So here goes.  After far too long enjoying the best of Irish beer and wondering what on earth to eat with that…, RMTTB has finally decided to get the finger out and test a few combos ourselves.

We’re looking for dishes that can bring out tastes in beer that might be missed if drunk without food.  And we have absolutely no idea where to start, so what follows is a bit of trial and error.  With our Holy Grail being the kind of menu you could serve at a State banquet (and why not serve Irish food with quality Irish beer instead of expensive French wines, by the way?) it’s off to selflessly eat and drink our way through a thousand tasty tidbits.  An early lesson learned – take better notes during tasting!

Tonight’s menu is playing it safe: classic Irish ingredients with solid Irish beers.

Starter – Irish tapas

First up is cold roast parsnip in honey with rosemary.  The parsnip was quite strong and needed something to cut the rather overpowering taste of new season root.  We tried one or two hoppy mouthfuls but nothing could compare to the Galway Bay Full Sail dry hopped IPA.  The flavour was full and the parsnip and honey were washed down with a robustly pleasant after taste.  RMTTB loves hops and this was hoppy heaven, without the sometimes sharp tones that come with drinking without accompaniment.

Tapas number 2 was celeriac with hazelnut and sour cream.  Seriously good: sweet and savoury in every delicious bite.  The taste was quite subtle and struggled against some of the stronger brews.  Stand up then Kinnegar Rustbucket.  Complex and robust but not overpowering.  This was the star combination of the evening and one we’ll be serving again (next time with better notes…)

Next up was a salad of seared beef fillet, cold roast beetroot and watercress.  The interplay of flavours was quite subtle and intricate and so RMTTB guffawed at the suggestion that we crack open a stout to wash it down with.  We wanted something a little lighter.  Humour me, said the bottle of Dungarvan Black Rock stout.  And by Jaysus, we’re glad we did.  The stout was the perfect complement to the spicy watercress, the musky beef and earth beets.  RMTTB was impressed.

Last up was a RMTTB favourite – Cashel blue on black pudding slices, again served cold.  Salty and spicy and very, very nice-y.  With pudding from Clonakilty so we decided to stay in the People’s Republic for the beer with a nice bottle of Blacks of Kinsale Black IPA.  Hoppy!  Fruity!!  Choccy!!!  Bloody perfect.

The main course – lamb chops with champ and braised cabbage

The shops are full of new season lamb and RMTTB helped itself to a plateload of sweet fatty, juicy melt in the mouth chops.  Fry them in a hot, hot buttery pan and voila: perfection!  We served with a steaming pot of champ (more butter!) and some braised cabbage.  At this stage we were starting to get kind of full and wanted to drink something flavoursome enough to balance the lamb but also crisp and fresh enough to cut through the increasing feeling of satiety.  Delicious as the food was, it was a mere supporting player to Franciscan Well’s absolute star Rosemary and Clementine saison.  Spicy, citrusy and warm, this beer was born to be enjoyed with lamb.  More please.

Dessert – stout and chocolate cupcakes

The end is in sight and RMTTB is starting to feel the strain. The cupcakes sound bloody heavy and most of the bottles lined up for tasting look like stouts.  Ask not and all that.  But, the cupcakes are surprisingly light.  (Seriously.  We are definitely making these again.)  Unsurprisingly the stout is just too heavy and we’re just about ready to start making excuses and clear off the plates when lo and behold we have a winner.  St Mel’s Brown Ale.  Toasty, fruity, moreish.  The cupcakes and ale complement each other perfectly.  And RMTTB promises ourselves that the diet starts tomorrow.  Again.

Coffee and a crafty fag

Ok.  That was fun.  Our first post and all that.  Next up – some quick and easy match snacks to enjoy with German-style Irish brewed beers in time for Ireland’s Euro 2016 qualifier in Berlin.  Mmmmmm, lecker….