Kegs of an Irish Red for a Sports Club bar?

Sleepy

I help out in the bar of a North Dublin sports club where, to date, we only have Guinness, Heineken and Coors Light on draft. We're seeing more customers requesting craft beers and have always had to direct Smithwicks drinkers to something else so we're investigating the possibility of getting a craft brewed Irish Red Ale in.

Do most of the micro breweries handle their own keg orders or is there a wholesaler that deals with them all? Would they even be interested in the business when it's probable we'd only be likely to need 3 or 4 40l kegs a month or thereabouts?

Finally, what would you recommend? Would prefer to stick with an independent brewer and, if possible, one that produces a range of other styles e.g. an IPA so we could arrange a beer tasting night to launch the new tap for members.

listermint

Franciscan Well Rebel Red,

Get hold of that, i have yet to meet someone who didnt like it.

irish_goat

Best keg red in Ireland is O'Haras, in my opinion. They handle their own deliveries as far as I know. You could also buy a few cases of bottles to try out before committing to getting draught in.

Vanguard are a distribution company with a few micros on board as well. http://vanguardbeer.ie/

oblivious

Sleepy wrote: »

Finally, what would you recommend? Would prefer to stick with an independent brewer and, if possible

For something different (more american hops) on the red front I would recommend Four provinces The hurler

Something traditional: O'Hara's red

BeerNut

+1 for O'Hara's. I've never met listermint but don't really like Rebel Red.

listermint

I'd struggle to chose O Haras over rebel red, What do you guys not like about rebel ?

Lovely Bloke

It's not micro/craft

Sleepy

I was thinking that Carlow Brewing would be the best bet alright and would prefer O' Hara's to Rebel Red myself.

I'd love to go with something more local and while, personally, I really like Wood Key's The Pilgrim, I think it might be a shade too "craft" for the average drinker in this bar.

BeerNut

listermint wrote: »

I'd struggle to chose O Haras over rebel red, What do you guys not like about rebel ?

Rebel is just a bit bland -- it's closer to Smithwick's that way. O'Hara's has a decent bit of hop character, as does Brú Rua. Rebel Red being sneakily brewed in England doesn't help endear it either, of course

limnam

listermint wrote: »

I'd struggle to chose O Haras over rebel red, What do you guys not like about rebel ?

Rebel red is like someones ballygowan fell into your half empty pint of O'Hara's.

testaccount123

Rebel Red is poor.

eyebrows63

I know I,ll probably be shot for saying this
but why not try murphys red or cute hoor red .
Just order it with your Heineken / Coors delivery .

my friend

listermint wrote: »

Franciscan Well Rebel Red,

Get hold of that, i have yet to meet someone who didnt like it.

It's brewed in the UK

nosietoes

5 Lamps Honor Bright is a nice red as well if you want to use a Dublin beer.

Sleepy

eyebrows63 wrote: »

I know I,ll probably be shot for saying this
but why not try murphys red or cute hoor red .
Just order it with your Heineken / Coors delivery .

Because neither is a "craft" Irish beer,I've never been personally impressed with Cute Hoor. TBH, Rebel Red is suffering from the same issue due to it's being brewed in the UK.

The demand we're seeing is mainly for a craft beer, an Irish red ale happens to cover that and the (smaller) demand we see for Smithwicks.

The last part is that if I can influence the decision, I'd like to ensure we're supporting a genuinely independent Irish craft brewery.

5 Lamps could be a good call nosietoes! Might get in a few bottles of their range and the equivalents by O' Haras for a tasting session for the bar committee!

oblivious

Sleepy wrote: »

Because neither is a "craft" Irish beer,I've never been personally impressed with Cute Hoor. TBH, Rebel Red is suffering from the same issue due to it's being brewed in the UK.

Sleepy wrote: »

5 Lamps could be a good call nosietoes! Might get in a few bottles of their range and the equivalents by O' Haras for a tasting session for the bar committee!

