Supporting craft breweries

Hodors Appletart

that will be Bu's second involvement in a merger, having previously merged with Carrig - in that instance wasn't Carrig the brand swallowing Bru, but kept the Bru branding.

I'm not sure this is good news for punters/choice

L1011

In the before-times, your average GBB or Bru Hospitality bar had more choice on the taps than nearly anyone else. Currently GBB bars have very little non GBB product but that's due to reduced customer capacity I'd presume.

irish_goat

Bit of info here about the merger. https://www.businesspost.ie/hospitality/dublin-pub-group-merges-with-galway-bay-brewery-a46a831e

Plans to have 25 pubs in 3 years (9 more). I've wondered if they'd open a location in Derry but I figure they'd not be able to charge the prices they'd be after here.

randomname2005

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118034696#Comment_118034696

Interesting. I had no idea Bru had big money behind them. They do a few good beers but would have GBB, White Hag, Dot and others ahead of them in terms of beer quality.

Hopefully the new enterprise succeeds and employs more people than both combined at the moment

Macy0161

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118035446#Comment_118035446

I'd probably rate GBB having better core, but otherwise similar standard for me tbh, in general. I'd like a lot of Brú urban jungle beers (two smoked beers recently helps for me), but the last couple of Cheap Flirts haven't been great quality wise compared to the pre-Lidl days. I still miss Carrig Coalface though - whether it would still stack up at this remove may be a different matter!

I haven't been a city centre drinker for a long time due to work location/ family situation. That's changing if/ when back in the office more regularly, so I was looking forward to more options, so this appears a step backwards but remains to be seen.

L1011

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118035446#Comment_118035446

Bru has Olympia Capital behind them - not sure the exact ownership structures in place.

TaurenDruid

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118041561#Comment_118041561

Not seeing how it's a step backwards? The GBB pubs all have the decent core range but lots of non-GBB taps, too, usually with guest rotation. More of them will give you more choice. The alternative is generic-pub - everything Diageo plus Heineken Lager & Orchard Thieves, or everything Heineken + a Guinness tap.

Macy0161

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118042505#Comment_118042505

I wasn't going with GBB or standard, more in the context of having GBB pubs and Brú pubs. I've fairly limited experience of GBB pubs in recent years - last few times have been the Beer Market pre-gigs, and I don't recall many/ any non-GBB on draft. That was just before Covid, but I appreciate that is probably one of the smaller pubs.

Passenger

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118042665#Comment_118042665

Most of the taps in The Beer Market were/are non-GBB. Out of 20 taps maybe 6 or 7 are GBB in there.

L1011

Its generally well over 50% guest, maybe 75% in their bars. Right now its more like 25% with massively duplicated taps but that has to be down to reduced footfall.

Macy0161

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118042687#Comment_118042687

Fair enough - I was probably using my limited night out to focus on the GBB beers!

the beer revolu

Interestingly, the Bierhaus in Cork is back to serving 30 taps!!

irish_goat

Work already started on The Beer Temple by the looks of it.

dominatinMC

Have to say, it's great to see bars opening for a change. Especially during a pandemic!

L1011

Plenty more recent or coming in Dublin - Hynes, Dudleys, Meaghers, Luckys #3, Dockers, Foxhunter. Pretty much all reopenings but some for 10+ years closed.

dominatinMC

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118050083#Comment_118050083

Great to hear it. Think it's pretty obvious from being out-and-about lately, that there is a lot of pent up demand for pubs, restaurants, etc. Long may it continue

The Buster

Got email from The White Hag today advertising their Clann. I had thought about joining when it was first launched but never did. Thinking about joining now. I know it is a strange time when we are getting back to pubs etc. My drinking at home has reduced but I will get though the 12 a month. I am a fan of most drink styles so dont mind a mix of styles.

Has anyone else joined The Clann - any feedback?

L1011

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118052377#Comment_118052377

When it looked like we were having full normality in July, I guessed there'd be virtually nothing left closed by the end of August.

Obviously with restricted capacity, vaccine certs, reduced office attendance and limited tourists (particularly US ones) there are still pubs that are dependent on specific trade that aren't back open; but the demand for "normal" pub spaces in higher demand areas is such that Dublin could actually hit a new recent peak for pub numbers open.

(The most recent peak would have been late Tiger era - otherwise it was an at times fast decline from 1902 to about 1990 and a slow recovery after that)

flended12

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118054909#Comment_118054909

Clann member here. In fairness it's a tidy set up. Random freebies during the year and guaranteed diverse beers with guest beers thrown in. Also kept in the loop on offers etc before they go public. Dpd delivery and no issues for the last year for me.

DelmarODonnell

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118034823#Comment_118034823

I think this will be good for punters choice. The trend seems to be towards large pub groups in Ireland. The offerings of Independent Irish beer in these pub groups is atrocious or non existent. Press Up are maybe the worst offender, operating like a veritable tied Heineken business but Charlie Chawke/Louis Fitzgerald/Wetherspoons are little better. A rival like GBB/Bru should hopefully provide opportunities for smaller producers to get their beers on tap (as well as GBB/Bru to put their own stuff on show) as well as preventing another bland offering smack bang in the city centre.

