travel | WeirdBeerGirl.com

Book & Beer Year in Review, 2024

December 22, 2024 by Lisa Grimm

When I began compiling the annual summary, I quickly realized that nearly every trip, whether work-related or extracurricular, had a significant library- or bookshop-related element. Yes, there were a fair few beer-led short holidays, but things of a literary nature also took up space in the diary (and luggage).

The first little break away in the year was over to Sheffield in March for Indie Beer Feast, accompanying the charming and erudite Christina Wade as she launched her first beer history book (you can pre-order the new one on Irish beer history right now!) – it was a cosy little festival, and we had the opportunity to meet some stalwarts in the beer writing community, all very welcoming and supportive. I especially enjoyed Abbeydale’s Moonshine Pale Ale, but I also took a bit of time out upon arrival to finally visit St Mars of the Desert – getting re-acquainted with their beer was a real delight. I also managed to fit in a bit of Parkrun tourism while in town.

The ‘big’ holiday of the year was Scandinavian: a trip to Malmö and Copenhagen with Katie, taking in Eurovision and the Mikkeller Beer Fest. While the crowds for these events were very different, they were both good fun, if exhausting, and the newly-reopened Carlsberg complex is very much worth a visit. The real ‘discovery’ was Hyllie Bryggeri in Malmö, but getting to enjoy some top-notch beers from Ebeltoft Gårdbryggeri at the festival was also a highlight; two of them feature in my personal top 10 of 2024, which we’ll get to at the end of this wrap-up.

We got properly into the bookish part of the year with a visit to Manchester, taking in both the John Rylands Library and Chetham’s Library, as well as all manner of wonderful independent bookshops. This trip also kicked off my minor obsession with Bird & Blend teas, and was rounded off by stops off at Track Brewing and the Marble Arch Inn. Track seems to have become one of my go-to UK breweries, now that their cans are pretty broadly available here in Ireland (as well as popping up on tap at Underdog) – I’ve yet to have anything from them that wasn’t pleasant.

Toward the end of the summer, while the offspring went off to visit their grandparents in America, we took an adults-only excursion to Bristol and Bath. In Bristol, we had the pleasure of meeting Ray & Jess of Boak & Bailey in person, and gladly accepted their suggestions for all things beer and books in the area. The Bath portion of the trip had been planned around none of the usual Roman or Jane Austen-y sights in town, but rather, a visit to Persephone Books, which was as excellent as expected. Happily, Bath has an even broader range of independent bookshops, so we took in most of those before taking a side quest to the George Inn in Norton St Philip for some medieval pub tourism. Back in Bristol, we also stopped in at Lost & Grounded for their lovely lagers, as well as Left Handed Giant and a number of local pubs. And yes, there was another little bit of Parkrun tourism, and more Bird & Blend teas were purchased.

September was all about running, with a hop over to Newcastle for the Great North Run. A stop off at the Lit & Phil continued the library-visiting theme, and yes, another Parkrun was ticked of the list before the half marathon the next day. But there were also some really lovely pubs in town, with the Free Trade Inn very much at the top of the list, and the Wobbly Duck offered a warm welcome after the long, chilly, wet race. The new Donzoko taproom was perfect for a little bit of carbo-loading the day before, and I’m still impressed by how nice the airport was…I’ll need to find an excuse to visit Durham or other surrounding areas to fly in and out of it again.

We also had an actual beer festival here in Dublin, with some real standouts from Hope, Hopfully and Zichovec…a nice mix of local and visiting breweries. As I couldn’t make it to Hagstravaganza in Sligo this year, getting in a local festival that didn’t involve any travel beyond a quick bus ride was a nice bonus.

I managed to fit in an extremely quick trip to the British Library for the Medieval Women exhibit, and cannot rate it highly enough; if you have the opportunity to visit, don’t miss it, even if you’re not the biggest fan of Margery Kempe – there’s so much more, including my longtime fave, Lady Margaret Beaufort making an appearance. And yes, more Bird & Blend tea as well – we’ve been powering through their excellent advent calendar.

Finally, as the year was winding down, I once again popped over to the Neighbouring Island, this time, via the currently-non-operational ferry route to Wales. My object was Talking Terror at Gladstone’s Library in Hawarden, and both the MR James focus of the event and the opportunity to stay at a residential library lived up to my high expectations. I hope to go back for another edition next year, ideally with a bit more time to stop back in at The Glynne Arms.

And so, without further ado, my top 10 beers of 2024:

10) Rascals Brewing Riptide NZ Pilsner, Ireland, 4.5%
9) Left Handed Giant Dark Mild, UK, 3.4%
8) Pivovar Zichovec Krahulik 12 Czech Pilsner, Czechia, 5.1%
7) Lineman Brewing/Underdog Underline WCIPA, Ireland, 8.3%
6) Track Brewing Halftime Horseman Brown Ale, UK, 4.9%
5) Ebeltoft Gårdbryggeri Pedes Pale Ale, Denmark, 4.6%
4) St Mars of the Desert Laska Pils, UK, 4.8%
3) Track Brewing Zeno Tenth Birthday IPA, UK, 7.2%
2) Hope Beer Limited Edition #34 ESB, Ireland, 5.9%
1) Ebeltoft Gårdbryggeri MBCC Raw Power #1 DIPA with Riwaka, Denmark, 8.3%

I have one more quick trip to London with the smaller child this Twixtmas for theatrical purposes, so may fit in the odd final fave or two before the new year, but in any case, here’s hoping for a great 2025; go buy some books!

Talking Terror at Gladstone’s Library

December 6, 2024 by Lisa Grimm

In late November, I had the pleasure of traveling to Wales for Talking Terror – two days of MR James scholars, enthusiasts and all-around good folk getting to nerd out over the ghost stories and academic interests of James and his circle. The location was Gladstone’s Library in Hawarden, and what a glorious site it is: a residential library, built in 1902 in that particular neo-Gothic style that evokes thoughts of spooky stories, but with a gentle reddish glow from the local sandstone, making it thoroughly warm and welcoming.

