Wednesday, May 24, 2023

McGill's Brewery From Kerry's Dark Sky Reserve

McGill's Brewery From 

Kerry's Dark Sky Reserve

I called to Joe McGill's Waterville microbrewery on a wet and windy day.
He and his Mom were busy on the bottling line, still had time for a chat though!


McGill’s Brewery is located in the Gaeltacht region of Murreigh, Waterville, in the south of Kerry. It is the first microbrewery on the Iveragh Peninsula. At this stage of its development, it is probably more accurate to call it a nano-brewery but it has a big heart, excellent beers and one of the friendliest brewing families you are likely to come across (not that I’ve come across any unfriendly brewer!)

Top black stuff from McGill, including the 13.1% ABV
An Coireán (the Irish for Waterville)


We met up with Joe McGill recently and asked him who started the brewery? 

I opened the brewery in 2019 but it was a few years in the making with trying to get a premises and all that goes with starting a new business. I'm the brewer and I get help from my mother, my wife, and my friends. 


Joe had been home brewing for years and was also educated in the process of starting his own brewery by the renowned German brewing company Spiedal. In addition, he has carried out extensive research into the business of Craft Brewing in Ireland and completed a two-part radio documentary entitled ‘Cheers to Craft Beers’ the story of Irish Craft Beer. 


A new attraction has been added to the South Kerry list!

Joe has a Masters in Business Management and Entrepreneurship from the University of Limerick and has completed the Bill Keating Broadcasting course. He also completed the prestigious RTE Doc on One Radio Production training at the RTE Radio Centre. He starred in Discover Ireland’s Go Campaign screened worldwide which showed Kerry as a unique holiday destination.


The Blonde
Joe is a presenter of the popular Saturday Supplement on Radio Kerry having previously managed West Limerick 102fm which is the largest community radio station in Ireland, from 2011 to early 2016.


What are your core beers? Which is your favourite?


We started with two core beers; Skellig Monk Irish Blonde Beer and Dark Sky Reserve Irish Stout and then we added two more; Maude Delap Irish Red Ale and Waterville IPA. This year we added two more. Puffin Island Imperial Stout and An Coireán Barrel Aged Imperial Stout. This is like choosing who is your favourite child?!! It changes week to week but I really love our Puffin Island Imperial Stout and our 13.1% Barrel Aged beer is so exciting, it knocks your socks off!!


What stands out about your brewery, your beers? Is there something unique about your beer? 


Our Barrel Aged series is very unique like our other beers, the first beer of its kind brewed in the area. We aged it over time in Oak Port barrels which had exquisite whiskey in them by Wayward Irish Spirits producers of Liberator Whiskey in Killarney and the results have been amazing.  


Mom and Joe on the bottling line

I more or less stumbled on McGill’s Brewery as I travelled from Waterville to Ballinskelligs. I had heard of it, indeed I had enjoyed their Waterville IPA in The Lobster the evening before, and once I saw the sign I stopped and interrupted a bottling where Mom McGill was helping Joe. Joe filled me in on the story and I went off home with a bottle of that Barrel Aged, An Coireán, the first very bottle to have the proper label attached. It is indeed superb.


If you fail to land a bottle, then sign up for a tour and get a taste or look out for the second edition. Joe has gone public on it: “Our first Barrel Aged series worked so well, we’re on to our second!!! The imperial stout we brewed has been transferred to the oak barrels. The first beer of its kind brewed in the area. We will age this over the Summer months in Oak Ruby Port barrels which had exquisite whiskey in them by Wayward Irish Spirits producers of Liberator Whiskey in Killarney.”



Are you selling mainly in pubs or in off licences? Restaurants maybe? 


All of the above. We mostly supply within a 20-mile radius of the brewery. We supply kegs and bottles and are in most of the restaurants, pubs, shops, and off licences in the area.


How is your beer connected to the local area?


Each beer is unique to the area of South Kerry. They reflect our local heroes, culture, and history. To give you a few examples: Our blonde is named in honour of the famous Skellig Monks. Our Stout is named after the local Dark Sky Reserve which is one of only three gold-tier reserves for stargazing in the world. Our Red Ale is named after local woman Maude Delap who was the first person in the world to study the full life cycle of jellyfish in captivity. 

Danes on tour at McGill's



Water. Hard or soft? Is there much adjusting involved?


We don't adjust our water which is particularly suited to stouts. In our brewery tour audiovisual we actually show you the source of our water which is just outside Waterville village.


McGill's Dark Sky
Stout
What efforts do you make to be environmentally friendly?


