Cask ale, as we have often complained, is something of a rarity in Ireland. While there are a few more pubs with a regular cask offering up in Belfast, here in Dublin, it is simply not a regular feature in most pubs. Happily, though, a tipoff from a reader (cheers, Ciaran!) alerted us to a beer engine in regular use at Harty’s Bar. Naturally, we dropped everything to go investigate.
One reason this pub had not been on our radar is that, appearances notwithstanding, it’s a fairly new establishment (but also not; bear with us) – until about 18 months ago, it was the Dingle Whiskey Bar. But like its neighbour, Tapped, with whom it shares a kitchen and menu, it has had a variety of identities, both before and throughout its tenure in the broader Porterhouse portfolio. Now described as ‘a country pub in the big smoke,’ its most recent refit leans into low light, dark woods and deep reds. It also seems smaller than during its whiskey days, but we’re not certain whether this is an accurate feeling or some kind of MR James ‘Number 13’ effect happening. In any event, there’s still plenty of Dingle Whiskey, also part of the Porterhouse group, as well as others.
While it doesn’t have the selection of beers next door in Tapped, with its enormous bar, for a small space, it has a good lineup of some of the more standard Porterhouse beers – the Plain Porter, Yippy IPA and Red – as well as Trouble’s Ambush. There’s also Guinness, of course, and Beamish. But as you know, we were here for the cask option: this week, it was Brehon Brewhouse’s Blonde. And cask is a great way to serve this beer; it helps bring out a bit more of the biscuity malts that are a bit harder to notice when it’s poured from a can. The bartender shared that it’s more commonly the Stony Grey IPA on the hand pump, so it was a nice changeup.
And although you can still count the pubs in Dublin with working beer engines on one hand, it’s nice to know that we are at least back to having at least 1-2 cask options available on nearly any day of the week…if you know where to go.
And to that end, we’ve added a new category: cask.
Enjoy!
Where: 44 Nassau St, Dublin, D02 YY44
Access from the city centre: Right there
Food: Pub grub and beyond
Sport: Football, GAA…the usual big sports
TVs: Small screen near the bar
Music: No music on our visit; sport instead
Family-friendliness: Depends on the time of day, but there is food
Pub-crawl-ability: High – Tapped is next door, and McDaid’s, Bowes, O’Neill’s, Cassidy's, Mulligans, The Palace Bar, JR Mahon’s, The Oval Bar, Porterhouse Temple Bar, Kennedy's and many, many more are all within a very short stroll
Local sites of note: Trinity College, National Library of Ireland, National Museum of Ireland (Archaeology and The Dead Zoo), Leinster House, Irish Whiskey Museum, NATIONAL WAX MUSEUM
Haunted: Perhaps the revamp was too recent for ghosts?
Other notes: There’s even working air con…more rare still than cask ale
Socials: Instagram
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