Inside, the combination of dark wood and a slightly maze-like layout – we’ll come back to the gorgeous Reading Room later – add to the atmosphere, and while it wears its ecclesiastical associations relatively lightly (and very much more social-justice-spirituality than fire and brimstone), there is that air of ‘church’ that adds a bit of mystery. The rebuilt medieval church of St Deiniol’s, with its tolling bells, and the graveyard behind the building complete the picture.

I have long wanted to visit Gladstone’s Library; indeed, what former archivist/rare book librarian would not relish the opportunity to sleep next to the collections? When the opportunity to combine a visit with some MR James fandom arose, I couldn’t resist. After all, it’s just a ferry-and-train (and taxi) ride away, right?

Well, sort of.

As it turned out, my Irish Ferries journey was delayed by 3 hours in each direction, though it’s still not clear why. There was no obvious ‘weather’ to complicate matters, but it made getting to the first evening’s entertainment (real ones will see what I did there) quite fraught. So while I just managed to squeak in for dinner – Gladstone’s Library keeps you fed, especially when it comes to the dessert courses – it was a much closer-run thing than it should have been. But while I missed some of the opening preliminaries, all was well: I made it in time for Robert Lloyd Perry’s candlelit performance of ‘The Ash Tree’ and ‘Oh, Whistle, and I’ll Come to You, My Lad.’ Any Nunkie theatrical event is a treat, but the fireside setting and shadows from the candles made for especially effective staging; truly unsettling in just the right ways.

I didn’t linger long after the performance that evening, as it had been a very long travel day, and so I retired to my room; simply furnished, but with beautiful leaded windows overlooking the graveyard, and a most welcome bathtub. After an amazing night’s sleep, which was aided rather than impaired by the nearby church bells, I had a brief walk around Hawarden before breakfast. As a resident of North Inner City Dublin, seeing such a tidy village was a change – where was all the litter? The bus stop was not only covered, but seemed to be built from stone reclaimed from the nearby ruined castle wall, and the post office sold local baked goods and honey. I wandered up to Hawarden Old Castle itself (or rather, what’s left of it), to take in a view from a hill (sorry/not sorry), encountering only dogs and their humans – the promised sheep were nowhere to be seen. The Glynne Arms was beckoning to me, and I made a mental note to try to visit it later.

Back at Gladstone’s Library, I had lovely chats with other participants over breakfast, and then we were off to the themed sessions on MR James and women, and another looking into the role of spirituality in his works. Questions and discussion were welcomed – there was no sense of gatekeeping or pretension, with an entirely collegial mood throughout. After lunch, there was a break, and I took the opportunity to pop in to St Deiniol’s, which was a real hidden gem. As one of those confirmed unbelievers who likes a bit of church architecture, I was in my element. The medieval church had a Victorian restoration, but it was its rebuilding after an arson attack in 1857 that gives much of its current appearance, with stained glass by Burne-Jones. For the MR James fans, the church is also notable as the place where EW Benson, Archbishop of Canterbury and father of EF and AC Benson, who were both friends of James, died. Obviously much more could be said about the talented and troubled Benson family – perhaps a session for next year?

And I did manage to nip to the pub, briefly – regulars know I never miss out on the chance to have anything on cask when I make it over to the UK. The Glynne Arms is a beautiful pub, with lots of light wood and cosy spaces. It may veer a bit to the ‘gastro’ side for some, but I found it warm and welcoming, with knowledgeable and friendly staff. The local ale was This Splendid Ale by Facer’s, but I especially enjoyed Border Bitter by Magic Dragon Brewing. The beers by the bottle at Gladstone’s Library, for the record, were Sunrise Pale Ale and Landmark Bitter, both from Hafod Brewing Company – the honesty bar was a wonderful feature.

Back at the Library, there were two pre-dinner sessions, a writing workshop and a reading session in the modern chapel – again, a soothing space that still felt welcoming to all. After another filling meal, it was time to head to the Reading Room for another fantastic Nunkie performance. This time, for a larger audience, Robert-as-James took us to Scandinavia, first with ‘Number 13,’ and then, ‘Count Magnus.’ I’ve always had an especially soft spot for Number 13, so was thrilled to see it live, as it were. And then, after the public were sent on their way, those in for the weekend gathered back together for more Jamesian discussion and drinks by the fireplace. All told, a thoroughly civilised way to spend an evening.

Another excellent night’s sleep and breakfast with new friends followed, but there was just time to fit in a real visit to the Reading Room before departing. It’s a gorgeous, two-level space, with soaring beams and little reading nooks throughout. The collection tends to the religious, political and historic, and it would be easy to spend several days simply relaxing here with some of the books. I did chuckle a bit at the very small group of books about Gladstone’s rival, Benjamin Disraeli, on one of the shelves.

The trip home to Dublin was, as mentioned, once again delayed, but with a bit more advance notice, I spent more time in Chester, rather than in the rather less salubrious environs of Holyhead, before finally getting home – and there wasn’t even a voucher for a free tea this time!

But travel delays notwithstanding, it was a wonderful weekend, and I hope there is, indeed, an even more expanded event next year. In future, I’d aim to get in earlier to spend more time around the Hawarden Estate (and, most likely, specifically the Glynne Arms) before diving in to the Reading Room. The staff at Gladstone’s Library cannot be praised highly enough; they managed to bring a deft command to each aspect of the weekend’s activities, whether that was moderating a panel, explaining the collections, managing the overall time and even making sure late arrivals got fed. It’s a rare mix of skills and experience to be equally good at the collection management and (in this case) very public-facing parts of this job – well done to all.

And did you know you have a few months left to Befriend a Book?

