Brew Your Own readers including Publisher Brad Ring recently spent a week exploring Ireland’s breweries, distilleries, and scenic countryside. With visits to 14 breweries and distilleries, the group was lucky to experience the incredible beer and whiskey culture of Ireland first-hand during BYO’s Brewery, Distillery, and Hiking Adventure in late August. We visited an amazingly broad spectrum of breweries from the multi-media, multi-story Guinness Storehouse in Dublin to the family-owned 9 White Deer Brewery in County Cork run by longtime BYO subscriber Gordon Lucey who set up temporary tables in his brewery serving us a lunch of fish and chips brought over from the neighborhood pub paired along with their tasty craft beers produced a few feet from where we sat.  All along the way we had the chance to experience that legendary Irish hospitality meeting with friendly local brewers from Ireland’s growing craft beer community and ask plenty of questions while enjoying their beers and whiskeys.

Plus, each day we also took to the trails for scenic hikes to earn those pints along seaside cliffs and through the beautiful and rugged Irish countryside. 

From dry stouts to Irish red ales, it was a special chance to enjoy classic beer styles at the source. Plus all that beer had plenty of great hearty Irish food paired alongside giving plenty of fuel for hiking to the next stop. It was a treat to have fresh beer samples right out of the fermenter at Galway Bay Brewing, try small-batch experimental beers from Guinness’ pilot brewery in Dublin, enjoy an incredible assortment of styles at Metalman Brewing in Waterford, and sit down to a whiskey tasting of top-shelf offerings at Jameson. And it was a week made all the more special by sharing it with fellow homebrewers passionate about beer, whiskey, and exploring the incredible cities, countryside, and culture of Ireland.

We have two BYO trips planned for 2022 including a brewery and multi-sport adventure in Oregon July 17-21 and a Biking and Brewery Tour in the Wallonia region of Belgium September 9-15. Details on these two upcoming 2022 trips can be found at byo.com/trip. We hope you can join us on a future beer adventure. Sláinte!