Forgive me Arthur, for I have sinned!
Okay, so I’m Irish, but I am also from Northern California and I need hops! I have been deprived for about 11 days now. I was feeling cranky and even snapped at the info desk lady because she wouldn’t put the Newgrange tour tickets on our credit card instead insisting we go to the National Bank of Ireland (closed by this time) and get some dollar slaying Euro’s! I wanted, no, I needed a serious dose of alpha acids!
I strayed from the smooth, creamy, nitrogenated, 4- point something alcohol, easy drinking Stouts and Irish Ales about twelve minutes after seven this evening. At the Elephant & Castle restaurant, in the Temple Bar area, a Goose Island IPA had its way with my taste buds. On the lighter side of IPA’s (I’m from California remember) but my tongue had forgotten and was not complaining. Oh it was Grand!
We toured the Guinness Storehouse today and I was really impressed with the foresight Arthur Guinness possessed. He signed a 9000-year lease for the property the brewery was then built on! I wished I had seen that executed lease before I signed our measly 20 year lease for the Alehouse! He basically secured rights to a major mountain fed stream with the seemingly perfect brewing water, and decided to drop all but stout production from a pretty good-sized brewery (although Kilkenny would challenge that)! They have been brewing for 250 years with no end in sight. Amazing!