Tipperary might well be renowned the world over for its majestic castles and monuments, but here at Beár Bia HQ - the most important thing you need to know about it, is that it's Dee's home county! So it was obviously just a question of time before we made the "trip to Tipp" and tasted some of its best culinary offerings.

The Tipperary Food Producers network is a community of artisan producers working together to create quality, nourishing food and sustainability. We reached out to them to see what kinds of local food & drink pairings we could showcase and we were spoiled for choice. Their diverse community includes cheesemakers, beekeepers, fruit farmers, cider makers, butchers, bakers, and creators of various delightful products such as sauces, jams, ice cream, sorbet, vegetable oil, sweets, chocolates, crisps, corn tortillas and peanut butter.

Representing the Tipperary Food Producers Network on the day was Nuala Hickey, also of Hickey's Bakery in Clonmel whose amazing barm brack we sampled to start the day off nicely. We then hung out with James O'Donoghue, owner of Longways Cider who are based just outside of Carrick on Suir. He brought a few bottles of his Tipperary Cider with him as well some Con's Apple Cider from The Apple Farm.

James paired Con's Apple Cider with some excellent bacon ribs from Crowe's Farm & Butchers who are based in Dundrum, Tipperary and have been in operation since 1981. They were braised in the cider itself before being slow cooked with spices. The cool dryness of the cider cut through the rich meat and made for a beautiful autumnal all Tipperary food & drink combo.

For the second pairing, James cracked open a few of his own Longways Tipperary Cider. He then turned his attention to the golden fork winning Cashel Blue cheese and cut off small pieces to place on the Tipperary made Blanco Niño smoky chipotle corn tortilla chips. This totally surprised us and turned out to be a decadent, yet perfectly flavour filled tableside or bar room snack. Rich, unctuous blue cheese spread on a spicy, crunchy tortilla chip plays wonderfully against the crisp multi layered cider.

Up and down the 32 counties, there are vast amounts of bar, restaurant and hotel owners whose great work in celebrating the entire Irish culinary landscape needs to be showcased. They are Irish Hospitality Heroes and for our sixth episode, we wanted to shine a light on what the newly reopened Coppinger team are doing. So we sat down with co-owner and founder Marc Bereen and executive chef of the group, Daniel Hannigan.

Coppinger Row, as it was first called, opened in 2009 and its perfect mix of refined Mediterranean cuisine, relaxed atmosphere and the carefully curated & created drinks menu was an instant success. Over the years, the two brothers and founders Marc & Conor Bereen had developed a large and loyal fanbase. It was as common to see touring A-List celebrities dining there as it was a local. From an Irish hospitality perspective, Coppinger Row was the first restaurant in Dublin's city center to place their cocktails front and centre of their menu and they have always strongly featured Irish spirits. And even with a Mediterranean flavour focused food menu, Irish provenance was always of great importance to their team and very much continues to this day.

In 2021, Coppinger Row sadly had to close but through sheer grit and determination, they reopened in July of this year. More floor space has been added, the kitchen and bar areas have been enlarged and a beautiful refit of all the interiors has been meticulously carried out.

Now called Coppinger - the Bereen brothers have hit the ground running with it since. 

For the two Irish food & drink pairings they did with us, we featured Redbreast 12 year old, single pot still Irish whiskey.

The first dish is now actually the most popular main course on the new Coppinger menu - Andarl pork chop from Andarl farm in Mayo, nduja hispi cabbage, burnt apple & hazelnut. The pork is brined then barbecued and dressed in a Granny Smith apple & hazelnut dressing alongside charred hispi cabbage, which is topped with nduja honey and finished with a burnt apple puree. All the incredible layers of flavour, smoke and textures found on this plate were perfectly matched by the Rooibos cocktail, made with Redbreast 12, rooibos tea, vanilla syrup and bitters.

That was then followed by a whiskey and apple cruller with vanilla ice cream. It's comprised of a beautiful choux pastry deep fried and coated in a spiced sugar that sits on salted caramel and filled with a Redbreast 12 year old whiskey & apple compote, topped with vanilla ice cream and a lovely tuile. As a special add on in the restaurant, they offer a serving of Redbreast 12 for just €10 to savour alongside the dessert.  This pairing is an absolute joy as the rich spice of the whiskey harmonizes so well with the sweetness and sharpness of the food. It also is a fantastic example of how a restaurant can so easily bring a beautiful Irish whiskey into their food offering.

