Why is there not more micro breweries in Ireland?

[JæKæ]

I'm in Canada at the moment, and every place with any more than a few thousand people has it's own micro-brewery serving up fine selections of beers, ales and stouts. It's great trying all the different ales in each town. And the off licenses have serious selection; there's IPA, Pale Ales, Cream Ales, Red Ales, Winter Ales, 9% ales. And that's just the ales.
At home about 90% just drinks Bud, Heineken, Carlsberg, Miller, Guinness or Smithwicks. Any different pinks like the Czech and German ones always cost more in pubs.
I'm from Carlow, and to be honest I didn't really support the Carlow breweries beers when I was at home. The main reason being the prices and the fact they are not very readily available. I will buy theirs when I go home though.

So why is there no micro-breweries in Ireland? Does it cost too much to produce for them to be competitive?

[JIZZLORD]

dunno if the market is ready yet, most people are rooted with the macro brews. people are unwilling to change to be honest. one night in the pub i got a bottle of maisels weiss and one of the lads asked me "why the hell are you drinking that ****e" and not "what is that ****e you're drinking"
i suppose advertising plays a part in the drinking habits of most people. why else do you think people think smirnoff is über premium stuff?

[kenmc]

Unfortunately the vast majority of people are mindless lemmings, and unless they see it being drunk on the television they consider it unfit for public consumption.
Oh, and it also tends to be a major turn-off if it actually tastes of something

[c - 13]

Originally Posted by kenmc

Unfortunately the vast majority of people are mindless lemmings, and unless they see it being drunk on the television they consider it unfit for public consumption.
Oh, and it also tends to be a major turn-off if it actually tastes of something

Its not only that though - I find a lot of my Irish friends are very unyielding on everything they consume and completely balk at trying something new. Same goes for beer a lot of them would prefer to drink something they like the taste of other than drop a few euro on something that they may not like.

Dont understand it personally, even if what I try tastes like fermented leper's arse I like to know that i've tried it.

[BeerNut]

It's a number of interrelated reasons. One is the consolidation of the market: the Big Two managed to get into a dominant market position years before the beer-drinking public became concerned about quality or variety. As a result they now have a massive amount of leverage and can make life very difficult for anyone trying to break into the market. They have a powerful grip on both the retailers and the customers because they can afford to discount at will, offer all manner of incentives, and advertise heavily.

The other big issue is the licensing regime. In countries with lots of microbreweries -- Canada too, I'm sure -- it's possible to apply to a local authority to be granted a licence to serve beer. You can't do that in Ireland. You have to buy an existing licence on a private marketplace which guards the price very closely, since it's a pension scheme for lots of holders. The licensees also have the political backing to maintain the status quo. The upshot of this is when you've decided to go into the pub trade, the overheads you've paid out are enormous before the first pint is served. You need to get as many people in as possible, and get them drinking beer with good margins on them. The risks associated with stocking beer from smaller breweries -- where marketing is less and supply might not be constant -- is too great. So they stick with the safe option of macrobeer.

And then there are other smaller factors, like the red tape Revenue have in place to make setting up a new brewery very difficult. And then there's the unfortunate fact that an awful lot of Irish beer drinkers see beer as a route to intoxication rather than something to be tasted and enjoyed.

[fatboypee]

I wholly agree with all considerations, it is disappinting, the narrow mindedness associated with consumption of food or drink here. Not simply generational either. Where I live, we have seen 2 indian restaurants come and go and the staple diet of 'forrin' food is still chinese (with more than a smack of sweet'n sour chicken balls & chips), the god-send that is the international beer house appears to exist purely to feed an ex-pat and an irish-enlightened(by ex pats) succession of trade, yet, the staple of it's sales still remains the old standby's..

For my money, (returning to topic), the only way different beers will become available, is if people who drink crapwicks are offered a credible alternative (imagine, an ale with a bit of taste ), from there, god & govt' willing, we may see the loosening of licensing (the cafe culture beer bill thingy would've gone someway to letting in some competition methinks) and the emergence of quality micro breweries who have an access to the market that I think is there....

