Launching In Style with Guinness at The Hop House 13 Launch Party!
Tuesday, March 10, 2015
Partying in Style in Dublin for the launch of Hop House 13!
What can I say, there are just some events you just don't want to miss and when I found out I had been invited to travel down to Dublin with Guinness for a very special launch party, well I just couldn't say no!
For one night only, this "cocktail girl" became a "lager lady" as I joined my fellow bloggers and media friends for a road trip to Dublin for the epic launch party of Guinness' latest lager: Hop House 13!
Of course as you would expect with Guinness no expense was spared, and the South Studios in Dublin were turned into a sensory Hop House 13 experience for a night of exceptional food, music and of course lager!
We were treated to delicious food pairings by Wildside, (apologies for there being no photos of the food, what can I say it was all sooo yummy I totally forgot to take pics!) and the opportunity to try Hop House 13 for ourselves!
Sunday Life Editor Martin Breen & Cool FM's Pete Snodden.
Now, as a lager virgin, who is more used to sipping on cocktails I feel I can't really give an expert opinion on Hop House 13, only to say that it was far more drinkable than I expected it to be, with lots of complex flavours that developed whilst on the palette!
Here I am sampling "Hop House 13" in an aptly sized mini "pint" glass!
Hop House 13 has been named after an early 1900’s hop store building at St. James’s Gate where the hops are still stored and is a double-hopped lager made with Irish barley and aromatic hops, continuing the 256 years of heritage and brewing excellence at St. James’s Gate!
We also had the opportunity to meet personally with Peter Simpson, the Guinness Brewer who led he development team of Hop House 13 and who can currently be seen across Ireland as the face of Guinness' current advertising campaign! I must say I loved hearing Peter talk about the development process of creating a craft beer from scratch and the fine balance between art and science that lead to the creation of Hop House 13!
Guinness brewer, Peter Simpson who led the development of Hop House 13 said, “I personally enjoy more flavoursome beers, so I wanted to make a lager with lots of character and flavour. After some months of exploring different recipes and collaborating with other brewers at St. James’s Gate, we created Hop House 13.”
They describe Hop House 13 as a distinctive golden lager that is brewed with Guinness yeast, Irish barley and the best of hops from both Australia and USA – Galaxy, Topaz, (AUS) and Mosaic (USA). It has a sweet fruity aroma, with hints of Apricot and Peach, and subtle malt notes breaking through. On taste, Hop House 13 is full flavored while still being crisp and hoppy (but not bitter) with a refreshing clean finish.
Of course no party is complete without some seriously good music, and that came in the form of a very special and intimate live set performance by Irish music act All Tvvins!
An evening of great food, fantastic music and brilliant company made the launch party of Hop House 13 a fabulous night! In fact we all were enjoying ourselves so much that we ended up staying far later than any of us anticipated! But hey, that's always the sign of a great party!
As for what I was wearing, well as usual my label of choice was Karen Millen! This time I opted for one of my favourite floral summer dresses which works for a myriad of occasions and accessorised it with my gorgeous Balenciaga leather cuff and a serious piece of arm candy in the form of my Karen Millen white Tassel handbag!
Floral cotton dress (DQ245), Tassel white mini handbag (GL222) both by Karen Millen. Balenciaga giant gold cuff in colour Rose Corail lambskin leather.
A massive thank you to Danielle & Gill from Smarts Communicate for taking such good care of us and to Guinness for their kind invitation to attend their über cool launch party for Hop House 13!
Enjoy Hop House 13 Sensibly. Visit www.drinkaware.co.uk
0 comments