Newcastle: The Great North Run, and Some Great Little Pubs

September 13, 2024 by Lisa Grimm

It had been a while since my last half-marathon, the Great Limerick Run in 2022, so I set a goal this year of signing up for a ‘big’ half and actually training properly. This was largely inspired by how incredibly painful I found the last bit of the race in Limerick, although it remains my PB for the distance. As I’d never been to Newcastle, but had heard that the Great North Run was well worth doing, I duly put my name in the ballot and ended up getting in – so, I was committed to some proper structured training.

I had a ‘good’ Frank Duffy 10 Miler here in the Phoenix Park a few weeks ago, both in terms of time and not feeling horrendous after (I found it very rough going in 2002), so I flew to Newcastle very much looking forward to the big run. I was also keen to explore some museums and, of course, pubs, and got some excellent recommendations from both BlueSky and Threads. Beer Twitter may be dead, but it has been reborn in multiple places, so while it takes a bit more doing than it did before to find everyone, we’re getting there again.

I was immediately impressed by Newcastle’s airport, which we’ll return to later, and by their TRAM NETWORK. It was simple and affordable to get into town from said airport via the Metro, and hopefully, some day, we can have something similar here in Dublin, like essentially every other sizable city with an airport…but I digress. After a post-arrival brunch, I made my way to the much-recommended Free Trade Inn for a few cask halves, and was thoroughly impressed by the spot. There were lovely people (hello, Tom!), a great variety of cask and keg local beer choices and a relaxed atmosphere; just my kind of pub. I then stopped in at nearby Full Circle Brewing, in what might best be described as the light-industrial-cool-brewery part of town, and had another warm welcome and some very pleasant tasters.

After visiting the Lit & Phil (a recommendation from Fabulous Folklore with Icy Sedgwick, though let’s be real, I am always visiting libraries) and doing some book shopping – really, the only thing I need to mark Newcastle down for is the small number of bookshops, though the selections at the Waterstones and Blackwells were both excellent – and dinner, I did another short pub crawl, stopping in at The Mean-eyed Cat and The Town Mouse. Once again, both spots had an interesting selection of cask and keg, but given my cask nerdery (and running plans), I stayed with the lower-key cask halves; well, I did have one pint at the end of the evening, which for me was at around 6 pm, as I was back in my hotel watching Murder, She Wrote by 6.30 pm. ROCK AND ROLL!

I kicked off my Saturday with a Parkrun at Leazes Park, where you could just make out St James’s Park in the fog, and then spent the rest of the day collecting my race number (they don’t post them if you live outside the UK), having tea, then wandering around museums, breweries and pubs. The Great North Museum: Hancock was well worth a visit, especially since I didn’t have time to head out to some of the bigger Roman sites in the area, and I stopped in at Wylam’s impressive Palace of Arts location for a swift half, too. I then prioritized pizza and getting to Donzoko Brewing’s new taproom, and am glad I did so. It’s a fantastic space, and the lagers were uniformly excellent. I managed to get my first, and, so far, only festbier of the year, and thoroughly enjoyed everything. After a bit more sightseeing and dinner (another, not-as-good pizza and the only bad cask beer I ended up abandoning, at a crowded pub that shall remain nameless), I had a last half of cask bitter, this time from Brew York, at Beer Street, a bottle shop and micropub housed in a railway arch. While pizza and The Right Amount of Beer the night before a race always serves me well, it was important to be mindful of the ‘right amount,’ and so, it was once again an early night.

Race day arrived, and while the weather had been really quite good for the north of England in September up until this point, the rain only held off until just before my wave was underway. By the time we reached the Tyne Bridge, the rain was heavy, as were my sodden shoes. But the support from what seemed to be the whole of Newcastle was outstanding; there was no point in the race, even though much of it is along rather featureless motorways, that lacked a cheering crowd, even in the heaviest downpours. By the time I got to the 19th or 20th kilometre, it had let up a bit, but it was still hard to see the sea by the time we reached it – I’m sure it was there!

Once I crossed the finish line in South Shields (still under 2 hours, despite the 60,000 strong field of runners and intensely wet, heavy going at times), it was a very straightforward exercise to get my medal, t-shirt and goody bag (with a very welcome foil blanket). Although there was a well-organised series of booths and activities after the finish line, I made a beeline to the buses back into Newcastle. Once again, this seemed well-planned and well-executed; I was back in my hotel room and finally able to stretch and warm up in a very long shower within the hour.

After a rest (and a lot of herbal tea from Bird & Blend), I devoured a burger from Meat:stack and went out (obviously, wearing my medal) for my celebratory pints. I started at The Wobbly Duck and once again found a great selection of cask and keg offerings, as well as wonderful staff and clientele – a properly great little pub I would absolutely visit again.

Finally, I flew home to Dublin on the Monday morning, and I have to sing the praises of the Newcastle airport – it is easily the nicest airport I have ever been to. I’ve already mentioned the ease of getting to and from the airport via the Metro, but security is a breeze (you get to leave everything in your bag), the staff are actually friendly and I had the best food I’ve ever had in an airport. Not only was it on par with brunches I’ve gone out for on purpose, but there was good tea and a nice selection of local beer (including Wylam and Full Circle), though I gave that a miss at that hour of the morning.

All told, I’m glad I’ve got a Great North Run in the books, and I’m happy to report there’s a very interesting beer scene in Newcastle; I think on a future visit I’d aim to include a side trip to Durham and to hit up more archaeological sites, but in any event, the universal friendliness and fantastic airport make a return visit tempting.

But I’m also open to hearing opinions on what half-marathon to aim for next year – bonus points for a flat course, great local bookshops, interesting beer and museums aplenty. Share your ideas!