Just for discloser 5 Lamps is owned by C&C (Bulmers)

my friend

oblivious wrote: »

Just for discloser 5 Lamps is owned by C&C (Bulmers)

Brewed in Scotland?

testaccount123

my friend wrote: »

Brewed in Scotland?

Its brewed in Dublin 8 AFAIK

blueshed

Brehon killanny red is pretty decent and brewed in Monaghan.

BeerNut

testaccount123 wrote: »

Its brewed in Dublin 8 AFAIK

5 Lamps Lager is brewed at C&C's new brewery in Clonmel but yes I think all the others come from the brewery in Dublin.

Sleepy

Ah, odd how there was no mention of that on their website, eh?

Losty Dublin

O'Hara's is going to be the easiest and safest way to bring in a craft beer. They will supply tap and mini cooler units; they've three tried and trusted keg beers in their Red, IPA and stout; they supply 30 litre kegs; they carry a wide range of bottled beers plus they will supply visual merchandise as well including beer mats and branded glasses. Handiest of all, they distribute in Dublin so getting quick beer from them won't be a problem.

I've no problem taste wise with Rebel Red (Other than there being nicer beers than it ) but I appreciate what others say about it and it's "craft" nature. Still they are an option if you merely want a new beer or two in. Mind you, we can sit here all day throwing beer names at you if you want to play that game :pac:

nosietoes

BeerNut wrote: »

5 Lamps Lager is brewed at C&C's new brewery in Clonmel but yes I think all the others come from the brewery in Dublin.

Didn't realise that! When were they bought out? They still brew other beer just off the South Circular Rd in D8 - round the corner from the Headline. Went on a tour of it a year or 2 back - they were hand bottling at that stage!

my friend

nosietoes wrote: »

Didn't realise that! When were they bought out? They still brew other beer just off the South Circular Rd in D8 - round the corner from the Headline. Went on a tour of it a year or 2 back - they were hand bottling at that stage!

They weren't bought out, they sold out .

BeerNut

nosietoes wrote: »

Didn't realise that! When were they bought out?

They weren't. It's been the arrangement from the start. In 2014 C&C dropped its stake from 92.5% of Five Lamps to 87.5% but I don't think there's been any movement since. If anything the relationship between them has got tighter.

nosietoes wrote: »

they were hand bottling at that stage!

They still are. Except the lager, of course.

Sleepy

Losty Dublin wrote: »

O'Hara's is going to be the easiest and safest way to bring in a craft beer. They will supply tap and mini cooler units; they've three tried and trusted keg beers in their Red, IPA and stout; they supply 30 litre kegs; they carry a wide range of bottled beers plus they will supply visual merchandise as well including beer mats and branded glasses. Handiest of all, they distribute in Dublin so getting quick beer from them won't be a problem.

I think that's the avenue we'll end up going. It's not the most exciting option but it's probably the safest (it's a fairly conservative crowd). My hope is that if this goes well, I can persuade management to put in a "guest beer" tap to offer some more interesting beers.

Koptain Liverpool

Sleepy wrote: »

The demand we're seeing is mainly for a craft beer, an Irish red ale happens to cover that and the (smaller) demand we see for Smithwicks.

Speaking personally, but I think I speak for a lot of craft beer drinkers, it is always somewhat disappointing when the only craft option is an Irish red. It is a boring style of beer for many people.

I reckon go with the advice on O Haras and get the red in for Smithwicks drinkers. But also try and get a pale ale in.

Lovely Bloke

I see your location is Clontarf, care to reveal the sports club?

Harry Byrne's do a pretty good selection of craft on tap, so may be worth dropping in there if you feel like sampling a few different beers.

Sleepy

Koptain, I'd generally prefer an IPA to a red but it's a fairly conservative crowd, I think a red will sell better. Whatever we go with, I'll be trying to get a bottled IPA in as well to test the market for a second craft tap.

Baldy Conscience, I'd rather not, let's just say it's a place where Coors Light is extremely popular so it might be a challenge to move people towards real beer. I've been to Harry Byrnes a few times and have sampled most of their regular beers, very fond of Wood Key's The Pilgrim myself but can't see it having the broad appeal of the likes of O' Hara's.