OT: Dublin Recommendations

Messrs Macguires for one, the Porterhouse for another.

All beers are live keg, except one cask bitter on handpull at the Porterhouse.

Both these brewpubs brew fine stouts, so you won't have to drink Gu*****s.

Visit Messrs Maguire, near Connolly Bridge, where they have a great stout, a non-fizzy red ale, a weiss beer, a Czech style and a bock brewed on the premises, in addition to all the usual c**p that everyone else has. Prices are reasonable and food is good too, while the quirky interior is fascinating. They also have multiple screens of digital TV, unfortunately showing English soccer on our second visit.

Porterhouse on Parliament Street has 3 home-brewed stouts, all excellent, and lots of choice of international beers, plus the only handpull we found in use, dispensing TSB. Used by locals as well as tourists. They used to brew on the premises but then moved the brewery elsewhere to make more space in the (multi-storey) pub. They also have a vast range of good, imported bottled beers listed on the well-designed beer menu. Porterhouse has a second pub in the city, which we did not visit.

The Palace Bar has a wide range of draught beers but all processed, they also have the Porterhouse lager which is okay.

We recently spent 3 days in Dublin and only drank Guinness once (in the Guinness visitor centre)!

If you go to the Guinness Brewery Storehouse/museum, make sure you get there before about 10:30 am otherwise the queues can be horrendous, i.e. hundreds waiting outside in the cold waiting to get a nasty shock that there are hundreds waiting inside, too! Great view from the rooftop bar as you scratch your head and wonder why the beer doesn't taste quite as good as it did 10 years ago and seems to be more transparent.

Oh and from Dublin airport, you can pay 5 euros to the driver for the frequent Airlink bus only, or you can get a Day Rambler ticket for 5 euros from the machine, which covers all Dublin Bus company services including Airlink, or for 8.50 you can get a Family Day Rambler which does the same for 2 adults (and 0-3 kids).

If you are there on a Sunday, most attractions, especially museums, only open 2-5pm but the Kilmainham Jail is open on Sunday mornings and is an interesting diversion.

Cheers

Paul