TOPIC:

Hi all,

Firstly I dont mean to make this post sound like a rant, or cause any offence to any member of this forum who works in, or indeed owns either premises I have mentioned, but I thought I'd share my experience over the B/H weekend and see if anyone else had similar or better/worse experiences than myself! Any comments are greatly appreciated!

As mentioned, myself and the other half were down in "De Real Capital" over the B/H weekend and as a person who is somewhat new enough to the whole brewing/brewpub scene, I thought I'd investigate some of the haunts in Cork that stocked some unusual and premises-brewed beers. I was kinda expecting a similar type of set up to the likes of Porterhouse and Messrs maguires which I think are a breath of fresh air when it comes to pubs, 99.9% of which only stock "the big 3" suppliers brands (Diageo/B&C/Heineken) and wouldnt even dream of stocking anything not commercially recognised by the drinking public in general,

So after a few days drinking the usual commercial muck, with much anticipation on my part, we ventured into both the Bierhaus and the Franciscan Well Brewpub early Sunday afternoon to sample their delights, and what a dissapointment was I to be in for! First stop was The Bierhaus, and from first impressions the place resembled something like an arty coffee shop, certainly not a pub or a typical bar. The whole place was totally disorganised (to me anyway) with stools, chairs, tables and fridges (with beer in them!) scattered everywhere. The place wasnt crowded as such, but I literally couldnt get to the bar to see what was on offer. As I tried to get the barmans attention a few times, he so engrossed in talking $hite to the people hogging the bar (and I mean they were hogging it!) I gave up after trying for about what seemed like 5 minutes! I said I would come back after visiting the Franciscan brewpub about 10 minutes walk away from there and hoped I would have a better experience there.

So we eventually found the Franciscan brewpub which seemed to be in a part of Cork city centre that was so deserted it was like a ghost town. And not just the part of town, the whole brewpub was something similar. No signage apart from over the archway leading to the lane the pub is located, no advertisements or anything welcoming, just a laneway and a door to the right. We went in the door into a very dark, wooden finished bar which resembled something more like the deck of a 17th century ship than a typical pub. There was one barman behind the bar, who wasn't very friendly or engaging, after being bluntly told "We dont do food" I ordered a pint of their Rebel Red and I got the shock of my life to be charged €4.90 for the priviledge!!! After the initial shock of the price, I found the pint to be very, very disappointing, it tasted exactly like the "O'Sheas Irish Red Ale" that Aldi sell for €2 a bottle! We took a wander around the pub (which obviously never heard of lighting) and the place was totally dead.

There was abseloutely no atmosphere, there were a few people out in the covered smoking area (mostly long haired male tourists) but seriously, it was more like a funeral home than a place to have a pint. I left after 1 pint as I didnt feel comfortable in the place, there was just something about it that I can only describe as making me feel unwelcome and isolated. Not that you expect hugs and kisses from the staff but the place was just DEAD... I went into the toilet before I left and it was what I could describe as a disgrace, if my experience was anything to go by, I'm not surprised the toilets were in such a state with cracked tiles and in much need of being refurbished. So that was my experience in Cork's brewpub/arty coffee shop-cum-pub and I was very disappointed. I didnt even bother goin back to the Bierhaus as I was that pissed off with disappointment we went elsewhere.

We're back in good aul Dublin now and after my experience in Cork, they can keep their Bierhaus and Franciscan Brewpub, they were nothing but a waste of time. I'll appreciate The Porterhouse and Messers maguires even more now after this farce, where you can have a decent pint in a decent atmosphere, even on their quietest days, the Rebels certainly have alot to learn when it comes to running a decent brewpub!

Again I dont mean to sound like I'm having a rant as we were in Cork for a getaway (not just for the brewpubs, honestly!!!) and pubs aren't the be-all and end-all of a good getaway, but I would love to hear other people experiences so I can find out if this is the norm in these places and I was expecting too much, or are they good places and I just happened to have the bad luck to visit them at the wrong time?

Looking forward to your reply's!
Mark The Busman

You see, that's why Dublin is the real capital- we know how to do brewpubs and suchlike here.

