Visit to The Porterhouse, Dublin DRINKING DUBLIN’S BEST STOUTS
Liam LaHart and Oliver Hughes made a bold decision in 1989: they would open a specialty beer bar in Bray, south of Dublin, and not serve Guinness. Instead they would import Belgian and German beers to sell. It was almost unthinkable and they later discovered that local bar owners had put bets on how long they’d stay in business; one gave them an optimistic two days.
Against the odds, things went well. In 1996, they opened a brewpub in Dublin’s Temple Bar. It was the first brewpub in Ireland, and in the literal and figurative sense it was in the shadow of St James’s Gate (see post 106). But far from avoiding dark beers, they showed their skills by brewing three of their own interpretations of Porter and Stout, each inspired by defunct Dublin brews: Plain, Oyster Stout (using real oysters), and Wrasslers 4X Stout.
Visit to The Porterhouse, Dublin DRINKING DUBLIN’S BEST STOUTS Photo Gallery
The brewpub was a success and other bars followed: a cavernous pub in London’s Covent Garden, another in Dublin, one in Cork, and then they took on the historic Fraunces Tavern in Manhattan.
All are worth the time and the effort to find them. I used to drink in the Covent Garden pub every time I was in London, always starting with one of the Porterhouse Stouts, then moving onto something unusual from the fridges. But the original Temple Bar brewpub (where they no longer brew, having moved that off-site) is the mecca of micro-brewed Stouts, so follow the path to their Plain Porter and enjoy it in the buzzing pub in the center of one of Europe’s greatest drinking cities.
The Lowdown
WHAT: The Porterhouse HOW: www. theporterhouse. ie
WHERE: The Porterhouse, 16—18 Parliament Street, Dublin 2
As well as serving exceptional stouts, The Porterhouse also offers up some excellent live music.
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