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Author Topic: Ireland  (Read 11648 times)

Offline MDixon

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Re: Ireland
« Reply #15 on: July 30, 2015, 05:20:08 pm »
I bought the insurance which basically allows me to walk away should anything happen.
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Offline theDarkSide

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Re: Ireland
« Reply #16 on: July 31, 2015, 06:24:43 am »
I bought the insurance which basically allows me to walk away should anything happen.
Same here, although I never get it when I rent in the US but it sounded like a good plan.
Seacoast Homebrew Club - Portsmouth, NH
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Offline MDixon

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Re: Ireland
« Reply #17 on: August 24, 2015, 07:34:29 am »
So Skellig Michael is out, they stop going there in October and the birds have flow a month or two earlier. Guess we will see that from the shore. Currently looking at something like:
Dublin
Kilkenny
Waterford
Cork
Dingle
Limerick
Doolin/Cliffs of Moher
Arran Islands
Kingscourt

With a million stops on the way.

Beermapping has an Ireland map:
http://beermapping.com/maps/maps.php?m=ireland#lat=undefined&lng=undefined&z=10
It's not a popularity contest, it's beer!

Offline homoeccentricus

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Re: Ireland
« Reply #18 on: August 24, 2015, 08:30:54 am »
No Galway/Connemara?
Frank P.

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Offline garcastle

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Re: Ireland
« Reply #19 on: August 30, 2015, 09:14:48 am »
No Galway/Connemara?

It was many years ago (1993?), but I enjoyed Galway and Belfast.  Dublin was WAAAY touristy and other stouts were honestly more tasty (Smithwicks and some others I've long forgotten).  I didn't get a chance to hit smaller areas.  I'm looking forward to bringing the wife and kids there soon.

Cheers,
G.

Offline wingnut

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Re: Ireland
« Reply #20 on: August 31, 2015, 02:46:38 pm »
Dingle peninsula was the highlight when we went there.   When my wife and I go back, we may spend a few days in Dingle and around the peninsula. 

+1.. Guinness is a tourist trap now more than a tour.  You no longer get to tour a working brewery... and it has been turned into a  neat tour but.... it is only informative for a person that is new to beer brewing... the memorable part was being able to taste some different types of  Guinness on the top floor, but overall it was not as memorable as you would think.

I did not do the distillery, but that is where I would go.  ALso, I think Smithwick had a tour as well that we did not hit (lost the coin flip with my wife that day on what we would see lol)

Driving is an absolute experience.  If your rent an automatic... be persistant about it.  When we went to pick our rental up... they said they did not have anymore automatics and we would have to take a manual.... after 20 or so minutes of not accepting that solution, they did "find one".

I loved driving in Ireland, and I think it is the only way to go.  However, it was also the most stressful!  The roads are truely narrow and where we in the US have a nice white line to mark the edge of the road... in Ireland they have stone walls that have been in place since 1200 AD...  with plant and twigs growing out of them... making the narrow lane even more narrow.  LOL   Good news is, if your driving... no worries, your spouse will let you know EXACTLY how close you are to the wall at all times,  (just know you are not really close until they start to use four letter words... your mileage may vary)  ;D

I am looking at my screen background on my computer right now (it has been there ever since we went on our trip three years ago...and I am so enviouse of you right now!!!) 

I found that just about any town you go in has a pub... and they all have pretty good beer if you look for it.  Most lead with lagers now, but there are still some very nice ales everywhere.   If you are lucky, you can get a Guinness and Murphys side by side and have some real fun!  We ate at pubs for dinner at night and enjoyed the music whenvever possible.  Lunch at the pubs was pretty good to, but sometimes we would grab a take and carry from the gas stations while we drove.

ENJOY!!!
-- Wingnut - Cheers!

Offline hopfenundmalz

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Re: Ireland
« Reply #21 on: August 31, 2015, 03:08:35 pm »
I like the challenge of RHD manuals. Just Saying that I do, others will not.
« Last Edit: August 31, 2015, 03:10:22 pm by hopfenundmalz »
Jeff Rankert
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Offline jeffy

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Re: Ireland
« Reply #22 on: August 31, 2015, 03:34:37 pm »
Dingle peninsula was the highlight when we went there.   When my wife and I go back, we may spend a few days in Dingle and around the peninsula. 

+1.. Guinness is a tourist trap now more than a tour.  You no longer get to tour a working brewery... and it has been turned into a  neat tour but.... it is only informative for a person that is new to beer brewing... the memorable part was being able to taste some different types of  Guinness on the top floor, but overall it was not as memorable as you would think.

I did not do the distillery, but that is where I would go.  ALso, I think Smithwick had a tour as well that we did not hit (lost the coin flip with my wife that day on what we would see lol)

Driving is an absolute experience.  If your rent an automatic... be persistant about it.  When we went to pick our rental up... they said they did not have anymore automatics and we would have to take a manual.... after 20 or so minutes of not accepting that solution, they did "find one".