Bristol, Bath, Books & Beer

August 15, 2024 by Lisa Grimm

We recently had the opportunity to take a child-free long weekend, and our destination criteria were simple: a short, direct flight from Dublin, reasonably affordable hotels and access to excellent bookshops; good beer was a bonus. Having previously missed the chance to visit Persephone Books for their anniversary festival earlier in the year, Bath was bubbling up to the top of our list, but we had no real desire to stay there (or, more to the point, pay to stay there) at the height of tourist season.

Hotel specials showed good value in Bristol, and given the short train ride to Bath – plus affordable flights from Dublin – that became our chosen destination. We got some excellent beer advice from Ray and Jess of Boak and Bailey fame – more on that later – and had a long list of Bath bookshops pre-selected, so off we went. Our early-morning flight was only very slightly delayed, so we had most of the day to wander around Bristol. I had last visited in 2001 to see The Divine Comedy (Regeneration tour, if you’re keeping track), but saw little on that trip; indeed, I last ‘saw’ the usual sights of (pre-Banksy) Bristol in the early 1990s…which I hazily recall as seeing the Clifton Suspension Bridge after a day trip to Wookey Hole Caves, but not much else stuck in the mind.

Having done most of the touristy things in Bath on relatively recent trips, we planned to make that part of the trip purely a book-shopping affair – but with a beery side quest we’ll return to shortly. And so, back to that first day in Bristol – we found the bus from the airport quite handy, dropped off our bags and began hitting the shops – much tea was required. We managed a few Bristol bookshops, got the lay of the land and stopped in to Left Handed Giant for lunch; I was thrilled to get my whenever-in-England cask dark mild there. I was also pleased about the prominence of their run club in the brewpub decor – I do miss having an active brewery-powered run club. After a quick stops at Little Martha Brewing and The King’s Head (and a rest), we met up with Jess and Ray in The Swan with Two Necks; it’s always a delight to meet someone from Former Beer Twitter IRL, especially after so many years of following their work. We had a lovely evening, but still got back to the hotel at a reasonable time – this was a child-free trip, after all, so actually getting enough sleep was achievable.

We (OK, I) began Day 2 with a bit of Parkrun tourism, getting a letter ‘E’ with Eastville. Once tidied up, we were off to Bath, and, possibly for the first time since Covid, I had a UK train journey that was reasonably priced and ran on time. True, it was crowded, but given that it was a summer weekend, this was not unexpected. We made one exception to the ‘avoiding touristy things’ remit by getting more tea at The Bath Bun, enjoying the sun on Abbey Green. Then, finally, it was all about books (well, and running shops). We started at Topping & Co, which was beautifully laid-out. Persephone Books was something of a pilgrimage spot (feel free to reference Dorothy Richardson if you like) – it used to be a regular place I would visit in London (very handy for The Lamb on Lamb’s Conduit Street), but had not had a chance prior to this to visit their new home in Bath. It did not disappoint. Mr B’s Emporium was also wonderful.

And then, the side quest!

We were thrilled to have Dr James Wright on the Beer Ladies Podcast this season to talk about his recent book, Historic Building Mythbusting, and in the course of chatting about pubs with spurious claims to antiquity, he mentioned The George Inn in Norton St Philip as one with a much better-documented case. James also pointed out that it was a short journey from Bath, and, indeed, the bus journey was easily achieved. We had a bit of time to explore The George, and also took in its sister pub, the Fleur de Lys, just across the street, before heading back to The George for dinner. I’ve long had a soft spot for Butcombe pubs, and find their cask bitter rather wonderful, so while there may not be anything ‘unusual,’ everything we did have was excellent, and the atmosphere was fantastic. It also turned out to be much easier and faster to get back to Bristol than expected(!), so we had time to stop in at Lost and Grounded, and enjoyed both their pleasant lagers and, given the heat, a radler. Going from a medieval inn to a modern taproom was quite a contrast, but it was a fun way to end the evening.

We then had a full day of ‘doing’ Bristol (after a training run to the Clifton Suspension Bridge – I am not used to running up hills any more) – we went to the impressive M Shed, where Bristol’s ancient and recent history, warts and all, was very well-presented and thoroughly contextualized. Rather than ignoring or glossing over things, there was a real clarity to the exhibits and a willingness to engage with the more difficult aspects of the city’s history, providing a much fuller picture. There was also a small STEAM TRAIN we got to take from M Shed to the SS Great Britain. I am a weirdo who has long had a fascination with Isamabard Kingdom Brunel’s work on the trouble-laden SS Great Eastern – I blame all the ‘haunted Britain’ books I had as a child – and so getting to see the SS Great Britain and the attached museum with a GIANT BRUNEL was, frankly, pretty great. We had some lovely cheese and a mini pub crawl – first, to Small Bar, a delightful and welcoming craft beer pub that I wish we’d had more time to visit, and then to Wiper & True, so we ticked off another brewery taproom.

The Bristol tourism continued the following day, with visits to both the Red Lodge and Georgian House Museums – and well-fuelled by Bird & Blend Tea. We saw a few Banksy pieces on our wanders, naturally, and visited what might have been my favourite pub: The Lime Kiln. On paper, there’s nothing that screams ‘outstanding pub’ – it’s a relatively unremarkable, early-20th century exterior, but inside, it’s cask-ale nerd heaven. The mural on the main wall features the pub cat, there was an excellent range of well-kept local beers and, at least on our visit, some of the most Relevant-to-my-Interests esoteric-edged prog rock playing quietly in the background. I LOVED EVERYTHING ABOUT IT.

Finally, before heading home, we hit one of the more tourist-friendly pubs in The Llandoger Trow, where, to my surprise, they had Stone Sublimely Self-Righteous on tap – a beautiful beer in a well-preserved setting, and a perfect way to end a short break.

In short (not that this has been short), a successful short break!