Showcasing hospitality heroes within the Irish food & drink scene was something that we always wanted to do on the Beár Bia podcast. All around the 32 counties, there are huge amounts of bar, restaurant and hotel owners who are game changers when it comes to pairing our native culinary offerings. None more so than Seáneen Sullivan from L Mulligan Grocer in Stoneybatter, Dublin. 

The famous pub and restaurant has been a firm favourite of locals and visitors alike since they started trading in 2010. And from that moment onwards, Irish food & beverages have been at the forefront of their identity. As exemplified by the first sentence on the homepage of their website, which reads, "We believe that Irish produce is special, and worth celebrating."

Seáneen and her team were one of the first operators in Ireland to not just host whiskey and beer dinners, but they were also one of the first to have written suggestions of Irish drinks pairings next to their food items on the menu.

We gave Seáneen free reign when it came to the Irish food & drink pairings for the episode. She decided to serve two of her favourite pairings that she has created over the years, the now legendary L Mulligan Scotch Egg made with and paired with two beers from Trouble Brewing, who were the first brewery that they worked with - Ambush and Deoch Na gCloch, the latter is a beer that's name is linked to Stoneybatter. 
This was followed by the black pudding toastie made with McCarthy's, Inch House and De Roiste puddings, Ardsallagh Goats Cheese and Blackcurrant Jam, made by Seaneen and made with blackcurrants from her garden, paired with their Irish Kir Royale - Stillgarden Berrissimo and Dan Kelly's Cider - as an alternative and bonus pairing to this toastie, we also tasted Tipperary Whiskey, a limited edition that had been made for L. Mulligan Grocer.

As stand alone items, these dishes are sublime and as comforting as gastropub food can possibly get! But when paired with Seáneen's selected beverages, not only do they compliment each other so well but you experience a beautiful representation of Irish food & drinks enjoyed side by side.

For episode four, we are taking a trip to Dublin's Liberties and making our way to Roe & Co Irish Whiskey Distillery. Their 2024 Summer Garden Series is in full swing. Now in its fifth year, it sees the front outdoor space of the James's Street distillery turned into a dining area with a rotating set of guest chefs and restaurants who each create a bespoke menu to pair with Roe & Co whiskey and cocktails.

From August 1st until the 24th, The Salt Project will be the resident restaurant. Founded by Kildare-based Chef, Caomhán de Bri takes a fresh new approach to street food with his nomadic food trailer that has travelled coast to coast popping up in scenic locations all over Ireland. Caomhán has worked in professional kitchens for over a decade, including a year in London in Gordon Ramsay’s Michelin-starred restaurant, Maze. Having grown up with a huge appreciation and respect for food, passed down to him by his parents, Caomhán’s menus have always had a strong focus on food provenance. Visitors to The Salt Project can expect a "Medieval inspired Modern Dublin" menu, offering a series of Blaisíní (small bites) dishes that have been specially designed to showcase locally grown and artisan ingredients from small-scale producers specific to each region

Colin Martin, Operations Manager with Roe & Co, joined us and brought with him a cocktail made with Stillgarden Glas 55, black salt, black lime, and black cumin, with clarified lime and vermouth finished with pickle juice and a spritz of fresh lime. 
This was paired with Caomhán's "Fishamble Street" starter made with Lambay Island Crab, Dublin Bay Prawns, Irish Sea Lemon Sole Tempura and a Sea Veg Dip. The fresh, hyper-local seafood worked a charm when enjoyed alongside the deep citrus notes of the cocktail.

This was followed by a Ballymakenny Farm potato flatbread with caramelised Toons Bridge cultured butter veg, Mc Nally’s Organic Farm August pickled, fresh & grilled vegetable bounty, Salt Project garum and foraged flowers. Colin paired this amazing medley of Irish produce with a simple neat serving of Roe & Co Single Malt Solera, a sumptuous whiskey filled with complex layers of hazelnut and orchard fruits that harmonized wonderfully with the food.

The curator of the Summer Series, Ali Dunworth sat in for the recording and shared with us her inspiration for how she so deftly nurtures an incredible community of Irish food talents for Roe & Co. It is an excellent body of work that not only highlights the great chefs but how well their dishes can be enjoyed with the versatility of Irish whiskey. 

