Mikey's Monthly - April 2021 - Issue #6

Mikey’s Monthly MIKEY RYAN’S BAR & KITCHEN - APRIL 2021

Mikey Ryan’s Bar & Kitchen | 76 Main Street, Cashel, Co. Tipperary 062 62 007 | hello@mikeyryans.ie

MIKEY’S MONTHLY - APR 2021

April 2021

Mikey’s Monthly Issue #6

The Latest News from Mikey Ryan’s Welcome to the April Edition of Mikey’s Monthly, our bite-sized magazine filled with recipes, news and inspiration. IN THIS ISSUE: we are once again keeping it local! This month we have teamed up with White Gypsy Brewery from Templemore to learn more about brewing in Ireland, their incredible journey and the beautiful flavours beer can unlock when cooking.

Head Chef Darren Quinlan has been busy in the kitchen creating some great show stopping recipes with White Gypsy’s Stout to really impress family and friends - adults only!

Team Mikeys

We still do not have a definitive answer regarding the re-opening of Mikey Ryan’s Bar & Kitchen, but we hope that by the next issue we might have some good news to share and plenty of exciting updates. Stay tuned, stay safe and stay happy.

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Getting Back on the Horse WITH WHITE GYPSY BREWING

Based in Templemore, it has been a rollercoaster of a journey for Tipperary’s only brewery. From humble beginnings, through booms and busts and now a worldwide pandemic - White Gypsy is down but not out - they are just getting started and looking forward to getting back to business.

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MIKEY’S MONTHLY - APR 2021

Sitting in one of Heathrow’s pubs one glorious summer’s evening in 1993 on a 4-hour stopover to Vancouver, owner of White Gypsy Cuilan Loughnane, discovered real ale and realised he wanted to brew beer.

On returning from Canada in 1997 he secured a job at a new brew pub in Thurles, Dwan’s, under the watchful eye of master of their brewer David Jones. Before long, Cuilan took charge of the brewing operation alongside his wife and became the first Irish brewery to export casks of beer into the UK. At the time, there wasn’t the same love of local products and outlets for microbreweries in Ireland, so they followed their fortune overseas.

After learning valuable life and business lessons during the years at Dwan’s, it eventually came time to move on, this time to Dublin in 2002 to run Messer Maguire’s (now JW Sweetman). But this was followed by a hard 6 year slog of moving back and forth 4

between Dublin and Templemore and they quickly realised that if they were ever going to make it all work – they would need their own brewery.

In 2008, they secured the purchase of a brewery on the very same day the Irish Government announced the bank guarantee and Ireland spiralled into the financial crisis. It took Cuilan the bones of a year to set up and commission the brewery and they finally did their first brew on August 18th, 2009.

Strangely, the recession of 20082011 had a hugely positive impact on the beer industry. People had a less money and so spent it wisely, which meant that craft beer was perceived as a better value product than commercial beer and sales rocketed. New breweries were opening, the Irish beer scene was flourishing and by 2015 there was nearly 70 breweries in existence.

What made White Gypsy stand out from the crowd was their ethos of

focusing on organic, local growth.

They knew that this strategy would be a slow burner but would build better loyalty in the long run. Cuilan also wanted his brewery to be a standard bearer for traditional styles of beer, to create a genuine portfolio of balanced beers to be enjoyed in any occasion. He notes that casting aside modern beer trends may sometimes be to the brewery’s detriment, but Cuilan feels like always sticking to his vision has served the brewery well in surviving the recession and continuing to flourish in the years since – having successfully paid of their initial loans, expanded the brewery and purchased the building and surrounding land to provide a rocksteady foundation for the future.

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be reflected in the new branding after months of work.

In these uncertain times, Cuilan knows at least one thing is for certain – he’s ready to get back on the horse when the time comes for pubs and restaurants to reopen, to put the shoulder to the wheel and hopefully celebrate another twenty years in business with his family.

And to this, we say cheers!.

Like most businesses in the hospitality sector, Covid-19 has had a huge impact on their business. Up until that point, 85% of the brewery’s sales was through pubs and restaurants, so it has meant a lot of changes – letting go staff, increasing their focus on independent off-licences and supermarkets and selling beer direct from the brewery. As the dust begins to settle, Cuilan is ready to get back on the horse, but knows that the years ahead will be difficult. During lockdowns, people have discovered once again the appreciation for high quality local products and artisanal beers continue to grow in popularity.