Manchester: Literary Locations, Libraries and (Some) Libations

June 20, 2024 by Lisa Grimm

Despite a not-fun health wobble, we managed a quick weekend trip to Manchester recently, for music and literary purposes. As ever when traveling, I have to take a Professional Interest in not just all the unique local bookshops, but in any unusual or historic libraries. And although I spent a lot of time in and around Manchester in the 1990s, nearly everything looks so vastly different now that it felt like visiting a new place. Indeed, apart from the big Waterstones and Affleck’s Palace, so much seemed either completely unfamiliar or strangely uncanny…there was a hint of a memory, but the general appearance in many places around town was (mostly) so different that it felt like a false one.

I won’t dwell too much on the fact that Manchester has a Uniqlo (attached to the Arndale Centre, no less! Only some of the tiling that made it look like a toilet from the 1960s remains!) while we here in Dublin, a European capital, still lack one; while most of what I look for anywhere is a wealth of independent shops, pubs and restaurants, I do go through a lot of Uniqlo basics and rain gear, so I feel the need to stop in whenever I spot one elsewhere. New rain jacket acquired, we enjoyed browsing and tea-drinking at the delightful House of Books and Friends and at Social Refuge, the café inside Queer Lit. But while book-buying was a key part of the agenda (I finally picked up Ghosts of the British Museum), looking at libraries was the main focus.

And again, despite the considerable time I’ve spent around the area, I’d never made it to Chetham’s Library. It’s all too easy to think of Manchester as springing into existence largely fully-formed during the Industrial Revolution, Roman foundations notwithstanding, as there simply isn’t much (at first glance) to see of medieval Manchester, and finally getting around to taking the tour of the c.1420s building went a long way to rectifying that. The library is gorgeous – not dissimilar in some ways to Marsh’s Library here – and it’s a fascinating tour. I especially enjoyed the notes showing what previous Librarians had got up to – some were bad ‘uns!

We also took in the John Rylands Library, and it was heartening to see that there was a queue to get in; more people wanting to do library tourism can only be a good thing, if managed properly. In addition to the beautiful building and core collections, there was an excellent exhibit called ‘We Have Always Been Here,’ exploring marginalised communities and how library and archival collections are never neutral…not news to those of us who have worked in them, but probably something that the broader public needs a lot more education to really understand. There’s to be considerable renovation in the near future, so it’s well worth checking out now to compare and contrast down the line.

While we didn’t get to try as much local beer as planned, thanks to the whole surprise illness thing, I did enjoy a couple of cask bitter and pale ale halves here and there, and a mix of good and less-good non-alcoholic options – the AF version of Track’s Sonoma was very good indeed, and the taproom was lovely. Also lovely was the much-recommended Marble Arch Inn; a beautiful, calm pub ideal for a chill afternoon of cheese boards and those lower-key (and much appreciated) cask bitters.

There was also a musical element to this trip, so there is at least one variable that has proven as constant in most of my past trips to Manchester. In this instance, however, it was to see Wesley Stace, the Philadelphia-based Englishman many of you may have known as John Wesley Harding. This was his first UK tour in many years, and without an Irish date or two, Manchester was our closest option. He put on a great gig in a tiny pub – I hope a good time was had by all, we certainly enjoyed seeing him after such a long gap since our semi-regular shows during our Philly days. We did feel that we were not cool enough to be out and about in the Northern Quarter after the show, though…the whole area seemed to be in good hands with the crowds of hip Young People, so we left them to it.

We also had not realized when we booked that it was the same weekend as the Great Manchester Run, and while I was in no shape to be running a 10K (well, I did do one a week later, and only mildly crashed again after), much less a half marathon, it seemed like such a great time to be in town – oddly, hotel prices didn’t seem to have been pushed up for the occasion – that I’ve penciled it in to my race calendar for next year.

Now that I’m mostly recovered, it’s back to training for the Great North Run in Newcastle later this year…finally, an entirely new-to-me city to explore!

A Eurovision Pilgrimage, with Beer Side-quests

June 4, 2024 by Lisa Grimm

At long last, a quick summary of a Eurovision-themed trip to Malmö and Copenhagen, complete with beer side quests – this was rather delayed by life/an unexpected hospital visit/work/some fun travel, but finally, it’s ready for your perusal. While I’ve spent a fair amount of time in Denmark in the past, I’d never had the chance to cross the Øresund Bridge to Sweden, so for a transit nerd like me, this was an exciting opportunity. I set off with my fellow Beer Lady/Eurovision nerd Katie on an early-morning flight from Dublin – we skipped the airport pints in favour of tea – and began the adventure.

The trip from Copenhagen airport via train was speedy and inexpensive; the special transit pass covering all travel in and around Malmö during the Eurovision period was most welcome, and while my particular part of Dublin is relatively well-served by buses, it’s nothing like the array of trains, trams and buses available in Copenhagen and Malmö, nor do we have the same wide, clean footpaths and bicycle lanes; perhaps we will, some day. In any event, the trip was a perfect excuse to explore the beery options on offer in the region, and we began with an initial visit to Malmö Brewing Company, located in an old brewery building, appropriately enough. These days, they brew a wide array of the usual hazy IPAs and fruited sours you find in most craft brewery taprooms, but they also have a few more meads, ciders and cocktails than you tend to find in Ireland or the UK. They also serve a BBQ menu – this seems to be ‘a thing’ in Scandinavia at the moment, though I confess I’ve never been a particular fan of BBQ in general – but others were happy enough with the food offering. That said, I did rather enjoy their Tiny IPA – hardly tiny, really, at 5% ABV, but quite pleasant.

