A Quart of Ale± #14. Moving on over to craft. Weihenstephaner. To Øl. Brooklyn. Wicklow Wolf. Dungarvan. Kinnegar.

A Quart of Ale± #14

Moving on over to craft.  

The Non Alcoholic Alternative

Weihenstephaner “Original Helles” <0,5% abv, 0.5l bottle Bradley’s of Cork

“Our Original Helles – even without alcohol, it is refreshing and enjoyable.” That’s what they say and I’d have to agree. Bright gold colour, fountains of rapidly rising bubbles. Fluffy white head, in no rush to fade away. Slightly hoppy notes, slight spice also, introduce this thirst quencher. Light and crisp with excellent full flavour. Not quite all-out lip-smacking but pleasantly refreshing for sure with a mild bitterness and a clean dry finish. That the bitterness is mild is confirmed by the IBU number of 20.

Germany breweries regularly suggest food pairings and here Weihenstephaner, the world’s oldest brewery, provide the full recipe for Swiss Wurstsalat (Sausage Salad). All the details here.  

They say: Our bright sunny-yellow alcohol-free lager “Original” with minerals, vitamins and micronutrients is an isotonic, low-calorie alternative to our lager and also a thirst quencher for active people. The pleasant spicy hops note and the full light and sweet flavor, with a slight bitterness, makes it an ideal companion for snacks, hearty salads or simply a refreshment on hot days. Brewed according to our centuries-old brewing tradition on the Weihenstephan hill.

Almost a thousand years ago the Bavarian State Brewery Weihenstephan was the monastery brewery of the Benedictine monks. Then, the Royal Bavarian State Brewery stepped in and it is now operating as a state directed enterprise under the control of the Bavarian Government.

To Øl “Implosion” 0.3%, 33cl can Bradley’s of Cork

This Danish ale is a pale and hazy yellow. Citrus in the delicate aromas. No explosion of flavours on the crisp palate but quite a pleasant balance and a good dry refreshing finish. May not be quite perfect but is one of the better non alcoholic beers. And the Danish brewery isn’t finished with the style yet: “You'll love where this non-ABV craft train is headed, I promise.” These brewers have a habit of living up to their promises!

The hop varieties used are Hallertau Blanc, Citra, Tettnanger and Mosaic, promising fruity and floral flavours. But it is the yeast that’s key here; it doesn’t produce alcohol though it does leave a little more sweetness than usual.

They say: It is light and chuggable, with nice peachy notes from the yeast. Slightly sweet, but not too prominent, nice and fresh hop aromas, and absolutely NO hangover! Alcohol-free beer as it should be.

I caught a recent Facebook post by the makers, sympathising with all of us who have tried some of those awful non-alcoholic drinks over the years.”You tried that beer in the bar years ago, against your better judgement - and it tasted like awful, sparkly bread water. You were horrified. Scarred for life. You swore to stick to the strong stuff, where it was safe. But, my friend, times - they are a-changing.”

.

So they threw out the rule book with this non-alcoholic Implosion beer. “We used a yeast that, when it ferments, doesn't create alcohol but still gives off amazing, ale esters. We then added hops to create a delicate, aromatic profile - and therefore didn't need to boil off the beer at the end of the process and risk losing all those amazing flavours.”

Brooklyn Hoppy Lager “Special Effects” 0,4% abv, 355ml bottle Bradley’s of Cork

Quite a warm amber colour, essentially clear. Must admit I didn’t get on at all with this one. Must try another bottle sometime, to be fair. If you had one of these as part of a session involving regular alcoholic ales, it might well pass. A bit disappointed with the Special Effects. Doesn’t have second glass appeal for me, though my drinking partner enjoyed it.

They say: Special Effects is a hoppy lager with an unexpected piney aroma and pleasantly bitter finish. It tastes like a regular beer but therein lies the special effect. It’s only 0.4% abv

Brooklyn Special Effects tastes just like a regular beer, but therein lies the special effect. We use a special fermentation method that develops the flavors, aromas & character of beer with none of the alcohol, and a generous dry hopping resulting in lively hop notes and a clean finish.

