The Guildhall Taphouse is, as you would expect, just around the corner from the Guildhall. An impressive building both inside and out, it has a very cosy ambience during the afternoon and a vibrant atmosphere in the evening. The main reason I visited was to partake of new brewery Dopey Dick's wares after brewer Paul Eastwood told me of his two brews, a lager and an American pale ale.
So into the taphouse we venture mid afternoon and just a half of each, for now. The evening shall bring its rewards. An array of taps bearing labels of local and national craft beers are available: Whitewater's Maggie's Leap IPA, Northbound's 26 pale ale, Kinnegar's Otway pale ale, Brewdog's Punk IPA and both Dopey Dick offerings.
Lager first, boy. 5% ABV and a real guzzler. Light and slightly grassy with a touch of lemon and floral thrown into the mix - a summer beer that could find its way out of a glass all too quickly on a warm summer's day. Or even a cold January one.
Next was the American pale ale - no % abv visible but Untappd has it at 5.3. Instantly I'm hit with a soapy/washing up liquid taste on the first sip, and again on the second. A third sip was enough before this half pint was put down never to be drunk. It couldn't have been washing up liquid remnants in the glass as it had been in the same batch as the lager glass, I'm hazarding a guess at fermentation timing issues. Anyhow, it was a shame.


A couple of breweries have opened on the Republic's side of Inishowen over the past year or so. Boghopper from Muff started selling in late 2015 and Evans' Brewery from Carndonagh became commercial in the spring of 2016. The Derry and Donegal wans will probably have tasted Evans' Foyle's Gold (and also maybe the seaweed stout called Selkie) as brewer Tom Evans was serving at Sippy Fest in December.
