Hot Press Tastes and Tipples of the Fortnight - Up All Night To Get Bucky

“What kind of twisted genius is this?” we cried when a motorbike courier, who got a slobbery kiss for his troubles, delivered samples of the King Kong Kompany and YellowBelly Beer’s Buckfast infused – and, indeed, enthused – Commotion Lotion to HP Central.

Unlike the monk-made tonic wine that is not always drunk responsibly, this is a highly sessionable 4.4% with the mix of Bucky, strawberry, raspberry and pineapple reminding us of a particularly refreshing jug of Sangria we had recently in Catalunya.

You’ll find the eye-catching 330ml cans in offies nationwide.

The beery good news doesn’t end there with the Carlow Brewing Company using Ireland’s World Cup Qualifier with Austria – we’re still seething over Duffygate! – to launch the three very fine beers from Salzburg’s Stiegl brewery, which have been added to their portfolio. Available in bars and independent off-licences, the lemony 5.1% Stiegl Weisse is the pick of a very fine bunch. They’ve also managed to produce an alkoholfrei lager that packs a big hoppy punch.

Down in the Real Capital, Stiff Little Fingers, La Galaxie and the David Bowie celebrating Rebel Rebel headline the three nights of the Great Irish Beer Festival, which has 25 breweries packing in to Cork City Hall from August 24-26. Advanced tickets priced €13.50 are available from tickets.ie. It’s the brainchild of the Franciscan Well crew who are justifiably proud of their Chieftain IPA becoming available on Aer Lingus flights – a first for them.

Bushmills Irish Whiskey have teamed up with that genius George Lowden to produce a limited edition, handcrafted F-50 acoustic guitar made from whiskey barrels and bog oak.

“We scour the world for the best tonewoods which are the real ‘stars’ of our guitars, determining how they sound, feel, and play, so my sons and I relished the opportunity to work with the coopers to select the best Bushmills barrel wood for the guitar,” enthuses George who has just eight of these incredible instruments up for sale from lowdenguitars.com at £8,500 a pop.

Dublin Delicious have launched a Howth Seafood Tour, which for €60 will whiz you around some of the village’s finest eateries with lots of samples included. Definitely worth shellfishing out for. Sorry, we’ll get our coats… deliciousdublintours.com.

Among the many good reasons to visit Capel Street is Kopotiam, which is on a mission to bring authentic Malay street food to Dublin 1. Our recent sampling of their Roti Canai pancakes, Teochew Sea Bass and Rendang Chicken, a coconut-y festival dish, suggest that they’re royally succeeding. facebook.com/kopitiamstreetfoodbar.

Tipple of the Fortnight

Mont 5.1% Irish Mountain Beer

The branding might have changed – them new 330ml bottles look dead smart! - but the quality of Manor Brewing Company’s Bohemian-style Pilsner (with an Irish accent) remains unchanged. A sessionable premium lager that will appeal to craft virgins as well as aficionados, it has a malty backbone and bags of character from its blend of Hallertau, Saaz and Cascade hops. The ‘mountain’ part is no mere sales pitch, with Manor using spring-well water that’s been filtered for thousands of years through granite and peat. Check out manorbrewing.com for details of special events in their stunning Wicklow bell tower HQ, and what they have up their sleeves for September 8-10’s Irish Craft Beer Festival in the RDS, which includes another series of Hop Press talks hosted by our Mr. Clark.