Drinking Gluten Free Beer in an Irish Pub

Every good Irishman knows that this weekend is St. Patrick’s Day weekend which means that the sober will flee the city and the drunkards will flock to the streets...and some of us normal people might go to the parade, have a nice lunch and a couple of social drinks and then flee before it gets tooo messy. But what about the Gluten & Wheat Free? Some might say that Paddy’s Day isn’t Paddy’s day without at least one drink. Of course there are always naturally Gluten Free and Wheat Free drinks to be found such as Tequilla or French Brandy...some Gluten Free people, who can tolerate Gluten Free wheat, even venture to Whiskey but what if you like beer? Well, today, on the eve of St. Patrick’s Day, I’m going to guide you to a few Dublin pubs that stock Gluten Free beers so you can drink up a storm without any side effects on the big day.. well, not Food Allergy related side-effects anyway ;)

Mulligans
A really lovely little pub serving a range of whiskey’s and beers, including Estrella Daura Gluten Free. Mulligan’s is located in Stoneybatter and I love this pub! They have all sorts of special little touches to set it apart from the regular Irish pub fare such as ‘reserved’ table signs made out of Scrabble pieces, the bill comes in a school geometry set and the menu is typed into old books - LOVE!
I did hear one account of a Ceoliac (Celiac) eating at Mulligans and mistakenly getting poisoned with Gluten but the staff where very apologetic and actually gave her a voucher to try and make up for it. Now I know Free From people may scoff at that but it is a rare thing to find a genuine apology. Mulligan’s have also been reported to say that they are keen on getting more Gluten Free Friendly so maybe we can help them along and give them a hand...

Location:
L. Mulligan Grocer
18 Stoneybatter
Dublin 7
tel: (01) 670 9889
web: www.lmulligangrocer.com

The Bull & Castle
This pub is very centrally located right opposite Christ Church Cathedral. It is a large pub with a restaurant downstairs and a beer hall upstairs. Again, they have a large range of beers and numerous ciders on offer and in the region of Gluten Free & Wheat Free they stock Ale and Larger from Nick Stafford. These cost €6.00 for a 500ml bottle. If you get a bit peckish as you are downing your Gluten Free beers do beware that the platters come with everything piled high on top of each other making cross-contamination a major problem so either avoid or make your needs VERY clear.

Location:
Bull & Castle
Christchurch
Dublin 2
tel: (01) 475 1122
web: www.fxbrestaurants.com

The Porterhouse
The Porterhouse stocks Estrella Daura which again, is a Gluten Free beer. It comes in a 330ml bottle and has won some awards in the past for taste. There are quite a few Porterhouses throughout the city which are all great venues (especially Porterhouse North) and stock a massive range of regular beers for all your friends should you need to entice them! Rumour also has it that if you ask, The Porterhouse also have Gluten Free buns for burgers, etc. in stock but I haven’t personally experienced this.

Locations:
The Porterhouse Central
45-47 Nassau St
Dublin 2
tel: (01) 677 4180
web: www.porterhousebrewco.com

The Porterhouse Temple Bar
16-18 Parliament St
Dublin 2
tel: (01) 679 8847
web: www.porterhousebrewco.com

The Porterhouse North
Cross Guns Bridge
Glasnevin
Dublin 9
tel: (01) 830 9884
web: www.porterhousebrewco.com

The Porterhouse Bray
Strand Rd
Bray
Co. Wicklow
tel: (01) 286 0668
web: www.porterhousebrewco.com

With regards to taste I prefer Nick Shackleton’s Hambleton Ale to Estrella’s Daura but I’m actually not much of a beer drinker unless I’m A, at a barbeque or B, eating paella so on this topic I will leave the taste testing to you!

Have you spotted Gluten Free and/or Wheat Free beer anywhere else? And which ones do you like best?!

and so I would like to wish you a very happy St. Patrick’s Day and have loads of fun! I’ve posted some of my pictures of last year’s parade below if you’re interested ... and remember to take care of yourself and please don’t drink and drive.