The wanderer returns to a nice surprise!

After almost five years in Toronto, the family and I have decided to return to Ireland. It was a tough decision but the right one for us. So it's farewell to Canada and hello to Ireland.

Now - onto the beer scene. Upon leaving Ireland in 2007 it was a pretty dismal scene, there were but a few (yet dedicated) pubs flying the craft beer flag, The Bull and Castle, The Porterhouse, The Abbot's Ale House and Messrs Maguire off the top of my head are the only pubs doing anything noteworthy (apologies if I'm leaving anyone out) and there were a handful of really good off licenses in Dublin. I struggled to get to 200 ratings on Ratebeer.

All the time I was away I kept involved in Beoir so I was aware of some of the changes happening. Upon my return I am astounded at the sheer volume of changes that have happened, it's just gone from strength to strength! I'm splitting my time at the moment between Dublin and Galway and will be working in Dublin as of next week returning to Galway at weekends. Here in Galway we have great pubs such as The Oslo, The Salthouse, The Cottage and The Scholars Rest leading the charge (all sister pubs which have other sister pubs in Dublin which I'll mention later) with amazingly 'Tig Neachtain's' having their own stout and wheat beer being made for them by Galway Hooker (warning, horrible flash site)  and my-oh-my the Bonaparte's Stout is phenomenal.

Dublin is now becoming a craft beer haven with old pubs but new comers to the craft beer scene really raising the bar, Farringtons in Temple Bar being an absolute craft beer must visit in Dublin ( I had bourbon barrel aged Leann Follain on cask there and it was sublime). Sister to the Galway pubs mentioned earlier is Against the grain, The black sheep and The brew dock making that chain a practical monopoly in Ireland on craft beer pubs. All offer a huge range of Irish brews on tap as well as international and local bottles and cask when available.

It's great to see these places staffed with people who are genuinely interested and passionate about craft beer and who are all making a conscious effort to change the face of the Irish pub and beer scene.

Needless to say, I'm happy to be back.

Now for the gratuitous Ireland pics..

Selection available at a little restaurant in Galway

O'Connor's Famous pub - Salthill

Cask at Bull & Castle

Toronto Beer Week continued ...

In continuation to my last post, I was lucky enough to attend a few more events.

'The Indie Alehouse' brewery launch at 'The Burger Bar' (my new local bar!)  where they showcased their Instigator Pale Ale: west coast style IPA and their Leadership Qualities: Breakfast Porter both which were a stellar start to this new brewery and a sign of great things to come.

Next up was the 'Toronto Beer Week Pub Crawl' where I joined the group of revellers at 'The Victory Cafe' for a quick pint of Spearhead Hawaiian Pale Ale before moving on the brand new premises of 'Smokeless Joes' - what a treat it was. The boys over at Joes opened their doors a few days early specifically to accommodate us.  With a great tap line up and a great new space, things are looking very bright.

The new Smokeless Joes

Finally it was over to Bar Volo for the 3rd annual Brasserie Dieu Du Ciel! Tap take over where there was no less than 12 taps and 7 Dieu Du Ciel! products available. Volo was packed to the rafters and had a special licence to open to 0400hrs and although I was in slumberland by midnight, I heard it was packed until closing.

Although this year I didn't attend as many events as last year I still had an absolute blast. The Toronto beer scene has exploded in my 3.5 years in Canada, I can't wait to see what the future holds.

Some of my choices during the DDC tap take over

Volo Cask Days 2009

I can't believe it's that time of year again. Volo Cask Days marks my almost 2 year anniversary in Canada. Volo has become the number one beer bar in Toronto, in fact I'd almost hazard to say, Ontario over the past few years. Owner Ralph Morana, his wife, sons and their staff put an almost religious like commitment into ensuring that the yearly Cask Days event runs like a well oiled machine.

This year saw a change of the usual events and had a 'Cask Week' running up to the main event with a number of different casks available in traditional UK styles. This was an excellent opportunity to enjoy some fine cask goodness in the relaxed atmosphere of pre cask days in Volo. I attended on Monday with my good friend Harry (@hogtownharry on Twitter) and on Tuesday with my other good pal Paul (@paulbazinet). On these days I gave the following brews a try:

F&M Stonehammer Porter
Mike Duggans #6 ESB
MacLeans Battle X ESB
Magnotta Festa Best Bitter
Ste. Andre Brass Monkey Ordinary Bitter

The real cask challenge for me was to be on the Friday, I had tickets to both sessions and had my eye on the prize i.e. try as many of the interesting brews as possible!