/fbp

[BeerNut]

Originally Posted by fatboypee

the only way different beers will become available, is if people who drink crapwicks are offered a credible alternative

No, that won't work. It's in the interests of the macrobrewers and publicans that this doesn't happen, and they won't want it to. It has to start with the drinker: demanding better beer and drinking it wherever it can be found. Until then, the trade can simply shrug and say "there's no demand for that sort of thing".

Franciscan Well are happy to get their beers out into other pubs, and will assist with rebadging and point-of-sale advertising for any licensee who takes their stuff. Galway Hooker are also willing to distribute, so long as the pub in question isn't too far off their existing delivery route. And Carlow beers are easy to get hold of in bottled form at least. The alternative beers are there, but the drinkers have to demand them.

[fatboypee]

Originally Posted by BeerNut

No, that won't work. It's in the interests of the macrobrewers and publicans that this doesn't happen, and they won't want it to. It has to start with the drinker: demanding better beer and drinking it wherever it can be found. Until then, the trade can simply shrug and say "there's no demand for that sort of thing".

Franciscan Well are happy to get their beers out into other pubs, and will assist with rebadging and point-of-sale advertising for any licensee who takes their stuff. Galway Hooker are also willing to distribute, so long as the pub in question isn't too far off their existing delivery route. And Carlow beers are easy to get hold of in bottled form at least. The alternative beers are there, but the drinkers have to demand them.

Whereas I agree in theory, my gut reaction remains that unless a consensus size of the existing market is exposed to the fact that ales can taste better than what they currently imbibe (aka crapwicks and maybe bass), there will be insufficient leverage behind a revolution...

fbp

[BeerNut]

Originally Posted by fatboypee

unless a consensus size of the existing market is exposed to the fact that ales can taste better than what they currently imbibe (aka crapwicks and maybe bass)

And how do you see this happening? Who should be doing what? How do we take the process beyond this thread?

Also, I'm not sure why you're limiting this to ales, since they're a tiny part of the market. Turn every Smithwick's drinker into a Rebel Red drinker tomorrow and very little will have changed. But have half the people who drink Guinness and Heineken turn to microbrewed beer and then the industry will sit up and take notice.

[fatboypee]

Originally Posted by BeerNut

And how do you see this happening? Who should be doing what? How do we take the process beyond this thread?

Also, I'm not sure why you're limiting this to ales, since they're a tiny part of the market. Turn every Smithwick's drinker into a Rebel Red drinker tomorrow and very little will have changed. But have half the people who drink Guinness and Heineken turn to microbrewed beer and then the industry will sit up and take notice.

Your points are of course very valid, I cannot see this happening for the very reasons you outline (particularly the issue of publican licensing). If it were easier and cheaper to do, I would certainly be in favour of opening a pub myself that caters for just such a market, along with it, I would sell food in the way I have experienced it in country pub style establishments (not gastro pubs as such, but a good balance). To live, to hope, to dream maybe..... but in short, I have no answers, merely observations which, are pretty useless I will admit...

FBP

[The Agogo]

isnt there already a pub that sells <i>only</i> micro brewed beers called the Porterhouse?

They do alot of good brews (and absolute sh*te aswell, such as "oyster stout" which tastes like grass and lynx).

And they refuse to sell Heino, Bud, etc.,

[mayordenis]

Originally Posted by The Agogo

isnt there already a pub that sells <i>only</i> micro brewed beers called the Porterhouse?

They do alot of good brews (and absolute sh*te aswell, such as "oyster stout" which tastes like grass and lynx).

And they refuse to sell Heino, Bud, etc.,

They don't only sell micro brewed beers.
They sell a fairly wide range of beers from around the world aswell.
Oyster stout is great - your description of it is not.

[oblivious]

Originally Posted by The Agogo

isnt there already a pub that sells <i>only</i> micro brewed beers called the Porterhouse?

They do sell there own and a range of international beers, also there is Messrs Maguire

[Dob74]

The beer tastes nice from mirco breweries but it gives me a terrible hang-over. It also makes me go a little crazy too. If you are in cork and you would like to try one, go to the Francisian Well on the North Mall.