They have quite a long recommended food list: Spinach Salad, Grilled Chicken, Omelettes, BLT sandwiches, Toast Skagen (Brooklyn do have breweries in Scandinavia), Hot Wings, Working Lunches (it’s not a saison though), Weeknights, Fresh Goats Cheese (Ardsallagh, I reckon, rather than Shepherds Store).

Irish Contenders

Wicklow Wolf “Moonlight” Hoppy Ale 0.5%, 330ml can Supervalu

Brewed with speciality malts, this Wicklow Wolf states a claim to a high ranking among Irish non-alcoholic beers. Nice gold colour with a short-lived head. Citrus aromas in the hoppy head, hoppy all through really, well flavoured and an excellent fruity finish. One of the better ones for sure, neck and neck with the Dungarvan entry below, maybe marginally ahead.

Hops: Cascade, Hallertau Blanc, Citra

Malt: Melano, Cara Gold

IBU: 20

Dungarvan “Main Sail” <0,5% abv, 500ml bottle Bradley’s of Cork

Ireland’s first micro-brewed alcohol free beer has a gold colour, a white fluffy head with little staying power. Hoppy aromas are followed by a stiff backbone of the same on the palate where notes of citrus also show, all before a lingering bitter finish. Ireland’s first and one of the better ones.

They say: Our head brewer, Cormac O’Dwyer, believes that it takes quality ingredients, time, care and attention to detail to create the perfect brews and this is the methodology that he employs when brewing our Dungarvan beer.All the beers are traditionally brewed and bottled on-site in Dungarvan, Co. Waterford made using only four ingredients – barley, hops, yeast and water. No chemicals are added to the beers, they are unfiltered, unpasteurised and vegan-friendly.

Hops used for Mainsail: Amarillo, Challenger

Malts: Munich, Caramalt, Crystal Malt, Cararoma

And  where did the name come from? From the Pogues’ “When The Ship Comes in”

A song will lift

As the mainsail shifts

And the boat drifts on to the shoreline

Kinnegar “Low Tide” Pale Ale 0.5%, 44cl can O’Briens

This aptly-named Low Tide from Kinnegar is a mid-gold, with a close to clear, white head that slowly fades away. Aromas feature hops. Indeed, it’s moderately hoppy all the way through. Don’t think I’d stick with this for a session but it could come in handy if taking it easy for a night, one Limeburner, one Low Tide and repeat!

They say: Low Tide is our traditionally brewed zero-point-five per cent pale ale, created to make life with less alcohol enjoyable, even for beer lovers.

Christmas Cheer Reviewed. Including Drinks Gluten Free & Alcohol Free

Summer Beer Downed In December

Including Drinks Gluten Free & Alcohol Free

Very much into seasonal when it comes to my food. Not so much when it’s beer. Especially when there’s a can handy, a can from Eight Degrees called Orange Ball 5. It’s part of their 8th year anniversary celebration series called Rack ‘Em Up and intended to be a summertime sup.

But I come across it late-ish, on a December night on the run-in to Christmas, spot the 3.9 abv and I say to myself that this Fruity Pale Ale fits the bill. Athgarret Malt, Ireland’s newest maltsters, as suppliers of the wheat and oats, get much of the credit. Credit too though to the brewers at the Mitchelstown brewery who came up with this fruity sessional pale ale, silky sunshine on a cloudy day. Just the job to fit this Bill, late on a windy Friday night. A juicy wet sunshine-ey kiss, declares the label. A kiss for all seasons, methinks.

Staying a bit out of sequence here, all the better to draw your attention to the Blue Ball, number 2 in the series. This one’s a coffee infused Vienna Lager (4.50%). You usually come across coffee in stouts but the Eight Degrees boffins went outside the box - they usually do - when they got together with local coffee roaster Badger & Dodo.

