Part 2 of my beer travelogue of our trip to Ireland…

TUESDAY, APRIL 23 — It was our first full day in Dublin and we were exploring the thriving Temple Bar district. After lunch at Porterhouse Temple Bar, we walked to Farrington’s.

Where it’s Located: 28E Essex Street, Dublin 2, Ireland

When Visited: Late afternoon on Tuesday, April 23, 2013

How I Heard About It: We landed in Dublin early on Tuesday morning and had time to explore Dublin City Center while we waited for our hotel room to be ready for check-in. We scouted the Temple Bar district, which was quiet during the breakfast hour. On our leisurely stroll, we spotted Farrington’s huge tap selection through their front window. We made plans to come back that afternoon when it opened.

Beers Sampled: Farrington’s offered 12+ taps of Irish craft beers. They weren’t your run-of-the-mill Irish beers – no Smithwick’s here.  The beer chalkboard also included brew from Germany, Scotland, Belgium, and the U.S.

I ordered a pint of O’Hara’s IPA (5.2%), which was an Irish Pale Ale brewed by Carlow Brewing Company. It was an easy drinking Pale Ale, but I was looking for something more interesting. The barman recommended O’Hara’s Double IPA (7.5%), which wasn’t listed on the beer chalkboard. This dark amber ale is described as “a bigger brother to O’Hara’s Irish Pale Ale.” It wasn’t a DIPA as we think of it in the U.S., but it was delicious.

I was curious to try more Irish brews, so I ordered the Bo Bristle IPA from Bo Bristle Brewing Company in Offaly, Ireland. But the barman convinced me otherwise — after moving from an IPA to a DIPA, there wasn’t anything on tap that would take me to the next level. The barman recommended a bottle of Hardcore IPA from BrewDog in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. Great call!

Best Beer: BrewDog’s Hardcore IPA would give Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA a run for its money. So you know it was good.

Food: We were at Farrington’s long enough that we needed some food to soak up the brew. Beth ordered the mussels to go with her O’Hara’s Red Ale. I don’t like mussels, but they were served with traditional Irish Soda Bread, which I scarfed down.

We left Farrington’s in a great state-of-mind.

Later in the trip…

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 24 – We loved our visit to Farrington’s so much that we went back the next night for dinner. I got the Bo Bristle IPA to go with my Fish & Chips, and Beth had the Beef & Guinness Casserole. The service was again outstanding.

We were in the mood to hear some Irish drinking songs, but we instead enjoyed the lively sports bar atmosphere in Farrington’s as we watched the Borussia Dortmund vs. Real Madrid Champion’s League match.

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