Regents, paupers, witches, bishops, thieves, monks, murderers, saints, goddesses, zombies and, cripes, the English all feature in Filthy Queens: A History Of Beer In Ireland, a riveting 227 page read from the pen of Dr. Christina Wade who is the country’s leading hopstorian.

Among the numerous “I didn’t know that!” tales told is Arthur J. Guinness literally being prepared to go to war in 1775 to protect his fledgling brewery’s water supply.

The only trouble with the tome being that we were perpetually thirsty reading it…

Meanwhile, James Lowe has joined fellow Leinster and Ireland rugby star Devin Toner as an investor in O Brother, the Wicklow brewery that signed megabuck deals last year with Tesco and Aldi.

The latter hook up has resulted in two exclusive beers – Eachtra, a stout and Clann, a session IPA – hitting the discount retailer’s shelves. And very nice they are too!

Not in Aldi but regularly making it into Hot Flavours glasses is their 8.3% Humans Are People Too DIPA, cases of which are available for almost half-price at obrotherbrewing.com/shop…

Blasta Books launch into 2025 with the publication of Larder, another of their small but perfectly formed cookbooks which uses pantry staples to create a hundred seriously yummy dishes.

Authored by “busy working mum of three” Orla McAndrew, it’s yours for €17 from blastabooks.com.

Also keep your tastebuds peeled for their May release, Tango, which takes a deep dive into Argentine street food courtesy of Facundo Rodulfo and Pam Neumann who run Killarney’s Tango Street Food…

In one of the stranger Irish restaurant re-brandings, Zappi’s in Galway changed its name to Vaffanc*lo which is the Italian for fuck off, albeit with the ‘u’ replaced by an asterisk.

Despite the obligatory complaints to the Connacht Tribune, it’s a very welcoming place with the Penne Pomodrino e Basilico the pick of the pastas and Frutti di Mare stealing the pizza honours…

Back in Dublin, the Asia Market has done some re-branding of its own with its 15 Fade Street premises now home to Wonton.

It promises to bring “true Hong Kong flavours” to the capital and duly delivers with their signature Prawn and Pork Wontons with Thin Noodles a thing of slurpy delight.

The Chicken Congee with Dough Stick is pretty darn tasty too.

Ryanair has announced new Dublin-Rabat flights, which will run twice-weekly from March 31.

Once ensconced in the Moroccan capital, you’ll be able to enjoy such local delicacies as Maakouda, potato cakes seasoned with cumin, onions, garlic and coriander and Bissara, a fava bean dip topped with olive oil and paprika.

The good aviation news doesn’t end there with Aer Lingus introducing flights from Cork to Bordeaux, AKA Cité du Vin, and Bilbao which is the home of the pintxos crawl.

Tipple Of The Month:

OLLIE YUZU 4% GINGER BEER

The ginger beer revival gathers apace with this limited-edition from the good folk at Dublin’s Hopfully Brewing whose none too secret ingredient is yuzu, a citrus fruit of Chinese origin which has a bit of a boiled sweets thing going on. Packing some serious ginger-y heat, it’s tarter than most of its rivals, is gluten-free and vegan-friendly and livened our St. Brigid’s Day Moscow Mules up no end. If you’re looking for a non-alcoholic option, we’re also very partial to Black Castle Fiery Ginger Beer, which also throws muscovado sugar, cinnamon and cardamom into the pot.

Great Irish Things to Eat:

DUNNES STORES CASHEL BLUE AIOLI

If you’ve given up crack cocaine for the new year, fear not, because this
velvety cheese is just as addictive and only a fraction of the price. Whether
spread on to sourdough, dolloped on to baked potatoes, drizzled over
salads, stirred into pasta or just spooned from the tub, we guarantee that your endorphins will be doing somersaults.