11PM Somewhere Podcast

The 11PM Somewhere Podcast visits ABV Fest at the Titanic Quarter of Belfast to drink, digest, proffer thought & drunken insight into the beers on show, & the event itself.

This week the podcast returns to talk about the Royal County Brewer's Rock Shandy Pale Ale brewed at Rye River Brewing, BrewDog's Epic Restorative Beverage for Invalids & Convalescents, & a full-on double-barreled shotgun blast opinion on Smithwick's Blonde.

Episode 46 explodes into your ear drums with a 1 trillion IBU load of opinion & thoughts on blended beers, SMaSH beers, Brew Dog Equity Punks IV and Ian's recent homebrewing exploits.

The 11PM Somewhere podcast returns off a three month hiatus with a catch-up of all things to do with the podcast, a quick look at AllTech 2015, the return of 200 Fathoms by Galway Bay & a special interview with Sarah from 5 Minutes of Finney.

This week on 11PM Somewhere, a regular listener sends in the mother of all e-mails that just can't be left to a mailbag episode, covering topics such as introduction beers to the world of Craft Beer (from Ireland & Afar), how long should you keep beer for/age & finally, how to explore the world of craft beer while rotating in other craft beers you like!

That's right, cue the music, the beers (obviously), the garish shirts, the BBQ's & the good times, 11PM Somewhere Podcast hits a milestone with Episode 20 of the show to not only bring you up-to-date on new content additions to the show, but a special time out of thanks for the good listeners who dare to sully their ears & their precious time to listen to Ireland's #1 Craft Beer Podcast & the most dangerous Craft Beer Podcast in the world. And as if that wasn't enough (it never is people .... is it?), Ian takes a look at some of the Summer beers (and those that could/should/would) be Summer-y beers to help you kick start that one glorious day we get in Ireland, where the careless abandon of lobster Irish Men & Women, full up on the joys of the Irish Summer, with the results of charred BBQ's & socks-with-sandals.

Episode 19 of the show, & we're talking about whether the Irish Craft Beer market can now sustain some regular Irish Extreme Craft Beers & grow up from the occasional experimental pilot taps, especially looking at the saleability of these kind of beers by foreign brewers in Ireland. 11PM Somewhere issues the wake-up call to Irish craft brewers to step into the breach, & give Ireland it's frist regular extreme beer. Many are called, few are chosen. Who will step up?

From atop his craft beer crate, the Pontiff of Craft Porter returns for episode 18 to argue the case for Irish Craft Beer & Cider producers to be able to sell their products from their own taprooms without additional licensing, & via their websites without licensed intermediaries, while pointing to the global growth in Craft Beer tourism, showing how local producers & consumers alike of craft beer & cider can make a difference to get this ridiculous legislation changed. #DoYourBitForCraftBeer

Episode 17 is here, it's overdue & delayed from backing up sewers, stealing left shoes & hiding all the macro beer in town. On this episode, Ian gives an update on upcoming new content streams coming to the podcast, including twice-monthly Google Hangout live shows with a guest panel, more video content coming to youtube, diversifying the podcasts into being available as video podcasts too. If that wasn't enough, Ian looks at the social impact Craft Beer can have, the social good it can do & how you can help play your part in the Craft Beer Revolution in Ireland.

Easter comes but once a year. But it's that familial time where luxurious comfort foods are on the tale. Spring lamb & Turkey dominate the tables, along with that armageddon stockpile of easter eggs from this years 40 days & 40 nights of the Easter Season. We are not the gentrified around a Seasonal Hunt table. We are the average craft beer drinkers. More importantly, drinkers of Irish Craft Beer. Trying to figure out what beers to have with our Easter Sunday Roast should be no more complex than Cinderlla figuring out what to wear to the ball. Am I your Easter Beer Fairy Godmother? F**k no, but for Episode 16, I'm your Easter Sunday Irish Craft Concierge hooking you up with with the best Irish & International craft beers for your Easter Sunday.

On this episode of the World's Most Dangerous Craft Beer Podcast, Ian shares his craft beer Eureka moment, & subsequent ones he's had since, along with craft beer moments from listeners to the show including some of Ireland's best known craft beer bloggers, The Beer Nut & Simon Says. Check out the IrishCraft Beer Subreddit - /r/irishcraftbeer - for the latest news, reviews, views & more on Irish Craft Beer!

Episode 14 is a watershed for the 11PM Somewhere Podcast; the first mailbag episode. On these episodes, we'll share some of the emails received to the podcast ( show[at]11pmsomewhere.com ), & share the responses with those who've taken the time to write in. On this (the first) mailbag show; audio quality on the live podcasts, oddball Irish craft beers & building the show its own swearbank.