I admit to be being a little sceptical when I pulled this one. So it was quite a pleasant surprise when I found the combination worked a treat both on the nose and on the palate. The balance is just spot-on, another winner racked up in North Cork. By the way, who is Dodo? I have met the badger, better known as Brock.

The Christmas dinner was excellent, both food and company, and gave me a chance to pot the black. The  #8 Black Ball Metric Stout that is! Aged in Jameson whiskey barrels, the big bold (11.5%) stout proved quite a match for the Christmas pudding.

For all the excellent beers in the Rack ‘Em Up eight, my favourite remains the Howling Gale Irish Pale Ale. It is the first beer Eight Degrees ever brewed, back in 2011. Perfect then. Perfect now.

Just going back to Christmas Day. We had quite a few visitors. Some were driving so I made sure to have a few non alcoholic beers in the house. The newish Dungarvan Brewery Main Sail was one and that went down well. One guy enjoyed the Erdinger but no one tried the Russian Baltica.

The big alcoholic attraction though was the Chateau Turcaud "Cuvée Majeure" Bordeaux blanc, a beautiful wine in an impressive magnum, a present for our 50th earlier in the year!

As usual there were bubbles - of various types. And here a local Elderflower cordial, made by Maura’s Kitchen and bought at Killavullen Market, came into its own, drawing lots of compliments. Sometimes, it was mixed with sparkling wine and, where the request was for no alcohol, with sparkling water. Really made quite a favourable impression all round.

Bīru, appropriately enough since it is the Japanese word for beer, is the name of a premium light lager with an abv of 4.3%, which also proved a favourite. It is a Japanese inspired rice beer;  ingredients also include water, malted barley, maize and hops and is also gluten free.

It certainly tastes pretty well with a very smooth mouthfeel. Easy-drinking, light and refreshing, with very little bittering, it is an ideal session drink. It is contract brewed by Cork’s Cotton Ball Brewery.

As you probably know, the 9 White Deer Brewery, from Baile Bhúirne, have a full range of Gluten Free beers and their Stag Bán ale was very popular with our guests. 

So there you are. More than one way to a Happy Christmas! Now here’s to a happy 2020.

Picado Mexican Pop-Up. A Highlight of West Waterford Food Festival

Picado Mexican Pop-Up

A Highlight of West Waterford Food Festival

Horrible Hannah blows outside but inside Lily Ramirez-Foran and her chef friend Anthony O’Toole are cooking up a super-tasty Mexican storm as part of the 12th annual West Waterford Food Festival. A warm welcome and soon we are seated with scores more in the Causeway Tennis Club in Dungarvan.

The service began with Botana and Beer. The beer was top class stuff as always from the Dungarvan Brewing Company, who were combining for the second year running with Mexican Lily. The initial event was in the brewery but such was the demand for tickets that it was obvious a bigger venue was needed for this year.

Margarita

Back then to the Botana and Beer. Not your usual beer though! This was the Dungarvan Mine Head after a make-over, transformed into an Ale and Chili Margarita, with the aid of Hibiscus and lime. Sounded well, tasted better. And there were some tasty nibbles to go with the Déise Margarita: handmade Corn Chips, Spicy pepitas, Salsa Verde, De Arbol Salsa Roja.

Lily is the founder of Ireland's first Mexican boutique grocer and cookery school, Picado Mexican in Portobello, Dublin 2, and has been here for the past 19 years with her husband and business partner Alan Foran (also helping out on the night).

Superb starter

Anthony O’Toole is a private chef, curating one-off food and drink events for a wide range of clients. He is quite a gardener as well and this was not his first collaboration with Lili. They gave us an idea of what we would be eating for the evening and advised to use our hands (we did have a fork!) and pile up our plates as there’s not much sympathy for slow eaters in Mexico. 