This is another cracker of an episode, we hope you enjoy listening and make sure and subscribe for more! 

Oisin & Dee 

For episode three, we shifted our focus to Big Grill, Europe's largest BBQ and food festival, which takes place in Herbert Park, Dublin on August 22nd - 25th. We wanted to engage with one of their Irish drinks partners and pair their drinks with dishes from participating festival restaurants.

Dingle Distillery were keen to collaborate and their Dingle Gin became the star of the show! It is distilled, bottled and packaged on-site in Dingle, Kerry. Among its many botanicals, you will find local wild ingredients such as rowanberry, fuchsia and myrtle. All of which give this multiple award-winning gin an incredible balance of spice, citrus and floral notes with tastes and textures straight from The Kingdom itself. 

Two different Dingle Gin cocktails that will be served at Big Grill Festival were selected for the pairing:

• "Gin & Juice" made with Dingle Gin, Pineapple, Lime, Sugar Syrup & Soda Water.
• "Watermelon Sugar High" made with Dingle Gin, Watermelon, Raspberry, Lime & Soda.

Of the huge selection of guest restaurants and chefs appearing at Big Grill, we worked with two to create food pairings to accompany the Dingle Gin cocktails for the podcast: Hang Dai, the Chinese & Asian restaurant on Camden St, Dublin 2, and Bahay, the Filipino food truck.

Hang Dai's head chef Thiago Guerra Pereira turned his attention to the wonderful Skeaghanore duck from West Cork. It was cooked over an open fire and made into a bao with some house-made hoisin sauce and pickles. Enjoyed alongside the Gin & Juice cocktail, the richness of the duck is balanced beautifully by the pineapple sweetness and spice of the gin.

Alex O’Neill of Bahay, looked towards the incredible bounty of MacNally's Farm in north Dublin. She took some of their seasonal vegetables and grilled them over fire with peaches, serving it all up with Filipino wild rice to make a salad that will be sold as a main and a side dish at Big Grill. This was paired with the Watermelon Sugar High cocktail, which amplified the freshness and smoky character of the salad.

These exact pairings will be available at Big Grill and we encourage all festival attendees to try them, at least once! For as we always say on the Beár Bia podcast, things that grow together, go together.

Enjoy listening and don't forget to subscribe to our podcast! 
Dee & Oisin

In this special episode, supported by Bord Bia, we ventured to Bloom in the Park on the June bank holiday weekend, where we curated three pairings from the huge array of Irish food and drink producers that were present for the event. 

We were joined by each producer pairing as follows: 

• Kinsale Mead Co. and Burren Smokehouse 
• Micíl Cream Liqueur and Áine's Chocolates 
• Cooleeney Farmhouse Cheese with Ballykilcavan Craft Beer

Co-hosted as always by Oisín Davis and Dee Laffan. 

We hope you enjoy listening! 

Follow us on Instagram @bearbiapodcast 

Our first episode focuses on the garden county as we pair two different Wicklow drinks with two different Wicklow foods. We picked up some amazing Ridgeway wagyu beef, cooked and served by Barry Walllace of Dash Burger, and paired with Wicklow Wolf Brewery's Solstice Tropical Sour.
The other pairing featured Ballyhubbock Farm's sheep's milk halloumi cheese alongside a cocktail made with raspberry wine from Wicklow Way Wines and Powerscourt Distillery's Fercullen Falls whiskey.

For photos, videos, and more... Follow us on Instagram @bearbiapodcast 

When we saw that our final two episodes would land in late December, we knew we had to go festive! So we called upon a few friends to see if they could share their favourite Irish Christmas and Irish New Year's Day meals and we would pair some Irish drinks with them. Each pairing falls into a different episode but they both feature the same guests and each episode was recorded in Row Wines on Coppinger Row in Dublin. 

Our very special guests were social media star and musician Garron Noone and freelance content creator and writer, Sian Conway. 

EPISODE 12:
SIAN CONWAY'S ULTIMATE NEW YEAR'S DAY COMFORT SANDWICH PAIRED WITH AN IRISH BLOODY MARY 

New Year's Eve revellers can quite often feel a little tender the next day and they might well be in need of some comfort the following morning. New Year's Day is the perfect time to embrace your favourite hangover food and of course, everyone has their own special dish that they yearn for during those moments. Food writer and content creator Sian Conway has some strong views on this issue, born by all accounts from a wealth of experience... 

