Last year, Dee Laffan and Oisin Davis launched Beár Bia, a travelling podcast solely dedicated to pairing Irish foods with Irish drinks. Their mission is a simple one – to seek out the best Irish food & drinks producers and celebrate them in unison with each other. 

Their core belief filters into every episode they produce – local foods taste best with local drinks and Ireland is no exception. 

Kickstarting things off for 2025, the first two episodes of Season 2 will highlight beer and food producers who are exhibiting at one of Ireland’s largest festivals, Bord Bia Bloom at Phoenix Park.  With a little help from Irish Beer.ie, they decided to first see which of the participating beers would work best paired with fish and seafood.

The results are delicious! Here’s what to expect from Episode 1…

If you’re going to be sampling some of Ireland’s best seafood, the setting is key. Thankfully, the good folk over at Kish Fish Café in Howth, very kindly allowed Dee and Oisin to record in their office. With views right out onto the Irish Sea, it was the ideal location! Managing Director Tadhg O’Meara told them all about how the Kish Fish business started in Dublin’s city centre and expanded to become vital wholesalers and operators of their fantastic seafood cafe on Howth pier. 

After settling in, Kian Louet-Feisser from Carlingford Oysters joined the table and got shucking! He shared details of how his family started the business in the 70s and now ships their marvellous molluscs worldwide. With his operation just down the road in Kilbarrack, Wim De Jongh from Hope Brewery didn’t have as far to travel and he brought with him the ideal beer to match with those oysters.

Hope Brewery’s “Overboard Witbier” was quite literally designed to pair with seafood

It’s wheat beer and malt base provided a creamy texture but it was the addition of orange peel and juniper berries in the brew that Dee and Oisin say “really bounced beautifully off the salinity of the oysters”. 

Their second pairing began with another amazing Irish family business – Mag Kirwan from Goatsbridge Trout made the journey from Kilkenny. She proudly told Dee and Oisin all about how it all started in the 1960s, servicing local restaurants to now being a beloved nationwide product available in multiple supermarkets.

Goatsbridge whiskey & dill infused rainbow trout was Mag’s choice for a beer pairing, and it was “sublime” with Irish Pale Ale from O’Haras

This was brought down by Sergiu Leu from the brewery’s sales team and he got into how O’Haras (also known as Carlow Brewing) got started nearly 30 years ago by owner Seamus O’Hara.

Over those three decades, they have very steadily managed to build up a brilliant portfolio as well as excellent international distribution. The dry hopping technique they employ for this ale, gives it a long zesty finish which “cuts through the soft smoke and spice of the fish”. 

Both of these pairings can be enjoyed at Bord Bia Bloom, which runs from May 29th – June 2nd at Phoenix Park. 

Stay tuned for their second Bord Bia Bloom episode Dee and Oisin delve into what types of beers can be paired alongside some sweeter, more dessert-type dishes! The second season of Beár Bia will feature 12 episodes and will be broadcast fortnightly.

Beár Bia is available on all podcast platforms. Listen in from Spotify here.