Soft scoops

Tuesday last saw the eagerly-awaited soft opening of The Christchurch, the newest addition to the specialist beer side of Dublin's licensed trade, such as it is. The premises on High Street was Galway Bay's The Beer Market in a previous incarnation, then became the more tourist-orientated Christchurch Inn, though despite its location on the well-trodden path between the city centre and the Guinness Storehouse, doesn't seem to have become the moneyspinner that more central pubs have turned into. Now it's back in the craft game, this time under the aegis of prolific Dublin microbrewery Third Barrel. Not everything they serve is from Third Barrel, but everything new to me on day one was."Two More Weeks!" was a running joke about the prospective opening date, so was a fitting name for an IPA launched on the day, albeit without a printed tap badge. It professes to be in the west coast style, but wears the designation lightly. Both the hop bitterness and malt weight are less than full-on,…