But, once pubs and restaurants re-open, he knows there will be a scramble by the big breweries to swoop in and hoover up available tap space and opportunities to showcase their beers.

commodity they have never had much of during the years of pouring blood, sweat and tears into their brewery. During this time of reflection, the decision has been made to change the rebrand the brewery to better reflect its vision and future. While still attached to the original name for his brewery, Cuilan understands more than anyone the importance of provenance and this is sure to

To learn more about White Gypsy and to follow their journey, you can visit their website at whitegypsy.ie or following them on social media using @whitegypsy.

You can normally find their beers at Mikey Ryan’s Bar & Kitchen, but until we re-open, you can stock up at your local Supervalu.

During the past few months, time has been in abundance for the Loughnane family, a precious 5

MIKEY’S MONTHLY - APR 2021

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MIKEY RYAN’S BAR & KITCHEN

Stout Cured Salmon With HEAD CHEF DARREN QUINLAN. Cooking with beer unlocks beautifully rich and complex flavours that will really grab attention.

Try this Stout Cured Salmon dish for starters.

Ingredients Firstly mix the sugar and salt together and cover the salmon 1

stout. Wrap it in cling film and refrigerate for 6-8 hours.

Meanwhile start preparing the salad by placing the oils and 2

vinegar in a pot with a pinch of salt and place in the shallots cut into thick rings. Bring to a simmer and allow to bubble for 2 minutes.Remove from the heat and allow to cool.

Slice the cucumber lengthways and deseed it. Make ribbons from

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Serves 4

liberally in the mix. Place on a flat container and cover with the

it using a peeler and place into the cooling pickle. Allow this to pickle for at least one hour.

500g

Piece of Salmon (Skin Off)

100g Sea Salt 100g Soft Brown Sugar 150ml White Gypsy Stout 100ml Olive Oil 170ml Rapeseed Oil 50ml Cider Vinegar

To make the salad cream, whisk the mustard ,egg yolks, sugar and lemon juice together for at least a minute. Then slowly add 4

the oil a little at a time until fully incorporated.Slowly add the double cream while still whisking until fully incorporated. Taste and season if needed. Refrigerate until needed.

1 Large Shallot 1 Large Cucumber 2 Egg Yolks 2tsp English Mustard

To plate, remove the salmon from the salt mix and beer and wash with cold water. Pat dry with kitchen paper. Cut the salmon 5

into 4 cube sizes roughly 125g each and place onto centre of plate..Dot around some salad cream them place a little of the shallot and cucumber pickled vegetables on top.

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2tsp Caster Sugar 2tbsp Lemon Juice 150ml Double Cream

To finish off add some lambs lettuce and a twist of cracked black pepper. Enjoy!

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MIKEY’S MONTHLY - APR 2021

Irish Tiramisu Also known as ‘Beer-amisu’ this is a great Summer dessert for a grownup get-together in the garden thanks to its fresh mascarpone filling and stout soaked sponge, all topped with a bit of extra chocolate.

Ingredients 1

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evenly combined.

In a separate bowl whisk the cream and icing sugar together until soft peaks. Then fold in the cream into the mascarpone mix Using the rest of the beer soak the sponge fingers in it until

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Serves 6

Whisk the mascarpone, vanilla and 75ml of beer together until

coated but not too soft a little crunch here will make a lovely texture.

Then it’s time to start building the dessert. We have used mini

250g Mascarpone 1

Vanilla Pod (or 1tsp of essence)

330ml White Gypsy Stout 4tbsp Icing Sugar 150ml Double Cream 16 Sponge Fingers

Kilner jars, but any glass will suffice. Place a spoon of the mascar4

pone filling in the base of the glass, then add a layer of the stout soaked sponge fingers. Continue these layers until you fill your

Use a piece of dark

glass or container.

chocolate and cocoa powder to

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To serve add some good quality dark chocolate on top and sprinkle with cocoa powder. Enjoy!

serve.

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Mikey’s Monthly MIKEY RYAN’S BAR & KITCHEN - APRIL 2021

Mikey Ryan’s Bar & Kitchen 76 Main Street, Cashel, Co. Tipperary 062 62 007 | hello@mikeyryans.ie