Dublin Classic

The tour covers how the beer is actually made, through the mash tun, the fermenters and the cellar, and takes about an hour. Then you sit down to a guided tasting of a flight of their beers, usually four or five, with someone explaining what you are drinking. It is a sit-down, talk-to-each-other activity rather than a drinking session, and it works well for a group that has been on it since Friday. Most breweries have a taproom you can stay in afterwards. Working sites mean closed-toe shoes and no flip-flops. Some breweries put on food; check before you book dinner elsewhere.

A restaurant taking a large group will usually want a set menu, a deposit and final numbers a few days ahead. That is normal and it works in your favour: the food comes out together and the bill is per head rather than an hour of arithmetic. Tell them about allergies and anyone who does not eat meat when you confirm the numbers, not on the night. Dress code is the restaurant's. If you are heading to a club afterwards, dress for the club, because the restaurant is the softer door.

A pitch booking gives you the surface, the bibs and the balls for an hour or two, and you sort your own teams. Add a referee if the group needs one, and most do. Footgolf is the softer version: a golf course, a football, and you play the holes by kicking. It takes a couple of hours, it is walkable, and it works for a group with a wide spread of fitness. Trainers or moulded boots depending on the surface, and check which before you pack. Studs are refused on most artificial pitches.

You meet the guide at a fixed point and move through a run of bars across the evening, usually four or five, finishing at a club. The guide knows the doors, so you skip the queue and the group is not turned away for being too large. Most crawls include a welcome drink or a shot at each stop, and entry to the final venue. The rest is on you. Groups from several bookings are often merged, which some stags like and some do not, so ask whether yours is private. Dress code is the club's, not the guide's. No trainers and no sportswear at the last venue, and matching shirts get refused at some doors.