Date: 18 Jun 2006 12:38:04
From: yEnc Man
Subject: NY Times: Microbreweries in the land of Guinness
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http://travel2.nytimes.com/2006/06/18/travel/18journeys.html?ex=1308283200&en=8353801a4befb448&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss
RECENTLY, a couple of tourists walked into a postcard-worthy pub in the West
of Ireland, complete with a fieldstone fireplace, and asked for two pints of
Guinness. Nothing unusual there: Guinness is practically the national drink
of Ireland and a Guinness or two is an expected way to cap off the day, or,
in some cases, start it.
But the woman behind the bar - Fionnuala Garvey, who runs the pub with her
son, Niall - patiently explained to the two visitors that maybe they wanted
to rethink their order. The Biddy Early, the pub they had just entered, is
in fact a microbrewery.
From the blank looks she got in return, she might have said that the Biddy
Early was out of beer.
Mrs. Garvey thought for a minute, then she picked up a menu and pointed to
the back. "See, we brew our own beer," she said. "If you like stout, we have
the Black Biddy, or we have the Red Biddy or Blonde Biddy, a lager. ... Or,
we have Guinness?"
"N-o-o-o! Two Black Biddy please," they said, finally comprehending. And
just like that, two more people were initiated into the world of the Irish
microbrewery.
None of Ireland's big stouts, Guinness, Murphy's or Beamish, are Irish-owned
today. Guinness (along with Smithwick's Ale and Harp lager) is owned by the
British beverage conglomerate Diageo, Murphy's by Amsterdam-based Heineken
and Beamish by the British brewer Scottish & Newcastle. Budweiser and the
Danish beer Carlsberg typically round out taps in Irish pubs from Dublin to
Doolin.
But craft beer does still exist in Ireland - helped in part by a tax break
for small brewers that the Irish government put into effect in 2005 - and
the best way to find it is to go straight to the source. On a recent trip to
Ireland, my husband and I sipped our way across the country, sampling smooth
stouts, crisp ales and bold lagers, all made by small, independent brewers.
(More at the link, no registration required)
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