UPDATE: Countdown to the Irish Craft Beer & Cider Festival!

The countdown to the 2015 Irish Craft Beer & Cider Festival has started in earnest.
This time next week Team Hop Press will be heading en masse to the Dublin RDS for three days of frothy fun.
Here are some of the brews making their debut out in D4 between August 27 and 29.
Galway Hooker are coming armed with Sixty Knots, a handsome looking 6.5% ABV small batch India Pale Ale.
Dungarvan Brewing Company chip in with an 8.5% Barley Wine, their first ever autumn seasonal, which is being officially released in October 2015. Originally brewed as a 5th birthday collaboration with Kjetil Jikiun of Denmar’s Nøgne Ø, Dungarvan’s 6.5% Seaweed Saison will be available ahead of its September bottle release, together with their 3.8% Comeragh Challenger Irish Bitter summer seasonal.
The good folk from the West Kerry Brewery are premiering the 5% Blue Rose Pale Ale and 4.2% Black Elder Ale, the latter of which features botanicals from their own garden.
They’re part of West Kerry’s Renegade Series, so named because “we believe in throwing out the rules and starting again. We live on the edge out here, literally minutes from the Atlantic.”
The people who launched the festival, O'Hara's, have a wonderful sounding Rhubarb & Strawberry Curim that they've brewed specially and their Hop Heavy IPA, which will also be available in selected bars from August 24. "Its zesty aromas are coupled with a full body and bursting bitterness," we're told.
A big Hop Press favourite, Templemore’s White Gypsy are debuting the first beer from masterbrewer Cuilan Loughmane’s equally beer-minded son, Dylan. This cream ale will be joined at the RDS by a new sour beer and a Bohemian Pilsner, both still in the tank and awaiting naming!
The Porterhouse will be showcasing their magnificently-named Hop The Feck, an 8% Double IPA which was launched last night in Temple Bar. It's a tasty monster with the big hop bang neatly offset by a caramel-y sweetness. All in all, a winner!
The good folk from McGargles are launching their Francis’ Big Bangin’ IPA, a full-on West Coast-style mix of Columbus, Mosaic and Simcoe hops.
It’s already been sighted in quality offies like McHugh’s, but the RDS will provide a high profile introduction to Wicklow Wolf’s Belgian Brown Ale, which boasts a dry chocolaty background with fruity spice aroma.
Making their national bow are the Carlingford Brewing Company whose Belgian-style Tholsel Blonde is named after a much loved local landmark. We tried our first one yesterday in PJ's and can report it's perfect for washing down half-a-dozen grilled oysters.
Dublin's Rascal's Brewing will be making the short journey to the RDS with their 6% ABV Chardonnay Saison, a really distinctive brew aged in a Chardonnay oak barrel. We're also looking forward to trying their Big Hop Red infused with 250 Square Coffee, and the latest in their World Hop Series, the 5% ABV Rain Czech Pilsner.
From Castelrea, Co. Roscommon with considerable love come new Black Donkey brews Scythe, a 4.6% Belgian Pale Ale and Beyond, a 4.8% RyePA
Eight Degrees are travelling up from Mitchelstown with two newbies – the 10% Millennium Imperial IPA, which celebrates their 1,000th brew and a 6.4% Ochtoberfest Bock, a strong ale with plenty of Munich and Vienna malt and a touch of crystal for light toffee sweetness. Yum!