Squash

Sally Barnes is a recent favourite of Anthony's and her smoked mackerel (wild, of course) featured in the Comienzo, the starter. Its full title: Sally Barnes Smoked Wild Mackerel Tostada, pickled Jalapeños, the Sea Gardeners’ Toasted Dillisk. First bite and I knew I was on a winner. A superbly made starter, a smooth combination of delicious flavours and textures.

Slaw

On then to the Taquiza, the mains. There were two and we got both, everyone did. First up was Anthony’s Crown Prince and Waltham Butternut Squash with Ancho Chili Crust, peanuts and sesame Salsa Macha, Citrus Créma, and Mexican Slaw. It may not have looked the best but scoop the squash up into the hot tortilla, add a little from the dips on the table and some of that Mexican Slaw (with lime juice, I think) and nobody around me stopped with after just one. It was excellent. 

And then came another dark offering but another superb dish: Old Farm leg of pork braised in Mine Head American Pale Ale (also by Dungarvan Brewing), Gaujillo and Mandarin Adobo Fried Jalapeno Salsa and that excellent slaw again. The pork, thinly cut and perfectly cooked, was delicious and again those tortilla warmers were empty in no time, replacements arriving just as fast as the punters dug into the irresistible deliciousness. 

Sweet Crema, Pomegranate, for your chocolate

By the way, the matching beer for the starter was the Blonde Ale and for the main course we had their Copper Coast Red. But there was plenty of beer and no compulsion. If you preferred it vice versa, that’s what you got. 

The final beer, with the Postre (dessert), was Black Rock Irish Stout. And that dessert was Tequila, Chipotle and the Proper Chocolate Company 85% Dominican Republic Chocolate Torte, with sweet créma, pomegranate, and Crystallised Hibiscus dust on the side. Quite a finalé to a lovely evening in Dungarvan. Final score: three sets to love for Lily and Anthony.

* The producers featured were Dungarvan Brewing, Old Farm fro Nenagh, Anthony O’Toole (eggs, veg and herbs), Sally Barnes Woodcock Smokery in West Cork, The Sea Gardener (Dungarvan), The Apple Farm (cider vinegar), Picado Mexican, Edible flowers by Bumble Bee Farm (Drimoleague) , and The Proper Chocolate Company (Glasnevin).

Winter Coffee Stout Double from Rascals and Dungarvan

Winter Coffee Stout Double

Rascals Brewing Irish Coffee Stout, 4.8%, 500ml bottle 

“A collaboration with our friends over at The Dubliner Whiskey. First off we brewed delightful coffee-infused milk stout. We then aged this beauty in fresh bourbon barrels. The result is a mesmerising Irish Coffee – Stout! All the wonder of an Irish Coffee in a stout; this is magic!”

As you can see, Rascals are very happy with this collaboration. The coffee by the way comes from Irish roaster Khanya.

Coffee on the nose, whiskey on the finish, both on the creamy palate. This barrel aged beauty does what it says on the bottle and went down well with the Christmas pud.

Dungarvan Brewing Coffee and Oatmeal Stout, 4.7%, 500ml bottle  

“A rich, full-flavoured stout with lifting red berry flavours and a lasting smoothness. Perfect for the long winter evenings!”

That’s the Dungarvan summary of this lovely seasonal beer. Can’t believe though that is is the 7th edition! But that’s how long it’s been a firm favourite in this house, a winter brew made using Flahavan’s oatmeal and Badger & Dodo coffee. Coffee nose and amazing flavours including roast notes from the barley.

Rich and smooth on the palate and full of flavour all the way through to the satisfying finish. Has been excellent from Day One and this current version keeps the Dungarvan flag flying high.

By the way, I was reading on their site that they change the coffee each year. This time it is a filter brewed Ethiopian Ambela -with intense red fruit and blackberry flavours that lift the beer while muscovado sugar notes give a rich warmth. 

CorkBilly’s Drinks Digest: Wines, Spirits and Beers. A Wolf in Town!

