This is a very rare two-for-one - Pebble Beach in Clontarf still retains two seperate licences for the same premises; one pub and one theatre. This was common during the mid 2000s as the theatre licence allowed later openings but required a "performance"; the pub licence did not require this so could be used to normal opening times. There were about 40 premises with both and only about 5 still retaining them now.
A little bit up a suburban road beside Clontarf bus garage, this is probably as close to a golf clubhouse you're going to get off a golf course. Packed with golf memorabilia and with the "golf course special" of Guinness Mid-Strength on offer, it is even named after a famed US golf course according to its website
Mid-Strength isn't available in many places - I had never noticed it on offer in the previous 350+ pubs in Dublin. I actually think the last time I saw it was in a restaurant/bar off the N4 in Westmeath when it was originally released, and as I was driving. for work, in a branded uniform and vehicle, I was not in any position to try it. So I tried it now.
I can't tell the difference between it and "normal" Guinness. At 2.8% about 1/3rd less alcohol than the original, which isn't as big a drop as between some "families" of beer - McGargles Little Bangin and Big Bangin are 3.8% and 7.1% for instance; but many traditional Guinness drinkers would have you believe that any reduction would make it undrinkable. Which is of course nonsense, as "normal" Guinness has been reduced in strength repeatedly for decades - read through some of the posts on Ronald Pattinsons excellent blog to see the strength at various points past.
There are dedicated beer bloggers, so I shall return to the pub. It's fairly decent, without some of the nastiness that a pub in an area that could be seen as posh can end up with.
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