Crafty Independents!

I don't usually get bogged down with politics on this site but given it's election time, I'll make one exception and I'll do that only to say that the Irish political scene has changed over the last thirty years in ways that are very similar to how our taste for beer has changed in the same time frame.

Where once we really only had Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and Labour to chose from at the ballot box, we also really only had Guinness, Smithwicks and Harp to choose from the bar in the local. Then, as newer parties started to come on the scene to cater to different opinions - for e.g. Demoratic Left, Sinn Fein and the PDs - sauces like Budweiser, Heineken and Carlsberg started arriving in our battle cruisers to cater to our changing beery taste-buds. More recently, as these mainstream political parties stopped delivering what more and more voters were demanding, we started looking increasingly to Independents to fill the void. Yes, loads and loads and loads of Independents of all creeds and hues exploded on the scene with their alternative plans and ideas - just as legions of craft beers were arriving into our locals with their own promises of newness and exotic-nesss and deliciousness and looking for our vote. Perhaps this is more than just a coincidence.

Anyhow, next time you're down the local or in the offie, it might be helpful to tot up the number of mainstream beers they shift and compare this to the number of craft beers they sell and it might just give you an idea of how the proceedings on Feb 26th will unfold. By my logic it should be a landslide victory for the crafties with such treats as Cute Hoor, Headless Dog, Deception Golden Ale, Scraggy Bay, Rebel Red and Brown Paper Bag (should really be 'Envelope'!) Project all sounding as though they might even top the poll!

More soon ...

Votáil 1,2,3 in order of choice!