1010753 The Open Gate

The target of my (so far, still single) "pub" trip to Dublin was tourist attractions with licences, which is something Diageo has a few of. There's the famed S3723 Guinness Storehouse, and the quite new 1015607 Roe & Co Distillery as well as the Open Gate, which is the operational Guinness pilot brewery coupled with a taproom and restaurant. 

The Open Gate was the second of these to reopen after lockdown, and has undergone a number of changes to do so; including a significantly expanded outdoor area and the currently compulsory table service only. You can't tour the brewkit at the moment, but there is now no cover charge; and bookings are required - previously, walk-ins were possible if there was space.

You are now brought to your table upon arrival, with sanitised menus delivered to you on a platter arriving with a taster - it was their Summer Pilsner when we visited. The food offering is modern pub grub - burgers, wings, flatbreads and a absolutely massive vegan dirty fries using make up the current menu; and the 14 taps are a mix of Irish guests, beers brewed on-site and a trio of products made on the breweries (vastly) bigger brother. There are beer-derived cocktails available, which I didn't try but did see one of the bar staff producing with an exceptionally energetic, two shakers at a time routine.

I tried six beers in total - mostly tasters, not pints! - with five made on-site and one from Rye River. All met expectations and while many were going for the summery/fruity thing, none were even close to the undrinkable fruit cordial flavours that can turn up

The taproom opened in 2015, with a kitchen being added more recently. Without this move it would have been significantly more problematic to open, and while I'm sure some food trucks could have been obtained it would have eaten in to the outdoor area; so I'm sure this is seen as a lifesaver now.

The brewkit, which would be of a decent scale for a microbrewery but is absolutely dwarfed by the overall James Gate operation, is - if I remember what Padraig Fox, the GM told me - is a 10Hl main kit and a 1Hl experimental kit; with the vast majority of its output being sold directly in the taproom. The fermenters sit close to the taproom, and placards above state what is in each vessel as well as the brewer responsible; and the supply of fresh kegs stand tantalisingly behind the wire rope that separates the making from the drinking.

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Kegs - the ultimate in reuse. This 1991 pre-merger Guinness branded keg currently contains a ginger and goosebeery sour at their Open Gate brewpub and restaurant #pub #pubs #Dublinpubs #Dublin #guinness #opengate

A post shared by Every Pub In Dublin (@everypubindublin) on Jul 18, 2020 at 10:49am PDT

The table service works well, and if you ignore the few other COVID-related changes, this feels very much like normal times again. This viewpoint was shared by The Beernut, who visited a few days before me, and had much the same beers as I did. I could easily have spent quite a lot longer than the mandated 105 minutes here and will need to ensure I return when this is possible.