Well tonight is my last night in Dublin, and it has been quite the incredible journey over these past four months. Some of my best memories come from here and I somehow narrowed it down to a top ten list. Top ten beers and top ten memories.
Beers:
10. Crean's Lager
I had this beer as a part of my taster in Killarney, and I absolutely loved it. This beer was exceptionally drinkable and had a much nicer body than most pale lagers. This beer along with Pilsner Urquell have given me a much better appreciation for lager beer and have showed me that they can be done right.
9. Galway Bay Black Forest
I had the opportunity to try a bunch of the Galway Bay beers, but this one stood above the rest. It had a great fruit character that complemented the chocolatey notes without becoming overpowering or too dominant at all. I highly recommend it if you can get your hands on it.
8. Foxes Rock IPA
This beer from Northern Ireland was my favorite hoppy beer. It had an awesome aroma, but had a nice firm bitterness to it with the kind of body I appreciate in an IPA. Although this is more similar to a pale ale in terms of strength, it is still one of my favorites and is a great example of how I like my hops.
7. Muhlen Kolsch
The authentic Kolsch experience in Germany was an incredible experience and shortly you'll hear about it again as it cracks my top ten memories. This beer is the epitome of drinkability and and one I will cherish for a long time. Although if you want the authentic experience you'll have to head to Cologne to truly understand how special it is.
6.
Einstök Ölgerð
This is the beer Becky brought me back as a souvenir from Iceland, and this toasted coffee porter did not disappoint. It was incredible, super drinkable, yet still had all the dark flavors I love. It was also cool to have a beer all the way from Iceland!
5. DOT Brew Session Rye Ale
I am personally a huge fan of rye beers, and this one is a great example of why. It showcases all the interesting flavors the grain has to offer, and really puts a lot into a small package. This beer tastes way bigger than it is, which I find to be one of the hardest things for a brewer to do.
4. Southwark Potter's Field Porter
Of the cask beers I tried, this one was by far the best. While probably too intense for most, this beer again packed an insane amount of flavor into a roughly 4% ABV package. This was the best beer I had in London and really showed me how awesome cask ale can be.
3.Whiplash Farami Stout
If you didn't realize it from the review, I absolutely loved this beer. Its coffee character was incredible and showcased what real coffee tastes like, not the burnt tasting, old stale diner coffee taste most attribute as a coffee flavor in beer. Whiplash is my favorite Irish brewery and this beer is a huge part of the reason why.
2. Orval
This Trappist ale was phenomenal. Its aroma and flavors were both so complex, yet still so drinkable. I got to try a few different Belgian beers, and while I loved most of them, this was something special indeed. Belgium itself was an incredible experience, especially for a beer nerd like myself who loves Belgian styles more than any other.
1. Westmalle Dubbel
No much can be said about this beer other than that it is truly remarkable. Everything about it blew my mind, and of all the beers I have tried over these past four months, making this one number 1 was an easy decision. To me it is perfect, and I hope that some day I will get to have it again, but enough about beer, here is a list of my top ten memories of this wild adventure. I'm just going to list them, but if you want to hear more about them in depth, feel free to leave a comment.
Memories:
10. Kiraly Baths
9. Bruges Canal Ride
8. Dingle Peninsula
7. Pislner Urquell Tour
6. Craft Beer Tour for my birthday from Becky
5. Koln Bierhaus
4. Lake Lucerne
3. St. Paul's Cathedral from the top
2. Villa d'Este
1. Private tour of the Vatican Museum and Sistine Chapel
Well that just about wraps it up. I hope you all get an opportunity to travel abroad and see all that Europe has to offer. While they use too many coins and language barriers were tough at times, I can truly say I've had the time of my life living here and traveling for the past 4 months.
Slainte!
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