I loved driving in Ireland, and I think it is the only way to go.  However, it was also the most stressful!  The roads are truely narrow and where we in the US have a nice white line to mark the edge of the road... in Ireland they have stone walls that have been in place since 1200 AD...  with plant and twigs growing out of them... making the narrow lane even more narrow.  LOL   Good news is, if your driving... no worries, your spouse will let you know EXACTLY how close you are to the wall at all times,  (just know you are not really close until they start to use four letter words... your mileage may vary)  ;D

I am looking at my screen background on my computer right now (it has been there ever since we went on our trip three years ago...and I am so enviouse of you right now!!!) 

I found that just about any town you go in has a pub... and they all have pretty good beer if you look for it.  Most lead with lagers now, but there are still some very nice ales everywhere.   If you are lucky, you can get a Guinness and Murphys side by side and have some real fun!  We ate at pubs for dinner at night and enjoyed the music whenvever possible.  Lunch at the pubs was pretty good to, but sometimes we would grab a take and carry from the gas stations while we drove.

ENJOY!!!

This sounds a lot like driving in Wales.  It's true about your spouse letting you know how close to the stone wall you are.  My reply was always, "heck, we haven't even hit the mirror yet."
Shifting was never a problem for me, but I'm in all sorts of different cars every day anyway.  What I found more difficult to remember was where the blinker was.  You can tell a U.S. tourist because they have the wipers on before a turn.
Jeff Gladish, Tampa (989.3, 175.1 Apparent Rennarian)
Homebrewing since 1990
AHA member since 1991, now a lifetime member
BJCP judge since 1995

Offline BrewingRover

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Re: Ireland
« Reply #23 on: September 01, 2015, 05:55:48 am »
I like the challenge of RHD manuals. Just Saying that I do, others will not.

I've enjoyed it too. IME, automatics are rare in Europe so you may not be able to get one, no matter how persistent you are.
It's such a fine line between stupid and clever.

Offline MDixon

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Re: Ireland
« Reply #24 on: September 01, 2015, 06:57:28 am »
It was an upcharge for an automatic and so I opted for the manual. When I was a wee lad (do you see what I did there) I would change the gears for my father with my left hand so it shouldn't be that much of a stretch to figure it out. If it does prove difficult I'll just let my wife change the gears. ;)
It's not a popularity contest, it's beer!

Offline homoeccentricus

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Re: Ireland
« Reply #25 on: September 01, 2015, 07:00:52 am »
It's like moving to the metric system: 1-2-3-4-5. How difficult can it be?  ;)
Frank P.

Staggering on the shoulders of giant dwarfs.

Offline hopfenundmalz

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Re: Ireland
« Reply #26 on: September 01, 2015, 07:33:38 am »
I drove Rhd cars often for work. Competitive cars or ones from an overseas division where the drive on the left.


The challenge is the narrow roads.with hills and curves, Full of walkers and bicyclists on the weekends, all between the stone walls.
Jeff Rankert
AHA Lifetime Member
BJCP National
Ann Arbor Brewers Guild
Home-brewing, not just a hobby, it is a lifestyle!

Offline chumley

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Re: Ireland
« Reply #27 on: October 09, 2015, 12:06:13 pm »
We just got back from a trip to Ireland.  Landed in Dublin Sunday, September 27, after 10 days in Scotland, and got home this past Tuesday, October 6.

We took a 5 day guided craft brewery tour of Ireland:

http://breweryhopsofireland.com/product/5-day-wild-atlantic-way-tour/

I highly recommend it to everyone.  Small group interested in beer, the guide Mia is friendly, very knowledgeable, and gives you great discussions of Ireland as you travel across the countryside.
 
Like the rest of Europe, craft beer has really exploded in Ireland in the past 5 years, and new breweries are opening up, and current craft breweries are expanding, at a remarkable pace.  We visited Eight Degrees, Franciscan Wells, Blacks of Kinsale, Stonewell cidery, Killarny, Burren, Galway Bay, and White Gypsey.  All had excellent beer.  A couple of nice stops at Irish smokehouses as well.

The Cliffs of Moher are a must visit (walk the trail to avoid the crowds) and the Burren is cool as well.

Beer-related, one of the highlights was sitting in the Salt House pub in Galway, which is owned by the Galway Bay brewery.  The night we were there (Thursday October 1), they were putting on three guest taps from the White Hag brewery, and the White Hag brewers were on hand.  One of the beers they had was a a heather sour ale, bittered with gruit (no hops), and fermented with whatever wild yeast was on the heather.  It was an amazing beer (their 10.2% Imperial Stout was pretty good as well).

One tip:  in Dublin, have dinner and a few beers at L. Mulligan Grocer.

Offline HoosierBrew

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Re: Ireland
« Reply #28 on: October 09, 2015, 12:33:27 pm »
Sounds like an awesome trip, Chumley. My plan is to do something similar in the not too distant future.
Jon H.

Offline Wort-H.O.G.

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Re: Ireland
« Reply #29 on: October 09, 2015, 01:20:34 pm »
fantastic trip it appears. Seems like a lot has changed with craft beer since I was there last in 2011.

Didi you get a chance to visit Guinness and do the tour?  How about Jameson? I absolutely love Kilkenny and enjoyed that as top visit.
Ken- Chagrin Falls, OH
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