We wandered back to Copenhagen to do the Carlsberg tour; while I had previously visited some years ago, it was closed on my last work visit (and had been under renovation for some time), so it was fascinating to go back. I was thrilled to see the horses again, and they have thoroughly amped up the ‘brand experience’ end of things at the Home of Carlsberg – lots of interactive activities that you can save via your wristband, which I geeked out about from a professional perspective, and a surprisingly coherent narrative about Père et Fils Jacobsen, complete with lots of ACTING, and the history of the Carlsberg breweries. We followed up the tour with a tasting in the cellars, which have been beautifully tidied up, and while most of the offerings were fairly pedestrian, the Jacobsen Yakima IPA is always a nice choice, and the Old Carlsberg Porter was lovely. There’s a lot to see and do at Carlsberg, and it’s well worth a visit, even to the most anti-big-brewery person out there – even if just for the horses and the bottle and can collection.

We also managed to find some excellent cask ale at The Bishop’s Arms – one of a chain of English-style pubs across Sweden, with two locations in Malmö. For once, the food was not BBQ, but more standard pub grub, with an excellent burger and chips. And while I had a little taster of a local Maibock – so local it was brewed in the cellars under the pub – it was the English cask bitters I was going for – an excellent and well-kept selection from Marble (which I’ve had even more recently – another story to come), Red Willow and Rudgate. 10/10 no notes.

In the midst of the swirl and glitter of Eurovision, we took a bit of time out to head back into Copenhagen for the Mikkeller Beer Fest, because there’s nothing better for your overall well-being than going to a beer festival at 10 am in a week when you’ve barely been sleeping, but hey ho, needs must. Perhaps ironically, I didn’t end up having that much beer…the long queues were all for what I can only describe as Barrel-aged Nonsense or Pastry Stout Silliness, so, with the exceptions of tasters of a few white whales (the Focal Banger from The Alchemist was very nice, just not earth-shattering), I largely stuck to small pours of some really rather pleasant pale ales and low-key dark lagers, with a lot of water – and no waiting! By far, my favourite beers of the festival were Pedes pale ale from Ebeltoft Gårdbryggeri – a Danish brewery I’ve enjoyed before when visiting Odense – and Toska Bryggj, a Scottish ale from OY Brewing in the Faroe Islands. We also stopped in just around the corner from the festival site at WarPigs for (more) BBQ and a surprisingly straightforward bitter called Hogshead.

Upon our return to Malmö, we also discovered Hyllie Bryggeri, and this was much more to my taste than some of the more hipster-fied options elsewhere: yes, an industrial taproom with some local art flourishes, but a warm welcome and some excellent beers all around. The Hapi Pils, described as a Pacific lager, was absolutely top-notch: crisp and grainy, but clean, and with some flavourful New Zealand hops – a proper banger, and something I would have as a regular go-to, were it generally available to me. All in all, a highly-recommended spot to sit and relax.

In summary, a trip to Eurovision is exhausting – you can see I’ve barely included anything around the shows themselves (though HUZZAH to Bambie Thug for absolutely SLAYING for Ireland), nor the many, many Irish fan meetups we attended in and around the multiple Irish pubs on offer in Malmö, but they were all top class, and we met so many wonderful people on the trip – we Eurovision fans were easy to spot at the beer festival, of course, so it was simple to Find Our People in the crowd. It would be an absolute delight to do it again, ideally in a year with a bit less controversy, though Switzerland is not going to be cheap, nor will their beer selection be as varied, and yet…well, we’ll see what happens next year!

A Long-overdue Return to Sheffield

March 8, 2024 by Lisa Grimm

After a thirty-year absence, I made it back to Sheffield. My last visit was to interview for the University of Sheffield’s then-top-ranked PhD program(me) in archaeology, and although they offered me a tempting research opportunity, I opted for the bright lights of London and a master’s degree instead…and, alas the powers that be decided that Sheffield no longer needed an archaeology department (even though my degrees in archaeology and library science are *the core reasons* I am successful in a STEM career – because that’s the only important thing, obviously – but I digress).

The purpose of this trip was to attend Indie Beer Feast, where my friend and fellow Beer Ladies Podcast host Christina was pre-launching her book, The Devil’s in the Draught Lines, and to have a bit of a wander around Sheffield in general. While I cannot say I recognized anything from that previous trip, I did meet something of an old friend in a visit to The Brewery of St Mars of the Desert, which was an utter delight. As a long-ago fan of the brewery’s previous US incarnation, Pretty Things Beer & Ale Project, I absolutely adored their Jack D’Or and Saint Botolph’s Town, and would purchase them whenever they surfaced around Philadelphia, which was, to be fair, not infrequent. I especially loved their collaboration beer, KK, a collaboration with Ron Pattinson – one reviewed long before we ever met in person, in 2010 – and so it was a real thrill to see how the Yorkshire edition of things was faring. Things would appear to be in fantastic shape, as the brewery, tucked away on an industrial estate, was hopping early on a Friday afternoon, though it was their first day back open for the season. I had a glorious D’Or Mouse – a descendent of Jack D’Or – and Laska Pils, a thing of Czech-inspired beauty. It was also fantastic to see such a diverse crowd; all ages, backgrounds and genders seemed to be represented, and there was even an adorable dog.

But I had to be responsible and only have some small pours, as there was a beer festival to manage later, and a highlight there, for both evenings, was finally meeting so many people I’d only ever known online (or by their books); everyone was truly lovely (special shoutout to Jules and the Hop Hideout crew!). I snuck in a Parkrun as well, and though Endcliffe is a lot more like a trail run than my usual Parkrun stomping grounds in Dublin, it was great to see a different part of Sheffield, and to explore the area a bit. I also got a few sneaky cask bitter halves; one of the Kelham Island pubs I stopped in must have had more beer engines than we have in action in the entire Republic of Ireland (still, to be fair, in single digits).

Back at the festival, there were quite a few new-to-me or only-vaguely-known-to-me breweries, and while Torrside may not be a ‘discovery’ to people in the UK, I’d only had a single bottle before, and Abbeydale was a revelation. We get cans from Track nowadays too, but trying them much nearer the source was a treat.

Mostly, though, it was wonderful to see the response to Christina’s book – if you can make one of the upcoming launch events, go for it!