When Sian wants to rustle up something at home after a New Year's Eve party with friends, she reaches for the Gubbeen Cheese, slices it up and throws it onto a nice sourdough bread smothered with Dublin-made smoky Harry's Nut Butter and some Space Jaru kimchi. 

This was a surprising sandwich combination for us to try, but like intrepid explorers, we tucked into it with much excitement! It had a multitude of flavours from spice to umami and smoke and made for a lovely pairing to accompany our Irish Bloody Mary. To give it a proper local twist we mixed our Irish Bloody Mary with iStil 38 Irish vodka, sherry, fresh tomato, fresh celery & horseradish, Worcestershire sauce, lemon and for that all-important heat - Scarlet For Yer Ma, Dublin Hot sauce. 

This episode goes live on December 30th, which gives everyone plenty of time to pick up all the necessary ingredients for Sian's Irish New Year's Day sarnie & cocktail extravaganza.

Happy New Year folks!
Oisín & Dee 

Our first season of Beár Bia has been one hell of an adventure. We have recorded in 12 different locations across 6 counties. Along the way, we have showcased 24 different Irish food producers, 22 Irish drinks producers as well as 13 hospitality or retail businesses. 

It's been extremely inspiring getting to know all the remarkable makers of some of Ireland's most beloved culinary offerings. Bringing them together and pairing them at the same table for each episode has not just been a great privilege but it's allowed us to shine a light on what a more complete experience of Irish cuisine can look like. 

When we saw that our final two episodes would land in late December, we knew we had to go festive! So we called upon a few friends to see if they could share their favourite Irish Christmas and Irish New Year's Day meals and we would pair some Irish drinks with them. Each pairing falls into a different episode but they both feature the same guests and each episode was recorded in Row Wines on Coppinger Row in Dublin. 

Our very special guests were social media star and musician Garron Noone and freelance content creator and food writer, Sian Conway.

Part 01 went a little something like this... 

EPISODE 11 - THE PEPPERPOT CAFÉ CHRISTMAS SANDWICH PAIRED WITH THE "HOLY IRISH TRINITY" COCKTAIL 

Garron Noone has amassed a colossal social media following that is into the millions. The proud Mayo man is an incredibly talented musician and songwriter but is also hugely loved for his skills as a comedian. His videos cover a multitude of Irish cultural topics - from mullets to Met Éireann! 
But he will very often talk all about Irish food and has professed his love for Irish Christmas dinners and hatred of the effects of shrinkflation on Christmas sweets and snacks. So, we asked him if he would like to get stuck into one of the nation's finest Christmas sandwiches and he kindly obliged. 

It was made by The Pepperpot Cafe in Dublin city's Powerscourt Centre and features their house-baked focaccia bread, Irish turkey & ham, chestnut stuffing, Brussel sprouts, cranberry sauce and mustard mayo. 

We paired it with one of Oisin's cocktails, the Holy Irish Trinity - so-called as it features three Irish ingredients that go perfectly with each other, Irish whiskey, cider & elderflower. This particular one was mixed with 35 ml of Powers Irish Whiskey, 2 teaspoons of Richmount Elderflower Cordial and 120 ml of MacIvor's Dry Irish Cider. It is the kind of pairing that is very complimentary as the cocktail is light but spicy and enhances the richness of the sandwich. 

Our second guest Sian Conway was on hand to share the wonderful Yuletide bounty, which also included the house Connemara oysters from Row Wines that are dressed in a chilli & ginger vinaigrette and for a sweet finish, some stunning mince pies courtesy of The Cupcake Bloke, Graham Herterich.

We really hope you enjoy this festive episode and thank you for listening throughout the year - wishing you all a very Merry Christmas! 

Oisín and Dee

The county of Kildare is renowned the world over for its thriving equine industry but more recently, its food & drink producers have taken a bigger share of the spotlight. At the invitation of Kildare Local Enterprise Office, we were thrilled to pop down and check out a couple of leading lights from the county's ever-burgeoning culinary scene.

It is well documented that St Brigid of Kildare was quite the fan of beer so as a mark of respect to the great lady herself, we decided to focus on the current breweries in her home county especially as some of Ireland's best independent breweries are situated there!

