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Dempsey's Real Ale

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  • 13-09-2017 1:31am
    #1
    Hotblack Desiato
    Registered Users Posts: 34,060 ✭✭✭✭


    I randomly came across this on the RTE player

    https://www.rte.ie/archives/category/lifestyle/2017/0908/903244-new-beer-in-dublin-pubs/

    Does anyone remember seeing this in pubs back then? A real ale brewery in Inchicore in Dublin in 1982. Sadly I can't imagine it lasted long, years ahead of its time. Even when the Porterhouses got going it took years to convince people to try anything that wasn't mass-marketed macro, the conservatism of the Irish beer drinker was (and in many cases still is) legendary :(

    Also an interesting clip here about the last days of the Power's John's Lane distillery

    https://www.rte.ie/archives/category/work/2017/0504/872416-johns-lane-distillery/

    Fingal County Council are certainly not competent to be making decisions about the most important piece of infrastructure on the island. They need to stick to badly designed cycle lanes and deciding on whether Mrs Murphy can have her kitchen extension.



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    #2
    L1011
    Moderators, Business & Finance Moderators, Motoring & Transport Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 67,845 Mod ✭✭✭✭L1011


    Some of the people involved in Dempseys started the Porterhouse later on. There's a short but detailed thread on Beoir about it.

    Most of the first generation of brewers who tries to get in against the Guinness/Heineken Ireland/Beamish lockdown failed - Porterhouse and O'Haras were the only survivors really

    See how few from 1999 are still here

    https://www.irishtimes.com/news/here-with-the-beer-part-1-1.155261

    https://www.irishtimes.com/news/here-with-the-beer-part-2-1.155262


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    #3
    BeerNut
    Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators Posts: 11,789 Mod ✭✭✭✭BeerNut


    There's a lovely photograph in the Porterhouse Temple Bar, at the very far end of the main bar from the front door, of the Dempsey's staff including a young Oliver Hughes and Liam LaHart.

    It wasn't really the big breweries that did for Dempsey's, it was their own customers, the pubs, who refused to pay them. After the same thing did for Liam and Oliver's next venture, Harty's, they decided that getting their own pubs should be the first step before brewing.

    My beer blog | The Twitter | My other beer blog



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    #4
    Losty Dublin
    Registered Users Posts: 13,003 ✭✭✭✭Losty Dublin


    Somebody told me years ago (And it may have been the decent gentleman who ran the antiques shop on Batchelor's Walk and served as the local CAMRA rep. Dave I think was his name.) that the original Porterhouse Red was pretty much Dempsey's with a few tweaks to allow for kegging and draught. As regards the brewery itself, it was in the Goldenbridge Industrial Estate.

    Anecdote; an auld family friend who we referred to as Uncle Arthur worked in the unit beside it and loved the smell of malt that it provided. Close to the end of it's venture and one day he was asked in to fix the internal electrics. There was no cash to pay him for the nixer so he went home with a lot of their beer, all home bottled in any handy vessels.


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    #5
    Hotblack Desiato
    Registered Users Posts: 34,060 ✭✭✭✭Hotblack Desiato


    BeerNut wrote: »
    It wasn't really the big breweries that did for Dempsey's, it was their own customers, the pubs, who refused to pay them.

    What a bunch of low-lifes.

    They wouldn't get away with not paying the big brands or the big distributors, but thought it was OK to steal from a small company.

    Fingal County Council are certainly not competent to be making decisions about the most important piece of infrastructure on the island. They need to stick to badly designed cycle lanes and deciding on whether Mrs Murphy can have her kitchen extension.



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    #6
    L1011
    Moderators, Business & Finance Moderators, Motoring & Transport Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 67,845 Mod ✭✭✭✭L1011


    Hotblack Desiato wrote: »
    What a bunch of low-lifes.

    They wouldn't get away with not paying the big brands or the big distributors, but thought it was OK to steal from a small company.

    The ability to pull a vast range of product if they weren't paid was the main thing the big brands had to ensure they did. I'd imagine there's still issues today.


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    #7
    91wx763
    Registered Users Posts: 523 ✭✭✭91wx763


    I admit to adding to a zombie thread but this might be of interest for the record. https://www.facebook.com/TheMunsterExpress/photos/a.10152051970627202/10152093852362202


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    #8
    POBox19
    Registered Users Posts: 649 ✭✭✭POBox19


    L1011 wrote: »
    The ability to pull a vast range of product if they weren't paid was the main thing the big brands had to ensure they did. I'd imagine there's still issues today.

    As far as I know Diego won’t supply without a debit in place. Effectively they’re paid before a pub can pull a pint.


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    #9
    L1011
    Moderators, Business & Finance Moderators, Motoring & Transport Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 67,845 Mod ✭✭✭✭L1011


    POBox19 wrote: »
    As far as I know Diego won’t supply without a debit in place. Effectively they’re paid before a pub can pull a pint.

    I'd expect Heineken, C&C and maybe even MolsonCoors are able to insist on the same but smaller breweries don't have the clout


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