Friday came along and I'm delighted to report I managed to try 22 other brews, I'll have to go through my notes to check which ones, but this is what was available:


ONTARIO EAST
Scotch Irish Brewing Company - Black Plain Strawberry Porter
Heritage Brewing Company - Hop Fresh 2009
Beau 's All Natural Brewing - Tommy Gun Pale (Caba Caba Hey) / Night Märzen Aged in Wood Cask
County Cider* - Waupoos Cider
Barley Days - Harvest Gold Pale Ale
Church Key - Purple Loosestrife Mead / Oaked Islay V Scotch Ale
Publican House* - McHenry Red Ale

ONTARIO NORTH EAST
Lakes of Muskoka Cottage Brewery - 2009 Harvest Ale
Hockley Valley - Peanut Butter and Jam Ale
Flying Monkey* - Netherworld India Pale Porter
King - Dry Hopped/Unflitered Pilsner
Black Creek* - Traditional Pumpkin Ale
Magnotta - Festa Best Bitter (Dry hopped mid Atlantic Pale Ale)

ONTARIO NORTH WEST
Thornbury Village* - Peeler Cider
Battleaxe Brewery* - Old Angus Old Ale
F&M Brewery - Nightmare On Ale Street
Wellington - Iron Duke Strong Ale
Grand River - Highballer Pumpkin Ale

ONTARIO SOUTH WEST
Railway City - Dead Elephant Ale
Stratford - Empire Strikes Black
Niagara’s Best - Portage Pale Ale
TAPS Brewing Company* - Rosberg's Porter (Dry Hopped)
Nickel Brook - Wooden Nickel IPA
Trafalgar - Pickled Corpse
Cameron's - Vanilla Dark Ale

ONTARIO (TORONTO)
Mill St. - 08/09 Blend Barley Wine (Dry Hopped)
Granite Brewery - Gin Lane Barley Wine
Duggan's Brewery* - Duggan’s #7 Stout
Denison’s - Dunkel from a Wood Barrel (Not Cask-Conditioned) Session 3A Only
Durham Brewing Company - Black Eye Ale
Amsterdam - Oaked Oktoberfest 2009
Great Lakes - Morning Glory Breakfast Stout
Great Lakes & BarVolo - Matt’s Marathon Mild
Black Oak - Lime Light Pale
Cheshire Valley Brewing* - Ginger-Lime Ale
St. Andre - Freshly Squeezed Barley Juice

GUEST (QUEBEC & ENGLAND)
Brasserie Benelux* - Amato Texas Reserve Brown
Brasserie Dieu Du Ciel! - Corne Diable IPA / Péché Mortel / Penombre Black IPA
Brasserie Hopfenstark - Post Colonial IPA
Fullers - London Pride Pale Ale / Extra Special Bitter / India Pale Ale / Red Fox Red Ale

Thanks to Volo's great patience with the 'ticker' we were all given a pint glass to keep as part of the entry fee and were able to buy 1/4, 1/2 and full pints of each brew - perfect for the tickers and the newbies alike.

Surprisingly enough, one of the best beers of the fest for me was the Hockley Valley - Peanut Butter and Jam Ale. Deliciously nutty with actual peanut butter and jam notes. Crazy.

Hopefully over the next coming days I'll have some of the beer reviews ready to post. In the meantime, here's some pretty pictures.

 

 

The Ceili Cottage

An eagerly awaited newcomer to the Toronto pub scene. This truly is as close to a pub in Ireland as you’ll get outside the Emerald Isle. From the 2 million year old bar made from granite from Ireland, to the oyster shells embedded in the concrete on the patio, this truly is a taste of home for me. The owner Patrick McMurray has done a fine job of this place, the food is all made in house (even the sausages!) and they have fresh oysters from Canada and Ireland.

There are 12 taps, 4 Irish and the rest are rotating Ontario brews and a real ale cask. The staff are a fantastic bunch and certainly always friendly and willing to help. There’s different events each evening from live Irish trad music sessions, match making evenings to shuck your own oyster nights. This has become my favourite pub in Toronto by far and is a home away from home, right down to the Irish turf burner that scents the place evoking memories of home. This is a must visit in Toronto.

www.ceilicottage.com