TaurenDruid

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118057164#Comment_118057164

I hope so. If anything, things have only gotten worse since lockdown eased. I'm guessing a lot of pubs coming under pressure from Diageo and Heineken - "We helped you out with beergarden furniture and stuff during lockdown, so how about you get rid of that craft tap and put in a Rockshore/Island's Edge tap instead, we'll even give you some kegs."

Used to be able to get Galway Hooker and O'Hara's 51st State in the Horseshow House before a match (and after!); now it's "Pale ale... we have Smithwicks? And Lagunitas?" :-(

Hotblack Desiato

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118056070#Comment_118056070

Seems a bit expensive though, €38 a month for 12 330 beers? How many a month would be core range I can get for 2.50 in my local Molloys?

The Buster

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118057423#Comment_118057423

I had thought about this. I have copied below what the €38 option covers. I dont have a great selection from local shops so buy from Craft Central (even though there online range has reduced alot) so have to pay€5 postage anyways. So it is €33 worth of beer. I accept that if you have a good range in local store the €5 is beer money and adds €0.40 per can

2-4 are the 440ml so they are €3 - €3.50 each. So call that 7 (2*€3.50). €26 for the remaining 10. At €2.60 each works out at much the same cost. And I presume some of the new beers/guest beers are probably slightly more expensive than this. So for me I think the value is ok and have decided I will sign up before end of month.

• 12 fresh beers monthly, delivered in the first week of the month.
• Contains: 1 guest beer, 5 new/seasonal beers, & 6 beers from the core range. Always includes 2 - 4 cans from our new 440ml range
• Each month we aim to bring you one beer from our Clann More, chosen by our brewers from some of our favourite breweries worldwide

L1011

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118057164#Comment_118057164

Louis now pretty consistently has 2+ Rye River taps so there's at least something from outside the big three.

Heineken really are growing their psuedo-tied down here, if I see C&C launching a stout I'll be expecting them to do the same as it's the obvious hole in their lineup (although their beers are extensively low-end) and they are expanding their real tied estate in the UK all the time.

Ties in a restricted market like both jurisdictions here are a disaster

BeerNut

I can't see C&C launching a stout. Even Heineken tied-ish houses carry Guinness, right?

I see more Molson Coors beers around since the re-opening. One of my locals has three Franciscan Well taps, Blue Moon and Madrí Excepcional, which is a lot of MC for one place.

Hotblack Desiato

Island's Edge is from Heineken, isn't it? (A stout for people who don't like stout, a bit like Rockshore is a beer for people who don't like beer...)

....

Had hoped there would be some 440s in Clann all right, that improves the economics a bit, and the inclusion of premium priced guest/limited edition beers improves it some more*. So I'm tempted...

The funny thing is I'm actually off the beer at the moment (voluntarily) so it's a bit of an odd time to be signing up to a beer club!

*provided I like them of course, but I've never tasted a beer I couldn't finish even though I've tasted a fair few I didn't like 😊 I mean, I actually finished the 2nd of the two cans I got of their green Paddy's day beer 😁

L1011

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118058673#Comment_118058673

And Murphy's. And Beamish.

But most of the tied houses have Guinness as the only non Heineken Ireland brewed or imported product.

Would still see anyone looking to push such a tie go and complete their lineup though. C&C are missing premium lagers and imported craft/fraft as well as a stout

Black Sheep

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118054909#Comment_118054909

I was a member and left.

PROS

Couldn't fault the way it ran in terms of delivery, billing, communication and so on.

I imagine it would be very convenient for a busy person or someone with not much variety in their area.

I used the 10% off Clann members get at least once on a bigger case.

CONS

I'm not sure I got any "freebies" that I was impressed with, to be honest.

In the end it came down to the beer selection... I thought I wanted a variety of beers, but every month there would be at least 2 beers I would look at and think "I would never have bought that". Not just the flavoured stouts that people love or hate when it comes to White Hag, but also a lot of the lagers included. So I started to resent the randomness and variety instead of feeling like it was something I liked. In the end, I realised what I actually wanted was mainly a variety of IPAs and the odd stout, and was better curating my own purchases, as a consequence.

The Buster

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118059126#Comment_118059126

The Pro's (especially variety in region) is the reason I am think about it. But your cons are making me think again. Not something I would have considered but I have 3 or 4 cans in the back of the press that will be there to sometime I have no other options. Like what you say I would always look for variety but still drift back to IPA's with the odd stout. Once in a while I will buy an ale or two but they usually end up at back of press. Hmmmm😕

Hotblack Desiato

I decided to give it a go anyway... they seem to have dialled down the pastry stout obsession in recent months for what that's worth...