The big reveal…it’s a book!

Getting my brew bake on at EP 2012

Those of you who stop by here on a regular basis may have noticed a somewhat, shall we say, beery note to Bibliocook proceedings in the last few years.

I blame New Zealand.

After all, if I hadn’t lived there, it might have been a very long time before I realised just how good beer and food can be together.

Or, if the Husband hadn’t been from NZ and had a yearning for the beer of his homeland, maybe he wouldn’t have started brewing his own.

After all, homebrewing can lead you in very strange directions. One direction I really didn’t expect, as I negotiated my way through the mess in the kitchen, was that the Husband and the Aussie would go into business together and set up their own brewery.

Nor did I expect it to be so much fun.  I suddenly had an almost unlimited (unless it was the first batch of Amber-Ella) supply of a new ingredient on my hands to play with, a whole new world of brewers and cider makers to meet and lots to learn about being a small producer in a world of multinational brewers.

From Galway Hooker to Trouble Brewing in Kildare, Cork’s Stonewell Cider  and Metalman in Waterford, it’s becoming easier to find something good – something Irish – to drink in your local bar, restaurant or off licence. There’s an exceptional amount of quality Irish beverages being produced throughout Ireland and we – the fabulous Kristin of Edible Ireland and I – want to tell you all about it!

We’re so excited to finally be able to let you know that our guide to Irish craft beer and cider will be published this autumn by New Island, under the steady hand of editor Eoin Purcell.

And now back to work…

• You can catch up with us over at Craft Beer Ireland, which is also on Facebook and Twitter. You’ll also find Kristin’s beer columns on Georgina Campbell’s Ireland Guide monthly ezine. 
• On 11 October, I’m doing a beer and food cookery demonstration at Cloughjordan House Cookery School: Savour. Match. Cook. With Caroline Hennessy
• See you at this weekend’s Alltech International Craft Brews & Food Fair in Dublin?