Episode 9 of Beár Bia is live – A travelling podcast celebrating the unison of Irish food & drink. This time the duo headed to the Smithwick’s Experience in Kilkenny.

Dee Laffan and Oisin Davis want to showcase and celebrate the pairing of Irish food with Irish drinks through their brand new podcast “Beár Bia.” Translated to English as Food Bar, Beár Bia’s key mission statement is that local foods taste best when enjoyed with local drinks and Ireland is no exception.

Beár Bia can be accessed on Spotify, Apple or wherever you get your podcasts. 

 Smithwick’s is deeply connected to its hometown of Kilkenny and is particularly well celebrated by the local hospitality community there. A fantastic trip was had by Dee and Oisin, where they hung out in The Smithwick’s Experience to learn more about their beers and “sampled some excellent food pairings”.

Upon arrival at The Smithwick’s Experience they were given a tour by their beer expert Simon Walsh. After familiarising themselves with the legacy of the Smithwick’s family and their brewery that goes back to 1710, Simon opened up the podcast recording by sharing even more of his beer and history knowledge.

While you’re in Kilkenny you can also enjoy some Smithwick’s food pairings served up in two of Kilkenny’s best bars & restaurants.

The first pairing came courtesy of Paris, Texas – the wildly successful bar and smokehouse on 92 High St.

Their in house flavour fanatic and head mixologist, Chris Hennessy brought with him some southeast pork ribs that were abundantly spiced and smoked in house for 8 hours with wood chips from Highbank Orchard just outside of Kilkenny. They were “the perfect accompaniment to a cold glass of Smithwick’s Pale Ale, cutting through the richness of the meat.”

Dee and Oisin’s second pairing was focused on the classic Smithwick’s Red Ale and was brought in by Emma Teesdale, head chef of Langton’s Bar & Restaurant, a Kilkenny institution and a major hub for the Kilkenomics Festival. Her dish was locally reared feather blade beef that was not only marinated overnight in Smithwick’s Red Ale but it is also slow cooked in it too. She served it with a Smitwick’s Red Ale sauce, colcannon and root vegetables. “Sipping the same ale alongside it was tremendously exciting. It is a remarkable Kilkenny dish and hugely popular in Langton’s,” says the Beár Bia duo.

You can listen to this particular episode of Beár Bia here.