast Beef & Yorkshire Pudding

Seriously,  how do they make potato chips taste like pudding?  We’re not even getting into the Shrimp flavored chips.

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**** This guy is the Mad Max of Galway.  When the end comes he will be more than ready for it.  He drank beer on the street and in public the entire time we were there.

Belfast: The Troubles & The Crown Bar.

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This past Tuesday Julie and I traveled from Dublin to Belfast via train in a little more than two hours. We basically had one full day to check the city out before heading to the Odyssey Arena to see Pearl Jam and Ben Harper.  Our original plans were to head up north and see the Giant’s Causeway and tour the Bushmills Distillery but after figuring out that would take about 6 hours we passed on it. The hotel was able to arrange a ‘Black Cab‘ tour that took us through the more interesting parts of the city.

The Black Cub tour basically takes you through both neighborhoods in Belfast where most of the events of the ‘Troubles‘ took place.  Our driver would point out what each mural was for, where a bombing took place and the headquarters of the IRA/UVF.  It was intense. Five minutes into the drive we had to go through a police checkpoint.  We drove down Shankill Road which is the heart of the Loyalist neighborhood and where a man was shot dead in broad daylight last month.  We drove around both sides of the Peace Wall. The driver advised us not to take pictures on the Catholic side but we were able to get out and walk around the Protestant side.  The driver kept pointing out how things were getting better; for example the new courthouse downtown is made of glass.

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The Crown Bar

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Once we first got into town and walked around a little bit we headed over to the Crown Bar which was about half a block from our hotel.  The bar is supposed to be the oldest in Belfast.  The inside has a bunch of small rooms/booths and half the place is lit with gas lamps, supposedly all the stained glass is what was leftover from the Titanic’s sister ship the Britannic, I’m not sure I buy that.

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The rest of Belfast:

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While at the Crown Bar we learned that our hotel was next to the Europa Hotel which happens to be the most bombed hotel in Europe.  During our cab tour we also got to see the docks where the Titanic was built.  Our driver said the ship was built by the Irish and was fine when it left Ireland, the problem of course was that it was captained by an Englishmen.

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Over all Belfast was great.  The best hotel of our entire trip.

Mayfest.

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After a a nap following Beer Hoptacular I headed up north for this year’s Mayfest.  Despite the rain and a short power outage the night went well.  There was a lot of beer as one might expect and a good group of people.  I think this year was the most time I’ve ever spent at Mayfest (we were actually there until last call).  Granted the previous years it’s usually 90 degrees and the middle of the afternoon.

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Side Note:
*Mayfest 2008.