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I'm grand, actually. Had a magnificent day, mainly in the company of fellow-blogger Maeib[/url:dtidhuoy] and a group of RateBeerians. Got chatting to Tandleman[/url:dtidhuoy] as well, who's working the German bar all week. Chris and Meredith of BeerGeek TV[/url:dtidhuoy] were there. And I introduced Aidan to Galway Hooker's newest fan, Stonch[/url:dtidhuoy]:
[img:dtidhuoy]http://i213.photobucket.com/albums/cc236/thebeernut/aidanandstonch.jpg[/img:dtidhuoy]

Most of the great and the good of Irish craft brewing were there: brewers from Whitewater, Carlow, MM, etc.

The MM Imperial lasted less than two hours so I didn't get to try it, likewise the 90 Minute IPA <!-- s:( --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_sad.gif" alt="" title="Sad" /><!-- s:( -->. MM Extra was pretty good on cask, though. For the second time I was disappointed with the cask Hooker: so much of the big American hop character is knocked out of it with natural carbonation. I was also unimpressed by cask Clotworthy Dobbin. The bottled version is much fuller bodied, IMO.

The highlights for me were the barrel-aged beers: Tsarina Esra (which was being served from the wood), Palo Santo Marron which has a lovely smoky/fruity character, but above all, The Angel's Share which is one of the most complex beers I've ever tasted. Really scotch-like but with none of the heavy booziness you sometimes get with super-strong aged ales.

Great fun altogether -- not too crowded and loads of seats. And a pie creche, 'cos you don't want your pie getting cranky.

wow, was looking forward to the MM Imperial. Did you spend most of your time at the Bieres sans Frontieres bar? Is the Angel's Share there? Hopefully there'll be some left by Thursday.

&amp;quot;dereko1969&amp;quot;:3sl58jnh wrote: Did you spend most of your time at the Bieres sans Frontieres bar?[/quote:3sl58jnh]Almost all of it. I got given a voucher for some free beer from the normal bars, and spending that was one of the few trips I made away from BSF.

&amp;quot;dereko1969&amp;quot;:3sl58jnh wrote: Is the Angel's Share there?[/quote:3sl58jnh]Yep.

&amp;quot;dereko1969&amp;quot;:3sl58jnh wrote: Hopefully there'll be some left by Thursday.[/quote:3sl58jnh]It didn't seem to be running out, which surprised me. And apparently business goes down at the BSF bar after the opening session, since lots of the locals don't trust that foreign muck. I was amazed at how people seemed to arrive in and then flock to their own local stands. Skinner's had a particularly loyal crowd, in matching t-shirts, singing Cornish songs at the South-West bar.

Seems you did it proper job. It'll be a lot busier on Saturday when I get there, and most of the really interesting beer will be gone, but I'll be kept busy enough methinks.

&amp;quot;Ginger NZ&amp;quot;:2vgl40bi wrote: A bit off the beaten track but I when I was in Wales I liked the Wye Valley Butty Bach[/quote:2vgl40bi]
I just had this recently (from the bottle) and enjoyed it. It's got a gentle hop character and some nice esters, I thought it was a good session beer.

I had it from the bottle as well and found it[/url:1ov41l26] very bland.