CorkBilly’s Drinks Digest

Wines, Spirits and Beers

At The Bierhaus Cork, this Thursday, 7.30pm

Wicklow Wolf X Anspach & Hobday (London) Tap-takeover. 

Meet the Wicklow Wolf Team & Anspach & Hobday owner/brewer (Jack Hobday) 

3 Beers from Wicklow Wolf 

3 Beers from Anspach & Hobday 

1 Collaboration beer 

Tastings promos on the night! Details on the Bierhaus Facebook page.

and if you want more Wicklow Wolf then you’ll find them teaming up with their friends Dungarvan Brewing Company at Dungarvan’s Merrys Gastro Pub for a 6 Course Beer Dinner, celebrating Irish Craft Beer on Friday the 23rd November.

Spanish Wine Evening at Rostellan Chocolate

Friday, November 30, 2018 at 7 PM – 9 PM

An evening of tasting 6 varieties of Spanish Wine with cheese and pates. Alejandro from Heart of Spain will present this event which promises to be a fantastic evening. Strictly limited tickets are on sale at an introductory price of €25 each. Contact Peter at 087 2908774 to purchase a ticket.

SuperValu Case Deal

Kate Barry of Barry & Fitzwilliam has been on to tell me about the terrific Villa Maria Case Deal exclusive to SuperValu.

6 different bottles of Villa Maria wine per case.  The RRP for the pack is €105 – it is on offer in selected SuperValu stores at €70.00

The Buy 6 Save €10 starts next Thursday 22^nd November and will run until December 24^th -  hence this will bring it down to €60.

Please note the Villa Maria Case Deal is a limited offer and once it’s gone it is gone!!

Mezze & wine pairings night in Ardkeen Quality Food Store. 

Join us at the Barista Bar in Ardkeen Quality Food Store on Saturday 24 November for a Mezze & wine pairings night. Husband and wife team Dvir and Nicola of Mezze (Waterford locals) will prepare an authentic Middle Eastern feast with shared plates using the amazing locally sourced produce from Ardkeen Quality Food Store. Experience casual authentic Middle Eastern dining, ideas of how to use local produce to prepare bright and vibrant foods, and learn which wines work best with Middle Eastern flavours - all chosen by resident expert Julie Ward.

Tickets include 4 course vegetarian meal with wine tastings and must be purchased in advance. 

Les Gourmandises have a Malbec wine & dinner on November 27th (7.00pm); details on their Facebook page.

Premium Irish whiskey tasting and 4 course tasting menu at Cronin’s Pub.

Tuesday, November 27, 2018 at 7:30 PM – 10 PM

"Join us in Cronin's Pub, Crosshaven for a premium Irish whiskey tasting and 4 course tasting menu. We will be joined by Irish Distiller's whiskey ambassador Michael Cowman. Each whiskey will be paired with a specially prepared tasting menu from the Mad Fish Kitchen at Cronin's Pub.

Be amongst the first to taste the newly launched Red Spot, 15 Year Old Single Pot Still, which was discontinued in the mid-1960s and now rejoins Green Spot and Yellow Spot in Irish Distillers’ Spot Whiskeys range. It has been created using an old recipe handed down by the Mitchell & Son family of wine merchants, who created the original Spot Whiskeys in the early 1900s. We will be tasting this alongside Yellow Spot 12 Year Old.

This will be a night to remember! Starts at 7.30pm. Tickets must be purchased in advance."

Cillian of Mescan Brewery has a special for you

Westport’s Mescan Brewery

“Delighted to announce the release of our Christmas beer, Beoir na Nollag!

We made a version of the beer 3 years ago and it was a huge success. This year's beer follows the theme but it's a new recipe. It's a strong dark beer 8.8% which was brewed in the spring and was cold conditioned in bulk for 6 months before transfer to Irish Whiskey casks for 2 months of barrel ageing. It was then dry hopped and bottle conditioned. 