So we recorded the episode in Farrington's Brewery in Rathcoffey where they also have a superb bar and restaurant with an adjoining event space. A brilliant, all-in-one business where they can even host a wedding overlooking the brewery area.

For our first pairing, their head chef Kuba Wlodarski took three different beers to make a dish with the local Feighcullen Farm free-range chicken. It was brined overnight in their IPA before he made a beer batter with their stout to deep fry the chicken in and served it alongside their Auger's Twist light lager as an excellent accompaniment. This was truly a symphony of flavours and such an exciting way to celebrate their in-house beers.

Head brewer Phil Bizzell was on hand to talk us through their portfolio and tell us more about their beer philosophy there.

Our second pairing came courtesy of another two excellent Kildare businesses. Bill Laukitis from Rye River Brewing Co in Celbridge joined us. He is their head brewer and shared details of his own personal work journey from the USA and the incredible accomplishments of the whole Rye River Brewing team, now made up of 65 employees.

Ryan Lally of Grá Pizza from Celbridge popped down with a pizza that the Michelin-starred chef JP McMahon of Aniar collaborated with him on. It's made with Garryhinch mushrooms, roasted potatoes from Ballymakenny, Toonsbridge mozzarella, smoked provola from Barbavilla dairy, Achill Island sea salt, brown bread crumb and buttermilk gel. This all-Irish piece of pizza perfection was paired with the rich, smoky Nocturne Stout from Rye River Brewing. The contrast and the intensity of flavours bounced off each other so well.

Kildare has such an incredible array of food & drink producers there now. You can read more about them here in this link.

To join the Flavours of Kildare Network, hit this link here.

The wonderful Smithwick's is one of Ireland's most iconic brands. It is deeply connected to its hometown of Kilkenny and is particularly well celebrated by the local hospitality community there. Kilkenny also boasts a highly active festival circuit so we wanted to tick a couple of boxes while down there.  A fantastic trip was had where we hung out in The Smithwick's Experience to learn more about their beers, sampled some excellent food pairings and got the inside scoop for this week's hugely popular Kilkenomics Festival.

Upon arrival to The Smithwick's Experience we were given a tour by their beer expert Simon Walsh. After familiarizing ourselves with the incredible legacy of the Smithwick's family and their brewery that goes back to 1710, Simon opened up the podcast recording by sharing even more of his beer and history knowledge.

We were then joined by Kilkenomics Festival co-founder and Kilkenny native Naoise Nunn. He detailed not only what the very unique festival is all about but also gave us his recommendations for must see shows that are taking place across the city from November 7th to 10th.

If you're one of the thousands heading to the festival this week, we strongly suggest you pay a visit to The Smithwick's Experience and while you're in the city - enjoy some Smithwick's food pairings served up in two of Kilkenny's best bars & restaurants. We were lucky enough to taste them and they are superb!

The first pairing came courtesy of Paris, Texas - the wildly successful bar and smokehouse on 92 High St.

Their in house flavour fanatic and head mixologist, Chris Hennessy came along and brought with him some southeast pork ribs that were abundantly spiced and smoked in house for 8 hours with wood chips from Highbank Orchard just outside of Kilkenny. They were the perfect accompaniment to a cold glass of Smithwick's Pale Ale, cutting through the richness of the meat.

Our second pairing was focused on the classic Smithwick's Red Ale and was brought in by Emma Teesdale, head chef of Langton's Bar & Restaurant, a Kilkenny institution and a major hub for the Kilkenomics Festival. Her dish was locally reared feather blade beef that was not only marinated overnight in Smithwick's Red Ale but it is also slow cooked in it too. She served it with a Smitwick's Red Ale sauce, colcannon and root vegetables. Needless to say, sipping the same ale alongside it was tremendously exciting. It is a remarkable Kilkenny dish and hugely popular in Langton's.

The Smithwick's Experience runs tours 7 days a week and the Kilkenomics Festivalis on from Nov 7th to 10th.  So now's the perfect time to visit Kilkenny for some festival action with some great beers & food. 

It's just a couple of hours from Dublin and boasts spectacular coastlines, amazing heritage sites and some rather brilliant food & drink producers. We're talking about north county Down and the Ards peninsula, a culinary destination to rival any other on the island of Ireland. 