Will Travel for Cask (But You Knew That)…

November 23, 2023 by Lisa Grimm

It’s been a minute, and while we have no new Weirdo Dublin Pub this week, thanks to an epic period of work/kid/theatre/music travel that isn’t quite done yet, I did get to indulge in one of my favourite things a lot last week – cask ale! Just, well, not in Dublin.

The first bit of cask enjoyment was not unexpected: I was on one of my regular work trips to the office in London, and finally managed to squeeze in some evening theatre with Sondheim’s Old Friends* and a Mandy Patinkin** concert, so stopping off at The Harp in Covent Garden was a no-brainer, even it was for just a brief pint. But I have also finally discovered what feels like my Work Local in The Dean Swift – it’s a short walk from the office, beautifully renovated, and it had a well-curated list of craft and craft-cask options, as well as some excellent food (gorgeous pumpkin ravioli!). Having an Irish nod in the name is a nice bonus, and I will most certainly be stopping back in regularly, now that I’ve properly discovered it. I also saw that Whiplash will be pouring their Slow Life stout there, so it’s nice to know there’s an interest in Irish craft beer in the Big Smoke. I’ll be back again in a few weeks…just for a bit of quality control, you see.

But I also enjoyed that rarest of rare events – a cask ale festival, in Ireland! We used to go to regular cask fests in both Philly and Seattle, and had plenty of good options for local and imported cask, so it was a bit of an adjustment to have essentially none available locally when we moved here (though initially, both The Underdog and The Black Sheep had regular cask offerings – it’s been a very slow return) – but this is old news to any semi-regular readers. Fortunately, the team behind the Mullingar Wild Ale Festival decided to organize a cask festival as well…and a good time was had by all. I think Simon’s write-up is an excellent place to start – he was much speedier than I ever manage to be, but he has some useful insights into why cask just isn’t much of a thing here, as well as some great photos; I neglected to take many myself (and not for any ‘living in the moment social media break’ reasons – just pure laziness).

But it was a really lovely little festival – all out the back of a pub in Mullingar, but sheltered from the elements. I’d never previously been to Mullingar and cannot claim any real familiarity with it now, but it was a convenient location – on a direct train line from my local station, so a very short walk on both ends. And, perhaps even more crucially, space to sit down and relax, and a generally unhurried pace of events. The only urgency was around grabbing a glass of the Dead Centre Sham Maths, which was correctly predicted to run out early, so after making that my first pour, all was well (and it was delicious on cask, as amber ales should be).

And while I adored having the chance to try some of my usual go-tos on cask – special shout-out to Ballykilcavan’s Bin Bawn Pale Ale – the overall ‘best of the fest’ for me was from Third Barrel, whose Afternoon Delight was a joy – a hoppy stout, very much in the vein of my inaccessible Pennsylvania fave, Troegs Dead Reckoning Porter; I may have gone back for a few. The tiny dimpled mugs were a nice touch, too.

So while I have some cask-adjacent trips planned in the lead-up to Christmas – back to London a few times, and up to Belfast for Uncanny Live – It was so pleasant to have a cask-filed afternoon out that required only minimal travel. Yes, it’s a bit annoying that cask is rare here, but it also makes finding it a bit of an adventure, and that’s never a bad thing.

* LEA SALONGA MRS LOVETT NOW!

** I last saw Mandy Patinkin live in about 1991, and we met him after the show; he was absolutely lovely and ‘did’ Inigo Montoya for a couple of starstruck theatre kids who couldn’t have been happier. He also gave us some snacks from the green room, as he was worried we’d skipped dinner for the show. I didn’t hang around to stagedoor after this one, as I’m a lot older/more tired nowadays, but his voice is just as wonderful, and his storytelling sublime.

Weirdo Guide to (Some) Kilkenny Pubs: A Weekend in the Country

October 12, 2023 by Lisa Grimm

We’re back in my busy travel time of year, so this week, it’s a quick selection of pubs from Kilkenny, rather than anything more local-to-me in Dublin. And I’m sure Kilkenny residents will rightly point out that these are all touristy in one way or another, but hey, you have to at least tick some of those off the list when it’s a flying visit. I was only in town overnight to catch Fra Fee singing Sondheim (AND LIZ CALLAWAY WAS THE SURPRISE GUEST – my fellow Sondheim nerds will understand the all-caps here – normals, feel free to move on*), so beer was not super-high on the agenda, for once.

But that said, I had a few hours free after a nice lunch with friends, and some poking around the various museums and historic sites, so I had to at least make a stop in at Kyteler’s Inn, which leans all the way in to its association with Dame Alice Kyteler, the subject of one of Ireland’s very few witchcraft trials in 1324. Not coincidentally, this is the date given for the foundation of the pub, and while that seems a bit too good to be true, we do have good documentation for Dame Alice owning the property (among many others, in her varied marriage-and-land-acquisition career), and it does seem genuinely ‘old’ – though I would guess more of the rambling pub is more of 15th century-and-onward date, but I would happily believe bits, at least, are older and have been reused. We have, naturally, covered Dame Alice and her unfortunate servant, Petronella, who was the one who ended up in the flames after Dame Alice fled abroad (Petronella now has a restaurant named after her, so, um, yay?) in a previous (AWARD-NOMINATED) Beer Ladies Podcast episode or two, which always gives us an excuse to re-bust the alewives/witches myth, but this was my first visit back to Kyteler’s Inn since a quick lunch there during some version of Covid protocols.