The flavour profile is malty, with dry fruits, warming alcohol and sublte notes of whiskey, wood and hops. Over time it will demonstrate an evolving complexity as it matures farther in the bottle so it's a beer that can be enjoyed now or cellared for later drinking. 

We only bottled 1,000 litres but we hope not to run out before Christmas!”

And, speaking of Christmas specials, Eight Degrees have two beauties. Check them out here 

Heron's Cove. Goleen. Splendidly Situated. Excellent Food.

Heron's Cove. Goleen. 
Splendidly Situated. Excellent Food.

Can be messy!

Easy crab

Many of us drive through Goleen on the way to Crookhaven, Barley Cove, Three Castle Head and, of course, Mizen Head. It is worth a stop you. Take a left turn on the main street and a surprise awaits.Fish and shellfish feature very strongly on the menu here and we indulge. I pick the aforesaid Mizen Head claws (10.50) and find the hammering and the messy fingers well worthwhile as the flavour is intense, the crabs as fresh as can be.

Beer and a view

Not such a surprise to the customers of Heron’s Cove though. The restaurant - they also do B&B - overlooks the little harbour here and diners can enjoy the views. The cove has a narrow neck and here the resident heron waits, and waits. It is all peace and calm on the water as we arrive on a late August evening.

Not as quite inside. There is a guy hammering at one table, a lady doing the same at another. But don’t worry. The crab claws they serve here are in their shells so you get a hammer and base to do the necessary. It is beyond some of us, bits and pieces flying across the table, so a little help is called for and rescue is close at hand.

Sole

CL meanwhile has taken the easier route, ordering the Devilled Crab, spicy brown crab meat, crackers, mixed salad (7.95), another delicious dish with no hard labour required.

They have a full restaurant licence here so no shortage of drinks. There is a wine rack as well. I didn’t quite have the patience for that but was thinking of a beer or a cider in any case. Both of us enjoyed the Dungarvan Helvick Gold Blonde Ale.

Monkfish

The mains soon arrived, service is friendly and efficient here. I had a lovely plateful of Pan Fried Lemon Sole (22.75). It was also available with a wine and cream sauce but I thought that might have been too much for the delicate and delicious fish. 

The batter on CL’s Monkfish Tempura (26.75) wasn’t quite as light and crisp as the menu promised but the fish itself was cooked perfectly. We got some of the best potatoes of the year so far in the accompanying side dishes.

They do have a signature dessert here, a baked chocolate and vanilla cheesecake called the Russian Cheesecake (7.25). We shared that, though not equally!

Aside from the A la Carte menu, they also do a three course offering here for €32.50 and that includes quite a few of the A La Carte dishes.

Heron’s Cove 

Harbour Road

Goleen

Co. Cork

Email: info@heronscove.com 

Tel: 028 35225

Also on this trip:
A Walk in Gougane Barra
The Amazing Ewe Experience

Granville Hotel’s a Superb Base for Waterford Getaway

Granville Hotel’s a Superb Base for Waterford Getaway

Blaa Eggs Benedict at The Granville

I’m sitting in the busy TF Meagher Bar in Waterford’s Granville Hotel, sipping a pint of Helvic Gold Ale by Dungarvan Brewery. The bar is busy, with most of the customers eating from the well-priced bar menu. There are old prints and pictures all over the place, hardly a spare bit of space on the walls. 

One catches my eye. The tour de France is currently running and Carrick on Suir man Sean Kelly is one of the Eurosport commentators. The Granville have a painting of the cyclist when he was a very young competitor indeed. 

Another pic is even more eye-catching. It is a large scale drawing of a group of heads, nine in all if I remember rightly. Who are they? Politicians? Perhaps, but we don't recognise any. We ask the barman and he tells it’s an representation of a bunch of regulars and that a few are still alive. Great to see a bar appreciate their regulars!

Breakfast plaice at The Granville

The Granville is a friendly place, thanks to its staff. Our room is excellent; we have everything we need and a view over the quays where our car is parked for free (thanks to an arrangement between the hotel and the operators). 