"MarkTheBusMan":32vr2rtc wrote: or are they good places and I just happened to have the bad luck to visit them at the wrong time?[/quote:32vr2rtc]They're good places and you just happened to have the bad luck to visit them at the wrong time.

No idea where you're coming from on the décor front, though. They both look to me as much like normal modern Irish pubs as MM and The Porterhouse do.

I suppose it depends on what you're looking for in a pub.
I like both of these establishments although havent spent much time in either

I did find the "well" to be a quiet place and really enjoy that type of pub if you're with someone you want to talk to.
I liked the beers especially is it "crackling lizard".

I really enjoyed the Bierhaus, any time I was there there was a great buzz to the place, it may be a bit eclectic, but I dont like polished. Fantastic selection of beers on tap and an almighty choice of bottles.

I had a completly different experience to yourself and found both the staff and locals friendly.
I would pick Cork as my destination of choice for a weekend break in Ireland (if it had to involve a city) and both of these pubs would be on my list of things to do everytime I'd be down there.
Pity you had a bad experience!

I can see where you are coming from on a couple of points. The Well is in a quiet area and the light levels inside are pretty poor, but it is a nice spot when it fills up a bit and the beer garden is a lovely place to have a pint, even if you don't smoke. As to being underwhelmed by Rebel Red, all I can say is that it is an Irish Red and there really isn't a lot you can do with that style of beer. If you make it interesting, it ceases to be an Irish Red.

I know the Bierhaus is in a modern, glass and concrete building, but I think the higgledy piggledy décor serves to cancel that out. Space is a problem when it gets busy, but they are expanding into the unit next door, so there should be room for all soon enough.

Poor service can turn you against a pub and there really is no excuse for being left waiting if the place isn't busy. It is easy to get caught up in conversation with regulars, but a barman should always make sure that they look after all of their customers. I have to say I am surprised that this was an issue in the Bierhaus, as they have always seemed very friendly and helpful.

I think you were unfortunate and would say that your experience is not typical of Craft beer pubs in Cork.

Cheers for the replies guys

I had thought myself that it was "right place - wrong time" judging from the atmosphere in both pubs, and with myself feeling a bit like a fish out of water (a Dub in the county of the Rebels!!) probably didnt help either <!-- s:lol: --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_lol.gif" alt="" title="Laughing" /><!-- s:lol: -->

Sbillings makes a very valid point regarding the Rebel Red, it is an "Irish style red ale" and if you tweak it, it's not an Irish red ale any more. In hindsight, it probably wasnt to my taste as I've a soft spot for English pale ales & ESB's, but the sales pitch/description regarding its taste is a bit misleading to me and this is probably what built my hopes up! €4.90 is a bit steep as well in this age of recession! Thats Dublin city prices for lagers, not brewpub stuff! Even the Brainblasta (7% abv) at the PH is cheaper than that!

To be honest regarding the Bierhaus, it's probably not a bad place on a different day, I'm not really one who pays much attention to the decor of a pub as such (as long as the paint isnt peeling off the walls etc <!-- s:) --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_smile.gif" alt="" title="Smile" /><!-- s:) --> ) - nice decor aint any good if the drink is bad! But the Bierhaus just seemed completely scattered, there was no layout as such, and the place felt that it didnt know exactly what kind of pub it was trying to be, if a pub at all! I'll definitely make a return visit when they expand but as for the Franciscan Brewpub... I dont think so! With only 4 beers on tap & the condition of the toilets means I wont be back, I mean the toilets were bad - not necessarily dirty, but very very much in need of refurbishment. I cant see that place lasting long-term as a pub if Sunday's experience was anything to go by.

The good thing about Messrs Maguires/Porterhouse is they DO stock most of the commercial brands in addition to their own brews, which I would drink as a last resort in such brewpubs if the house brews were off-line. Without going on about Messers Maguires too much, I think they have well and truly mastered the concept of a proper brewpub to a tee, great food & even better drink, the Porterhouse would be a close runner up, but somewhere that [b:92nx3iha]only [/b:92nx3iha]stocks what VERY limited types of drink [i:92nx3iha]they [/i:92nx3iha]brew doesnt bode well with me anyway, especially if its not to my taste. Anyone else agree?

Regards,
Mark