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As a new member, I would be unknown to the other Thursday travellers, I wonder how (or even if desired!) to say hi.... I work just down the road, and am planning heading in early, straight from work... If that helps <!-- s:) --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_smile.gif" alt="" title="Smile" /><!-- s:) -->

Couldn't make it this year but giving my FB and twitter it sounded a low quieter this year. A good few regular exhibitors missing.
What did people who went think?

I really enjoyed it. Yes, there were fewer exhibitors than usual, but no shortage of great beer. It's was great to try the Larkin's beer for the first time, as well as the massive American selection.

Working behind the N17 bar, there was a good steady footfall. We really didn't have any quiet moments and ran out of beer. Yes, a lot of the usual suspects were missing: Metalman, White Gypsy, Mountainman, Blacks (though I did meet Sam sneaking in for a few beers Saturday night). However, there were still a lot of standout beers, some new faces and more alternatives for the non-beer crowd (even coffee). Speaking to a few of the brewers that didn't go before hand- many said the same thing- there are now so many festivals that the have to pick and choose which ones they attend. And they're more likely to support local rather than having to travel all the way to Dublin.

I enjoyed it on the friday evening, felt like there were loads more beers I wanted to try but didn't have time for so the lower amount of brewers didn't affect me. I didn't meet many people I knew there which was a shame, one thing I always enjoyed about the RDS was catching up with people I hadn't seen in a long time.