Our spent grain goes to our horses and ponies on the farm. We also have a mule who absolutely loves it!! Therefore there is no waste. We also reuse our cooling water in the next brew after it passed through the heat exchanger, thereby cutting down on energy usage.




                 What’s your typical day like? No shortage of variety?

Definitely no shortage of variety!! Have a lot of hats in the business. I brew, clean the lines, bottle, keg, do the accounts, sales and marketing, social media, tours, and deliveries, and often I might conduct Zoom interviews for my radio programme at the brewery!! So every day can be a mixture of some or all of that!!


How do you choose which styles of beer to brew?


The beauty of having a small brewery is you can experiment a bit. At the start, I wanted to concentrate on making Irish-style beers like stouts and red ales. My thinking is that if you go to a wine country like France you want to taste the wine of that region. Likewise, if you are visiting Ireland you want to taste some Irish-style beers. Now we have branched out a bit with a very popular IPA and because our business is predominately seasonal we can age beer in barrels over the quieter Winter months and then release it in the busier Summer months. 

Joe (right) is collaborating again with Maurice O'Connell of
Wayward Irish Spirits on another barrel-aged stout!


Who does your artwork/design?

Our initial design was done with the help of my cousin Bobby McGill and I do a lot of the new designs myself.


Why have you not switched to cans?


There has been a big movement towards cans however we are slow to do so as we supply to a lot of restaurants where cans wouldn't suit and our bottles stand out on the shelves. It's a personal thing but there's something nice about pouring from the bottle.



Do you do tours?


Yes daily. We do a General Brewery Tour, a Barrel Aged Tour, and an Irish Experience Tour. Indeed, we had our first ‘Irish Experience’ tour early in May with a bunch of fine people from Denmark and it was a great success!!! This tour involves our barrel-aged tour and food pairing with local food in addition to learning about life and culture in the area and a bit of ceoil agus craic thrown in.

As you can see, tours at McGills are somewhat different. I’ve done quite a few tours and have never ended up in a sing-song. That’s what happens when you take the 2-hour McGill’s Irish Experience Brewery Tour. The tour is conducted by the brewer himself, with no shortage of beer for tasting, food pairings too and an Irish sing-song with stories and songs about the general area.


Links to my previous posts on Irish breweries

Mescan Westport

An Irish Meaderie

Tuesday, May 23, 2023

Motoring in the south-east? Two excellent “pit-stops” for you: Hungry Bear in Gorey and Eamo & Ró at Kilmacthomas.

Motoring in the southeast?  

Two excellent “pit-stops” for you: 

Hungry Bear in Gorey and Eamo & Ró at Kilmacthomas.




On the road in the sunny southeast this summer? We’ve already been and here are two excellent cafés to note in the area.


The Hungry Bear is in the heart of Gorey in Wexford, a few minutes off the M11. 


Eamo & Ró is more rural, in the Waterford village of Kilmacthomas and on the greenway, yet just a couple of minutes off the N25 between Waterford and Dungarvan.


The small Waterford café is named for its owners and operators, chefs Eamon Connors and Roisin O’Connor, and is still in its infancy. But already making quite an impression and was chosen as one of the meal providers for the recent Blackwater Valley Opera Festival.



If you’ve left Cork (for instance) without breakfast, then make that minute detour to Kilmacthomas and check out their Breakfast Menu. It can vary of course but the their Full Irish is a regular and includes tea and toast.


You may start with the porridge or Overnight Oats. Fancy the French Toast? I do. And, of course, they have a Breakfast Blaa (packed with sausage and pudding patty, bacon and egg).  There’s a Breakfast Hash, a Vegetarian breakfast, a Bacon and Cheese Croissant and more.


If you arrive at lunchtime (from 12 noon), you’ll find plenty of variety. I can certainly recommend the Potato and Chorizo hash with honeyed goat's cheese, spinach and spring onion. But you’ll also find soup, curry, tagine, Kilmore Quay smoked salmon and other dishes.


And if you want just a cuppa (tea or coffee) and a pastry, then they have those also.


Neither the Kilmacthomas nor the Gorey café takes reservations, so you may have to wait. We did so on arrival on a wet day in the Wexford town but eventually got in to enjoy an excellent lunch. It is a bigger place than Eamon and Ró and they also have an outside facility (not in use because of the rain). It was very busy on the day as were other nearby restaurants - they like their food in Gorey.