Thanks to a kind invitation from the Irish Food Writers Guild and Visit Ards and North Down, we recently hopped on a whistlestop tour of this beautiful part of the world. In addition to local food markets, farm visits and an incredible walled garden, we took in two different distilleries. And each one laid on a local food pairing for us, perfectly matched with their own Irish spirits. 

The first came in courtesy of Copeland Distilery. Located right on the shoreline of Donaghadee, this coastal distillery was built on the grounds of a former cinema. They produce a range of spirits including rum, vodka and Irish whiskey. It was their classic gin that was served to us that day which they distil with local botanicals like pine needles and the sea flower, pink maritima. Copeland's head bartender, Sean Pedlow, mixed up the classic gin into a Collins-style cocktail made with fresh autumnal pears, lemon and elderflower tonic water. The perfect accompaniment to a stunning dish prepared by the guest chefs, Roz Allen and Andy Turner from Hara at Home. This husband and wife team have a remarkable pedigree that has seen them work in Irish Michelin-starred restaurants to 5 star Caribbean hotels. They served up a house-made, beetroot-cured local salmon with apple, wilted fennel and horseradish. 

For the second pairing, we made our way to the wonderful Echlinville Distilery in Kircubbin. Home to some of the most celebrated whiskeys in Ireland, such as the exceptional Dunville's - they also distill award-winning gins, vodkas and poitíns. We were truly spoiled by Jarlath Watson from the distillery team as he cracked open a bottle of the Echlinville, The Beginning - their single pot still. Every element of this 7-year-old whiskey was made on site, the barley is grown there before it is fermented, distilled, matured and bottled on the grounds. To help find a pairing for this landmark release, Laura Bradley from the pioneering retail store and delicatessen, Indie Füde. With a location in Comber and another in Belfast, Laura and her team have been unwavering advocates for independent food producers from all around Ireland. She chose to bring along the sumptuous Young Buck cheese, crafted by Mike Thomson of Mike's Fancy Cheese in Newtonards. A divine combo where the spice forward whiskey was tempered perfectly by the rich blue cheese. 

We hope you enjoy this episode and a huge thank you again to Visit Ards North Down Tourism for inviting us up and helping us organise this episode. 

Oisín & Dee

Kickstarting things off for 2025, the first two episodes of this new season will highlight beer and food producers who are exhibiting at one of Ireland's largest festivals, Bord Bia Bloom at Phoenix Park. With a little help from IrishBeer.ie, they
decided to first see which of the participating beers would work best paired
with fish and seafood. The results are delicious!

EPISODE 1
If you’re going to be sampling some of Ireland’s best seafood, the setting is
key. Thankfully, the good folk over at Kish Fish Café in Howth very kindly
allowed us to record in their office. With views right out onto the Irish Sea,
it was the ideal location, and they were the perfect hosts! 

Managing Director Tadhg O'Meara told us all about how the Kish Fish business started in Dublin’s city centre, and they’ve successfully expanded to become vital
wholesalers and operators of their fantastic seafood cafe on Howth pier.
After settling in, Kian Louet-Feisser from Carlingford Oysters joined the
table and got shucking! He shared details of how his family started the
business in the 70s and now ships their marvellous molluscs worldwide.

With his operation just down the road in Kilbarrack, Wim De Jongh from
Hope Brewery didn’t have as far to travel and he brought with him the ideal
beer to match with those oysters. His “Overboard Witbier” was quite literally
designed to pair with seafood. It's wheat beer and malt base provided a
creamy texture but it was the addition of orange peel and juniper berries in
the brew that really bounced beautifully off the salinity of the oysters.

Our second pairing began with another amazing Irish family business - Mag
Kirwan from Goatsbridge Trout made the journey from Kilkenny. She
proudly told us all about how it all started in the 1960s, servicing local
restaurants, to now being a beloved nationwide product available in multiple
supermarkets. 

Their whiskey-dill-infused rainbow trout was her choice for
a beer pairing, and it was sublime with Irish Pale Ale from O’Haras. This
was brought down by Sergiu Leu from the brewery’s sales team and he got
into how O’Haras (also known as Carlow Brewing) got started nearly 30
years ago by owner Seamus O’Hara. Over those three decades, they have
very steadily managed to build up a brilliant portfolio as well as excellent
international distribution. The dry hopping technique they employ for this
ale gives it a long, zesty finish, which cuts through the soft smoke and spice
of the fish.

