Doolin Craft Beer and Roots Festival 2015

Now in its third year, The newly re-christened "Doolin Craft Beer and Roots Festival" is only getting bigger and better. This year it boasted over 20 craft breweries and to compliment the beer, a live band every hour and not to mention the food! Oh god, the smell was amazing. This is the first year I heard about the festival, let alone any festival like this held in Co. Clare. Being a Clare man, it seemed only natural to drag the girlfriend Aisling aka Pale Girl and meet up with one of my best friends to make it a weekend worth remembering.

 Upon arrival we were greeted by a very friendly staff of the Hotel Doolin who gifted us with our custom festival glasses and a recommendation of what bands not to miss. The smell of the American style smoker was fantastic as we entered the doors to the hotels gardens where a massive marquee had been erected to house the festival goers and craft brewers alike. In a gigantic paella wok cooking over a fire was the most amazing slow smoked, pulled brisket chilli, and in the smoker a reserve of brisket in case the wok started to look bare. The chef in charge was a nice dude and had plenty of time to answer all of our questions. The rest of the food available ranged from fancy black pudding sausage hotdogs to big juicy quarter pounders. The food was fairly priced, and the portion sizes were more than generous. There was no excuse to go hungry.

Inside the marquee was a stage to the left, a then vacant dance floor (it was still early days) and to the right was a great hall setup of benches and tables and the rear wall was an amalgam of taps from each brewery. There was only two brewers selling their own beers themselves, but they were easily accessed. My first beer was a nice pint of The White Hag's Fionnabhair Wit Beer, a 5.2% wheat beer, with overtones of orange peel, and maybe a hint of coriander or other herbs in the background. This was recommended to me by my buddy Jason over at An Irishmans Guide to Beer and it didn't disappoint. The idea of a nice chowder was then thrown around, so we decided to walk to Gus O'Conners pub. 

The ten minute stroll was leisurely and it was great to see the little village of Doolin packed so full of people that each and every B&B had their 'No Vacancy' banner up. The pub was jam packed so we opted to eat outdoors. Jay asked would I like a pint and after a minute or two deliberating what to order I decided on a pint of  Hop House 13 and of course didn't he arrive back with what was to be my first pint of Murphy's Irish Stout. I have to admit that although it didn't hold a candle to Guiness it was quite nice. Then a car full of friend's on a day trip around Clare happened to drive past as we got settled. They parked the car, ordered some chowder and a beer and hid from the fabulous Irish weather under an umbrella with us!

We said our goodbyes after another pint and headed back to the festivities. After rinsing my glass at the rinse station, I grabbed a Galway Hooker Irish Pale Ale, a 4.3% IPA that I have to admit was a bit underwhelming. I will give it a go again, as i could tell that it had potential, unfortunately it tasted like the keg it was stored in. This made me change my game plan for the rest of the night, and I adopted the taste first buy later method. The bartenders had no problem letting you sample a beer before you bought it which meant no more disappointment. Notable beers of the night were Trouble Brewing's: India Pale Lager 4.9%, The White Hag's: The White Sow Oatmeal Chocolate Milk Stout 5.2% (Absolutely Delicious), The White Hag's: Samhain Oktoberfest Brew a 6.2% wheat beer and O'Hara's Red 4.3% Red Ale. 

As the night moved on and the beer went down nicely, I had a great chat with the brewer of RadikAle. RadikAle was one of the last breweries that i tried of the night and I wish i had discovered it earlier as it was magnificent. It was potentially the youngest brewery at the festival as it has only been around 3 or 4 months. Every question I asked, no matter how stupid was answered in detail as he explained about his beers and I definitely learned something. The incredibly smooth Rubenesque Belgian Dubbel 7.2% was one of the lightest beers I drank of the day and I have to admit I could have drank it all day. It did not taste as powerful as it was, which is dangerous (in a good way). The nicest pale ale of the day was the crisp Hopster Single Hop American Pale Ale 5.2%, I cant wait until this reaches shops near me and if you ever spot it have a taste, you wont regret it. 

After one last beer, The White Hag's: Tuireann Ban White IPA 6.2%, and a couple of burgers (with a savage pile of caramelized onions, and an unholy amount of tasty coleslaw to accompany it), we decided to head to the campsite, a good half hours walk from the hotel, to sample even more craft beers. We noticed a curious looking American styled hotdog stand ran by a very nice lady who was 100% open to drunken bartering and we snagged ourselves a great deal on some hotdogs. Jay brought a cooler full of different craft beers that he has reviewed or is yet to review on his blog, and he saved one special one for me. Galway Bay Breweries: Of Foam and Fury 8.2% Double IPA. I have to admit this was a knockout. It was tasty and halfway through I felt like I had already drank two beers. After some airbed trouble, and a couple of drinks with some random campers it was time to hit the hay. The Doolin Craft Beer and Roots Festival is not one to be missed, and I'm already excited for next year.

"When I knew it was time to leave"