Anyhow back to the Hungry Bear and the hungry pair. It is all about local here. It is an independent Café/Restaurant owned and run by Ken and Louise Reddin and they use local produce.  And the menu is very extensive, full of choice and variety, and like Kilmacthomas, they also use Kilmore Quay Smoked Salmon.


We were there for lunch - they also do breakfast. Speaking of fish, CL spotted an unusual wrap: Fresh Fish Finger Wrap, Crispy Breaded Haddock, Lettuce, Aioli, Tomato, and Cucumber. And it turned out to be a great choice!





Hungry Bear


 I was very happy with mine as well, the Chicken Chorizo   Pasta (pan-fried chicken, chorizo, baby spinach, garlic and fresh herbs and more). Very well cooked and very flavoursome, a generous plate indeed.


 Soon, we were back on the road and heading up to   Newtownmountkennedy to visit the fabulous Wicklow   Wolf Brewery.


 So there you. If you find yourself in the sunny south-east on the N25 or M11 this summer, these are two lunch and breakfast tips for you.





Also on this trip to Wicklow:

Avondale's Beyond the Trees. Wicklow's Amazing New Attraction.

Two excellent pit-stops in the southeast for you. Hungry Bear in Gorey and Eamo & Ró at Kilmacthomas.

Places to stay in Wicklow: Woodenbridge and Heatherhouse.

Visiting Wicklow Wolf Brewery.

Wicklow. Two days in the Garden of Ireland May 2023


 

Monday, May 22, 2023

A new South Indian influence and an interior uplift allow for an ever-evolving dining experience at Rare Restaurant in Kinsale

 

Avondale's Beyond The Trees. Wicklow's Amazing New Attraction.

 Avondale's Beyond The Trees. Wicklow's Amazing New Attraction

At the top, you get views of the mountains and more. Tired of walking? Take the slide to the bottom!




Journey beyond the trees at Avondale House and Forest Park, as you enjoy a truly immersive and unique experience in the forest.

Begin with a leisurely stroll along the fully accessible 1.4km walkway. Children’s play areas, and interpretive points along the way, will introduce you to a new perspective of the forest. Your journey culminates at the magnificent viewing tower, the first of its kind in Ireland. Take the gentle incline up through the tower to the impressive viewing platform, 38 metres above the forest floor, and enjoy a 360-degree view of Wicklow.






Close-up of pine cones from the tree top walk. Lots of info boards on the trees and the wildlife.

Looking up. It is an easy walk.

Get all the info you need for a visit here





Looking down and, yes, that is the slide!

Get all the info you need for a visit here




Queue starts to form for the slide.


Get all the info you need for a visit here



Viewing tower may be big
but doesn't have a major visual impact

Tree Top Walk


Get all the info you need for a visit here








Get all the info you need for a visit here

You can only get to the tower from the walk.
Access via this short well-lit tunnel

Also on this trip to Wicklow:

Avondale's Beyond the Trees. Wicklow's Amazing New Attraction.

Two excellent pit-stops in the southeast for you. Hungry Bear in Gorey and Eamo & Ró at Kilmacthomas.

Places to stay in Wicklow: Woodenbridge and Heatherhouse.

Visiting Wicklow Wolf Brewery.

Wicklow. Two days in the Garden of Ireland May 2023



Seed Café at Avondale

Seed is large, can cater for c.250. On two levels, the main cafe is lower, while a coffee cum pizza is at higher level adjacent to "courtyard' which people cross to access the Tree Top Walk.
Upper level of Seed Café and Store

Staff were plentiful and all helpful. Menu was short but the likes of their Meat Balls, Chicken Curry and Vegan offering all looked tempting. We had a scone, a pastry and a cuppa inside on the lower level. This looks like a blue cube on the outside but from. the inside, your view is clear. Lots of tables outside the glass and a play area as well, all in the old walled garden.
No shortage of room upstairs at Seed

On the higher level, aside from a shop, they also have "rustic" outdoor tables, some a bit further away that are for picnic use with your own food. 
With Coillte being involved, timber is very much in use as structure and decor.
Looking out to the front

Seed at lower level.

Get all the info you need for a visit here

Choice of walk (at ground level!) in the Avondale woods
Over the years there has been a selection of walks in the extensive Avondale woods and that still continues. With over 500 acres of mature woodland with trees from all over the world available to explore and enjoy we, after our high jinks earlier, selected the Cairn Walk, one of the shorter ones at 3km. A very enjoyable ramble in the dappled sunshine.


Avondale House, former home of CS Parnell. Guided tours available.

Get all the info you need for a visit here