Episode 13; unlucky for some, not for he who dares to drink beers on the 11PM Somewhere Podcast. On this episode, the Sultan of Carbonated Cornwater-bashing does his first quarterly review of 2014 of Irish Craft Beers that stood out for him & why. THis review looks at: Blacks of Kinsale (KPA & BIPA), Green Bullet by Mountain Man Brewing, Kerry Brewing Company (Carraig Dubh & Beal Bán), Trouble Brewing (Deception Ale & Dark Arts Porter), JW Sweetman (Pale Ale & Weiss), Double IPA by O'Hara's, Twisted Hop by Hilden Brewing, 200 Fathoms by Galway Bay, Bru Brewery (Rua & Rí), Amber Ella by 8 Degrees.

Episode 12 of the 11PM Somewhere Podcast sees Ian atop his orangebox (again) discussing alternatives on St Patrick's Day (or any other day) to 'The Darkness' that seeps from James' Gate in Dublin, while side-stepping the Stout VS Porter argument, highlighting some of his favorite dark craft beers, giving some updates about upcoming content & the merchandise on the podcast & sharing some 4-1-1 on Irish Craft produced Stout & Porter beers; the who, what, where & why's.

On a Friday afternoon before St Patrick's Day, Ian treked to the Beercave of Bru Brewery's Daire & Patrick to bring the second of the Brewer's Of Ireland Podcast Series. What instead happened was a stroke of luck & a podcast featuring not only Daire & Paddy of Bru Brewery, but Cathal & Emma from Rascals Brewing, & one of the brewers behind the Loch Ness Brand in Scotland, David Garratt.

For the 10th Episode of 11PM Somewhere, Ian picks up on the discussion & controversy State-side last week when the Brewer's Association once again took to tweaking the definition of #CraftBeer, & how we in Ireland are looking even now at our own CraftBeer industry. What can we in Ireland learn from what's gone before & happened recently in the U.S.? This issue of definition is a clearly global one, & one size may not fit all, leaving some unhappy faces of those who will feel 'wronged' & others who will have their own agendas met.

For Episode 6 of the 11PM Somewhere Podcast, Ian kicks off the first of the 'Brewers of Ireland' interview series with Niall Phelan of the Rye River Brewing Company, better known by their McGargles beer brand to discuss the foundation of the brewery, the brand & its perceptions, the current beer line-up & beers to come, his plans for the brewery going forward, why they chose to set-up in Kilcock, County Kildare, the history of brewing in Kilcock & more.

For the second mini-series of the 11PM Somewhere Podcast, 'Meet the Online Irish Craft Beer Community', Ian catches up with Wayne Dunne, better known as the author of popular Irish craft beer blog, 'The Irish Beer Snob' to talk about his blog, his work with Beoir & to talk about some of his favourite beers. This podcast episode was recorded at The Malthouse in Trim, County Meath over a pint of local craft beer producer Brú Brewery's Rua.

This week on the 11PM Somewhere podcast, Ian shakes off a cold that caused this episode to be late to talk about the concept of 'gateway beers' when it comes to Craft Beer & Real Beer, & draws parallels between his experiences chasing hops & IBU's with his lifelong scoville pursuits.

The day after the day before of the AllTech Craft Beers & Food Fair at the Convention Center Dublin, Ian relives his experience as the Edmund Hillary of the anti-fizzy-piss movement, who found his Tensing Norgay in the form of Ireland's infamous IrishBeerSnob; Wayne Dunne. Covered in this is Ian's experience of some of the beers on show that stood out to him, meeting some of the brewers at the show like Sam of Black's of Kinsale, Patrick from Bru, the N17 Brew Crew, & Paddy from Windsor & Eton.

This week Ian fights back against the YouTube craze of Neknomination, rages against the fizzypiss machine & their disingenuous 'drink responsibly' campaigns, & how the #realbeer drinkers & producers of Ireland can fight the power of the grey, flavourless, chemical laden pissmongers on their own terms using the power of social media.

For Episode 3 of the 11PM Somewhere Podcast, Ian shares some stories about the passion for the Real Beer movement in Ireland today, how memories of beer making at home with his parents as a child have help reinforce his love for real beer today as a thirty something, & shares experiences of some of the people he's met recently from the Real Beer scene in Dublin.

For Episode #1 of the 11PM Somewhere Podcast, Ian gives the lay of the land for the show, talks about a very recent local experience with artisan/scratch made food & #RealBeer, & gives some insight to his own background with #RealBeer, & what to look forward to with this podcast as a listener.

For episode 2 of 11PM Somewhere, Ian picks up on a point from the premiere episode about matching beer & food, to talk about some of his own experiences of matching beer styles he likes with every day foods, as well as sharing his outline for a killer beer-based BBQ sauce he likes to make, & other ways he likes to get beer into his food.