Both of these pairings can be enjoyed at Bord Bia Bloom, which runs from
May 29th - June 2nd in Phoenix Park.

Stay tuned for our second Bord Bia Bloom episode coming in two weeks as we delve into what types of beers can be paired alongside some sweeter, more dessert-type dishes!

There are many individuals across the island of Ireland who are game changers in how they passionately engage within the restaurant and bar industry. On the Beár Bia podcast, we like to call them "Hospitality Heroes" and whenever we can, we like to showcase them and the great work they do. 

And that's exactly what we've done with our latest episode as we took a trip to the McNally Family Farm in the Ring Commons North County Dublin to spend some time with Jenny and her daughter Niamh McNally and learn more about their fantastic business. 

In 1997, farmers Patrick and Jenny McNally took the decision to go all organic and sell their produce directly, bypassing the standard practises of distribution. Thanks to the remarkable assistance of all five of their children who work there, they have gone on to become one of the most sought out and cherished producers to top Irish chefs. Everything they sell is grown on their 99 acres of land and along the way they have added a farm shop, café and most recently a tour to their list of offerings. 

Our setting for the recording and indeed the weather - couldn't have been any better! Sat right outside a polytunnel jam-packed with baby tomatoes that were days away from ripening, we enjoyed two pairings where each of the dishes mostly featured items from the farm. 

The first was a sourdough focaccia sandwich made with bread baked at their café, filled with their farm grown roasted padrón peppers, heritage tomatoes, basil mayo and green leaves. This was a symphony of the freshest flavours and to enjoy a beverage alongside it, Oisin volunteered to mix up a cocktail that also had farm ingredients in it. Aptly named the "McNally Martini" it had Glendalough Gin, Richmount Elderflower Liqueur, Fino Sherry, fresh lemon, a healthy spoonful of McNally Family Farm gooseberry preserve, fresh lemon and a splash of Nátúrtha Pet-Nat sparkling wine from Waterford to give it some fizz. The dry sweetness from  the cocktail counterbalanced the smoky bitterness of peppers and tomatoes and it was a real pleasure to enjoy the bounty of the farm in such a rounded way, both from the plate and the glass. 

Our second pairing was a Roman style pizza slice that was also baked on site using their sourdough bread and topped with Carbery cheddar, farm grown baby courgettes, basil pesto and feta cheese. Seeing as the bottle was already open and that it's such a delicious wine, we paired the rich (and super crunchy!) pizza slice with some more of the Nátúrtha Pet-Nat sparkling wine from Waterford. Its nutty, earthy notes really brought out the soft sweetness of the courgettes. 

Beár Bia is available on all podcast platforms and follow us @bearbiapodcast on Instgram. 

It's one of Ireland's largest gatherings of top tier Irish food & drink producers, so it's always great to be down at Bord Bia Bloom in the Phoenix Park. This year, the Bloom team there engaged with Irishbeer.ie and Beár Bia to highlight pairings made with breweries and food makers who would all be at Bloom.  Produced over two episodes, our first saw us pair Irish beers with Irish seafoods, and for our second, we looked at something more sweet and savoury!

To supply us with beers and plenty of Donegal banter for the day, we were joined by Sean McCarthy, Sales Manager of Kinnegar Brewing. Letterkenny. He filled us in not just on the whole range of great beers they craft there but also on the company's 15-year history. With nationwide distribution and a selection of tours available, Kinnegar's beers are enjoyed both on site and all over Ireland. One particular item from the brewery that is increasingly doing better and better for them is their "Lowtide lPA", which is a 1% ABV low-alcohol brew. It has the full flavour and texture of a standard IPA but without the boozy bite. 

It was the perfect accompaniment to the O'Neills Dry Cure Bacon bap that we had to pair it with. To talk us through this company's great philosophy of only making the most natural, traditional bacon products was their founder, Pat O'Neill from Enniscorthy, Wexford. After already working in the bacon business for 13 years, Pat was inspired by the growing customer demand for additive-free foods and established his brand with the aim of making the finest dry-cured bacon with no phosphates or added water to bulk it out. It was a formula for success that has served him well. We enjoyed a bap made with his excellent bacon and his equally tasty bacon jam.

