Currently today on the Island of Ireland, there are 13 active microbreweries, well 11 actually and I better explain that.
In the Republic we have:
Active
1. Galway Hooker Brewing company
2. The Porterhouse Brewing company
3. Franciscan Well (brewpub but sells their beer to other pubs)
4. Carlow Brewing company
5. Messrs Maguire
Inactive
6. Biddy Early - closed
7. Celtic Brewing company - Currently focusing on the beer import and wholesale market and not brewing
Misc. Árainn Mhór Brewing Company Irish beer in name but its produced in Belgium and so does not count. The website is down at the time of writing this so I can not confirm if they are still in business.
Strangford Lough Brewing Company - I am not sure this counts as I believe their beer is brewed under license in the US and not in Ireland at all.
In Northern Ireland we have:
8. Hilden brewery
9. Whitewater brewery
10. Clanconnel brewery (run by an ICB member)
However the craft beer movement has gained momentum in recent months and three more micro breweries are now on the horizon.
11 White Gypsy recently opened its doors, but beer is not yet in full circulation although I believe it might be available in local pubs in Tipperary (where it is based). The brewer is Cuilan Loughnane from Messrs Maguire.
Also in the pipeline are two microbreweries set up by Irish craft brewer members.
12. Trouble Brewing has got their brewery set up now and will be starting to brew very soon.
13. Dungarvan Brewing company is also setting up and hope to produce bottle conditioned beer.
There is another brewpub in Dublin called Tramco but I have not included them in the list of microbreweries as their beers are only available at their pub and they do not brew it themselves, it is brewed by Messrs for the most part.
14. Beoir Chorca Duibhne - Kerry has two brew pubs run by the one person, again beer is only available in his own pubs. On the up side, it is Cask ale he produces and I found it rather tasty at Septemberfest.
15. In Galway there is the recent Oslo brewpub. Beer is only available in their pub at present.
So 11 active microbreweries and two that do not count as all they actually do is import beer made for them in Belgium or the US. Along with Two that are opening up some time next year.
So the news is very good on the craft brew scene, I know a lot of people in other countries might look at this list in horror because it is so small, well the fact is that Ireland like many European countries used to have local breweries in every town but certain massive breweries cornered the market and forced them all to close. The same has happened worldwide but Ireland is so small that the death of the local Irish breweries was complete and it was not until the mid 90's when Carlow brew co set up that we had the re-emergence of the Irish craft beer scene.
There is a lot working against micro breweries. Cost is a major one along with paperwork, it is just not as easy to set up shop in Ireland as it is in many other countries.
Population preference is another thing as Irish are very brand loyal. A Guinness drinker would rarely venture in to Murphy's or Beamish let alone a micro brewed stout such as O' Haras (Carlow). Don't get me started on Lager drinkers and Light beer drinkers just should just not drink beer and stick to water instead.
Working in our favour though is the increasing number of people who are getting sick of bad quality mass produced beer and want something with a little more flavour and come across Irish craft beer.
There is an increasing number of publicans who are introducing Irish craft beer to the line up as well. Most recently The County bar in Lucan has Galway hooker and the Carlow beers on tap, they are at a very good price too so seem to be selling well.
Long may the craft beer revolution continue.
**If I am missing anything or have given the wrong info, I'm sure someone will let me know so I can amend it**
OK just an update to this, thanks to BeerNut for letting me know who I missed. I have added in that there are 11 active breweries.
There are also some Cider producers such as:
Llewellyn's
Carson's
Mac's
Saintly Days
15 hours ago
11 comments:
Yes, it is marching along nicely, especially with the two new breweries in the making.
It's sad that the oldest micro (so I am led to believe as they opened in 1995) in the Republic, Biddy Early, closed, but there are also others in that first wave, like the Dublin Brewing Company, that went by the wayside before the tax system was changed in such a way to make life easier for smaller producers.
Here's the the second wave continuing!
Let's not go into the dozens, actually, over 100, that disappeared during the late 19th century, and even first half of the 20th... :(
It is truly sad that as an Island, not even a country but as an Island, we have less breweries than an average county in England. Some counties have less but most have more. Cumbria (was there recently) for instance has about 25 that I know of and possibly more. Cumbria is mostly unpopulated with less people than Dublin City and not even including the suburbs of Dublin. Less than 500,000 people and they have that many breweries and an Island of over 6 million can only manage 7.
At the rate that home brewing retailers and microbreweries are poping up around the country, the big name producers may have to start worrying a little. It's great to see so much enthusiasm and activity, even if we are far behind England. It's about quality, not quantity.
Wouldn't worry about being behind England (do you mean England itself or are you lumbering us Scots and Welsh in that catch all statement?), as NooBru say quality is more important than quantity.
Sounds like there is a market in Ireland for a pub in the mould of Pivovarsky klub in Prague, with various craft brews available on tap (with none of the big producers!) and a comprehensive collection of bottles from Ireland and further afield.
You can add Clanconnel to your list. White Gypsy's fully functional too -- we just don't see much in our part of the world at the moment.
Tramco isn't a brewery at all, though Oslo is, albeit one which doesn't circulate outside its own pub.
Ah I forgot about Oslo as last time I was there they had not released their beer yet.
Never heard of Clanconnel before but I will add them.
And Tramco do not brew? Who brews their beer then?
Al, I am not mentioning Scotland or Wales because while I am sure they have more breweries than Ireland, I do not know as much about them. I have never even been to Scotland, a fact I must rectify.
Clanconnel is run by Blacckhawk from ICB.
Tramco beers are made by a cuckoo brewery called Barrelhead, which operates largely out of Messrs Maguire. It also makes Pifko Premium for Pifko on Usher's Quay.
There are several challenges for Irish micro's to try to overcome but the biggest are the Irish publican and the Irish drinker.
For some reason, the Irish drinker is among the most brand loyal in the world. Most people have a brand of beer they stick with, to the exclusion of all else. Walk to the bar, ask for a pint of >insert chosen macro beer< as always. Never even look at the taps. I think it was Aidan from Galway Hooker who was told by a Budweiser drinker that he wasn't interested in trying Hooker because he doesn't like foreign beer.
This suits the Irish publican as it means they just have to deal with Diagio and Heineken, who are happy to take care of everything including line cleaning for the publican. Taking another tap means dealing with another supplier and it might upset the cosy relationship with Diagio/Heineken.
Séan, I read a report recently that went against the brand loyalty thing. Focusing in particular on the off trade, a high percentage of Irish beer drinkers are not, in fact, brand loyal, but would drop their brand like a hot potato if there was a cheaper beer available.
Again not good news for any budding micro breweries - a drinking public that sticks to the same macro lager in the pub, and buys the cheapest beer in the off-licence.
But hey, we like a challenge.
The off-trade is definitely a different ball game. There are plainly loads of drinkers who'll be on Heineken/Guinness autopilot on the pub, but when they can actually see the prices, will trade down. Wetherspoons-style price stickers on the keg fonts would make it work the same way in pubs. Pubs, however, are happier just ripping people off with a minimal nod to statutory price displays. It's a model that works very well. For them.
"I think it was Aidan from Galway Hooker who was told by a Budweiser drinker that he wasn't interested in trying Hooker because he doesn't like foreign beer" Séan Billings
That the best I have heard in a while!
On the price thing, Bavaria and Beamish could never get the equivalent market share in the on pub trade
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