We are in Waterford for about twenty four hours and our first stop for grub is at the Candied Hazelnut, a relatively new restaurant on O’Connell Street. Its food is gluten free, peanut free and plant based and the casual and colourful space is fast becoming a favourite haunt for foodies, coeliacs, vegetarians, vegans, plant based people, tea and coffee lovers, and those with a sweet tooth. We enjoyed our meal there and you may read about it here.

O'Connell Street

Mount Congreve view

On recent visits, we’ve seen the three museums (account here) and taken the Waterford Crystal tour (account here). So we headed out to nearby Kilmeaden to visit Mount Congreve House and Gardens. 

Quite a few signed walks on this massive 70-acre estate and of course we took the orange one, the long one. There is a walled garden here, with a frail Georgian glasshouse. But it is mainly about large-scale plantings where some great views open up over the Suir, especially from the Temple. 

The 4-acre walled garden was alive with bees and insects and further into the walk we saw a couple of sturdy rabbits bouncing around in the trees. Later, near the entrance/exit, a fox prowled in the distant corner of a field.

As we finished our walk, we got a fine view of the house itself. There is a excellent café near the garden shop and here we enjoyed a decent cup of coffee but, with dinner not too far away, we avoided the good things. Nearby is the terminus for the Waterford & Suir Valley railway but we had missed the last run at four o’clock. Next time. This picturesque run takes you into Waterford and back, and runs at the margins of Mount Congreve, alongside the Suir and the Greenway.

Your move

The dinner I mentioned would be in Everett’s, another relatively new restaurant here, sited near the Medieval Museum in a very old building indeed and part of it is based in ancient wine vaults. We thoroughly enjoyed our visit and the account is here.

It was after that that we enjoyed a spell in the Granville bar. After a good night’s sleep we were ready for breakfast. And what a breakfast you get here in the Bianconi Room, their main restaurant. 

Take the porridge, for example. It is of course the Flahavan’s variety and you can add to it from a selection of Bailey’s Cream, Irish Whiskey, Muldoon’s Waterford Whiskey Liqueur, or Highbank organic Apple Syrup!

It is a fantastic buffet selection and the hot dishes from the kitchen are also top notch, including the Full Irish of course. But being in Waterford, I just had to have a Blaa. And there it was on the menu: Blaa Eggs Benedict Waterford Style (poached eggs and ham on toasted Waterford blaa with Hollandaise). Delighted with it. Maybe Cork Chef Bryan McCarthy should have went with the Blaa in Barrack Street rather than the bao. Blaa Boi would make a good name too!

The Pagoda
Mount Congreve

Full after that excellent breakfast, it was time to say goodbye to the Granville and head west along. And we stayed on the main road (the N25) until just beyond Leamybrien when we turned left on a country road towards Durrow. We were following signs for the Waterford Greenway and soon arrived at the parking area near a bar and shop where you could have a bite to eat and hire a bike.

No bikes for us and we walked along in the sun. For a while. After a few minutes we found ourselves in the Ballyvoile Tunnel, cool and a few drops of water falling down too. Soon we were back in the sun, admiring the countryside and before we knew it were atop the Ballyvoile viaduct where the views improved! Quite a few cycling and not too many walking.

We carried on for another while in the direction of Clonea and, not too far from the viaduct, we got a brilliant view of the ocean. Time to return, we thought, and so we retraced our steps to Durrow, the total walk, a leisurely one with lots of stops for photos, taking just over an hour.

Al Fresco at The Granary

Greenway tunnel

It was getting close to lunch-time and we had just the spot in mind, having read a few days earlier that the Cliff House Bar had introduced a new menu. And a good one it is as we found out as we relaxed on the terrace watching the comings and goings on the blue waters below. A superb finalé - read all about the meal below - to our superb trip to Waterford. 

Also on this trip:

Lunch at Spectacular Cliff House
The Candied Hazelnut
Everett's New Waterford Restaurant

On The Greenway