Alongside the Lowtide IPA, the bacon jam's sweet umami taste balanced beautifully with the hoppy bitterness of the beer. 

The second pairing was definitely one for the more sweet-toothed among us! Our next guest was Daniel Linehan, who, alongside his wife Georgia Quealy, founded Bon Chocolatiers out of necessity during COVID. Both are highly trained Michelin-level chefs, and when their respective places of work closed during lockdown, they focused their energy and creativity elsewhere to handcraft ultra premium chocolates. They have since gone on to pick up multiple awards and were a huge hit at Bloom this year. When we asked Daniel to consider the best chocolate from his range to pair with Kinnegar's Black Rabbit - black lager, he instantly knew what to pick up. To bring out the rich coffee and dark malty notes of the beer, he opted for Bon Chocolatiers' Dark "Truly Dark" range. It comes in four flavours that include raspberry and caramelised cacao. Both the beer and the chocolates are incredible on their own - but when enjoyed together, this is a sublime Irish food & drink pairing and something that is very easy to seek out. 

We hope you enjoy this second part of our Bloom Special for 2025! 

Thanks, 

Dee & Oisín

BEÁR BIA HITS KERRY WITH THE DINGLE DISTILLERY AND SOME LOCAL PRODUCERS 

There are very few towns on the island of Ireland with such a high concentration of premium food producers and world renowned pubs, as Dingle in county Kerry. Coupled with its multitude of festivals, there is never a bad time to visit. At the heart of it all, is the Dingle Distillery. Established in 2012, it has now become not just a huge attraction to itself but they also happen to make some rather amazing spirits!

Last year we got to spend some time with their team and enjoy some of their gin cocktails in the lead up to their stand at the Big Grill festival. For our second season of Beár Bia, we felt it only right to make the pilgrimage to the Dingle Distillery last week to savur their two latest whiskeys that were paired with two amazing neighbouring food brands.

Our first whiskey pairing of the day featured the Dingle Distillery 10 Year Old Pot Stillwhich is made with local malted and unmalted barley and aged in a beautiful combination of bourbon barrels, PX and Oloroso sherry butts and red wine casks. It's a glorious whiskey enriched with spice and a nutty finish which contrasts so harmoniously with the remarkable Murphy's brown bread ice cream we served it with. Crafted just down the road from the distillery, the ice cream is made with McCambridge's brown bread that is slowly roasted with sugar to get a crunchy caramelized texture. With Murphy's Ice Cream so easily available through their own shops and nationwide distribution, this is a sublime all Irish dessert that anyone could enjoy. Sean Murphy from Murphy's Ice Cream was there to tell us all about his brand and how he and Dingle Distillery's production and maturation manager Paddy Foley have often collaborated with each other.

Our second whiskey was Dingle Distillery's 10 Year Old Single Malt. It's triple distilled with local malt and aged in a combination of ex bourbon, port and PX sherry casks. There is a remarkable berry and dried fruit nose and taste to this whiskey that is intensified by such a long time spent in barrels. We were joined on this pairing by Kallam Moriarty of another nearby food business, Éalú chocolates. He brought with him some of his exceptional ganache filled chocolates that were made with hibiscus, clove and also some of the Dingle Distillery Single Pot Still Whiskey. The fruity depth of the whiskey really brought out the cranberry like flavour of the hibiscus in the chocolate - after that subsides an explosion of cream and spice hits the palate. Luxury Irish chocolates and ten year old premium Irish whiskey, both from the same Kerry town - Dingle punches well above its culinary weight.

As a special treat and to remind us all of the incredible spirit of camaraderie and collaboration between the Dingle Distillery and their local friends, Justin Burgess from Bean in Dingle coffee shop and roastery popped in to tell us about a special project they've recently got stuck into - Dingle Whiskey Barrel Aged Coffee! A bold Brazilian single estate bean, aged in Dingle Distillery whiskey rum casks for a minimum of 3 weeks. 

The result is a delicious coffee with caramel and milk chocolate notes, citric acidity, a creamy body and that distinctive Dingle whiskey finish. Available in whole bean and medium ground. Available to purchase now exclusively at the distillery. 

What an episode?! Get stuck in and let us know your thoughts. 

Thanks to Dingle Distillery for this episode & Bord Bia for always supporting us. 

Sláinte! Oisin & Dee