And while it is absolutely in the tourist camp – I mean, that cat logo and the €7 pint – I can’t fault that in any way; you gotta get a gimmick**. And I’m here for the rebadged O’Hara’s Red Ale as their house Witches Brew, which is clearly designated as such for The People Who Worry About That Sort of Thing (you know who you are). My only knock on the place – beyond the proliferation of North American accents – that many of My Countrypeople in one place always makes me a little nervous, but more on that in a moment – is that the tour-bus numbers make it a little too busy to have especially attentive service; I would absolutely have purchased one of the incredibly silly t-shirts if I’d been asked, but after my token pint, I never could catch anyone’s eye again, despite sitting at the bar. That said, I wasn’t planning to linger, so it wasn’t a terrible hardship.

I had a quick walk into the Smithwick’s Experience, just to check it out, but I almost immediately backed right out when I heard louder-than-usual Boomer American Men in Caps confidently declaring that this was where they made the beer that’s ‘just like a red Guinness‘ that ‘you can’t get back home’ and as the conversation was about to turn to ‘socialism,’ I had to flee. I wouldn’t mind doing the tour at some point (I am curious if they show off or describe anything about the medieval abbey that was here), but feel I’d need to go with friends who don’t have my accent, just to provide a sort of buffer.

After more pleasant strolling and some actual relaxation in my hotel, I ventured back out for dinner, this time, to Sullivan’s Taproom (‘established 1702’). They have considerably expanded their covered outdoor seating since our previous visit, and it’s a thoroughly pleasant spot, with a variety of nooks and crannies in the Craftonia style, and I saw A Thing I don’t think I’ve ever seen in this country – Young People being asked for ID before being served drinks. You can order via QR code or go to the bar, and while I know some are not fans of the QR code approach, as a solo diner/drinker, it’s very handy – no worry that your table will disappear if you need a refill. And while I’m not an unabashed fan of all of the house-made offerings at Sullivan’s – barring the red ale, which is very pleasant indeed – they do a lovely tasting tray, and the guest beer lineup is very good indeed. On my visit, there were options from Third Barrel and Bullhouse, to name just a few, and the pizza is excellent; all in all, a successful pre-theatre stop.

I had a very quick post-show pint (well, really, two glasses) at Cleere’s Bar, which was just across the street from the Watergate Theatre, and was obviously the spot for the creatives, too – it was nice to be able to give a quick ‘great job, loved the show’ and then let them enjoy their evening (and it was a fantastic show), and while there weren’t many craft options, it was nice to grab a Murphy’s as a bit of a change, and it had a very welcoming, traditional pub vibe.

All told, Kilkenny is a lovely little city for a quick break; I know there are a few other craft-supporting pubs I didn’t have the chance to get to, but it’s always good to leave something for next time. I’ll drink to that***.

*sorry/not remotely sorry

** still not sorry

*** everybody RISE

Weirdo Guide to Dublin Pubs: The Old Spot

September 28, 2023 by Lisa Grimm

I had every intention of writing something about the couple of new-to-me bars I had a chance to pop into in New York while I was over for work – Beer Run, for obvious running-nerd/beer-nerd reasons was a standout to me, and I was thrilled to have a few festibiers from around the region (I’m the weirdo who prefers the darker, grainier, more bready American festbiers to their modern German counterparts – sorry/not sorry), but instead, I ended up with a longer hiatus as I came back from the States with Covid – thanks, Obama!

Luckily, I was recovered by this past weekend, and I had the chance to get to one of our favourite pubs on the fancier side of Dublin: The Old Spot. We don’t get over this way terribly often, although we used to live around the corner, just on the other side of the Aviva, so going to the stadium in question gave us a perfect opportunity. After watching the Irish Women’s National Team beat Northern Ireland, we headed around the corner to The Old Spot for dinner – and it does feel very much, to me, like a ‘nice dinner’ spot (Spot?).

It’s certainly on the ‘gastro’ end of the gastropub spectrum, but it doesn’t try to hide this, and with that said, it’s entirely family-friendly and has both ‘good’ kids’ options and ones my currently-very-picky younger one will accept. As a side note, the vast majority of pubs and restaurants, even the ‘higher end’ ones here in Ireland tend to be welcoming to children (presuming it’s not terribly late) in a way that just isn’t as common, at least in my experience, in either the US or UK, where there is often a tendency to treat even older children as annoyances or somehow not members of the same species. And while I am not, on the whole, the biggest fan of ‘other people’s children,’ I find them much better-behaved and more like fully-baked humans when they are given the opportunity to exist comfortably in public spaces. Again, this is by no means universal in either direction, but Ireland seems to sit more in the ‘European’ camp in this regard, with the Anglo-American attitude being typically (though not always) considerably less inclusive – but I digress, back to the food and drink!

I’m a big fan of the food at The Old Spot – even the burger simply seems ‘elevated’ compared to what you find in most pubs, and there are always interesting specials that I would consider actually ‘special,’ but by no means fussy. And in addition to a really lovely cocktail menu, they have Hope and Kinnegar on tap, and in their own glassware, so Irish craft beer is well-supported. There is also an excellent whiskey selection, which pairs well with the always-interesting dessert menu, so I’ve never left in any way hungry.

I know that some find the décor a bit twee, but I really enjoy the whimsey of it – plenty of on-theme pigs around, and there’s always the more ‘bar’ bar area at the front if you prefer simply stopping in for a pre- or post-match pint.

I need to get back that way more frequently.

Where: The Old Spot, 14 Bath Ave, Dublin 4, D04 Y726
Access from the city centre: Buses 4, 7, 7A, 38, 38A, 39 39A, 56A, 77A, DART
Food: Gastropub, with many specials
Sport: Better for before or after the game
TVs: Nope
Music: I always feel targeted
Family-friendliness: Thoroughly welcoming
Pub-crawl-ability: Medium – The Bath Pub, Slattery’s, The Chophouse, The 51, The Gasworks and The Merry Cobbler are all a short stroll in various directions
Local sites of note: Aviva Stadium, Beggars Bush Barracks, National Print Museum
Haunted: There are some lovely older homes in the area – maybe some ghosts wander in?
Other notes: Worth making a reservation, it can fill up