Supporting craft breweries

Bar I work in in Limerick city centre. Most would be in a similar price range in town.

Got to visit Underdog yesterday for the first time in the new location. Nice! Gotta love a pub with more types of imperial stout (4, I think) than lager (a pils and a Helles)!

Good to know. They'll be excellent quality so. great to ahve another local brewery. They could definitely work on the label design a little but I can't wait to taste them.

Afaik, Declan was asked to be technical advisor to set up the brewery and ended up helping out with brewing. He's due down tomorrow so will find out.

Finn Valley

Old Mill

Muckish Mountain

Evans

Boghopper

Donegal had seen a fair share of breweries come and go? Or is it pretty much the same as most counties?

Didn't realize Yellowbelly were gone as some of their beer is still around. Really liked their stuff as they were into doing interesting non pale/IPA beer.

I could be wrong but I think Limerick was Treaty, JJ's and then Crew in that order with no closures. A pretty manageable amount for what should be one of the bigger markets in Ireland.

Mostly seems to be in offies. Number 21 in Punches has it and Off the Bone restaurant.

Definitely still going anyway.

YB's website won't connect for me and their Twitter hasn't been posted on in months.

Late 2019 I was grabbing a few Citra off the shelf in my local Molloys and a staff member told me that was the last batch of YB stock they'd be getting in - they were concentrating on the pub trade from then on. Seemed a very odd decision and of course it wasn't long before Covid forced a reversal. Ironically they're now in places like Dunnes which they never were in the Before Times. Don't recall seeing anything from them not core range in a long time though.

Yeah would have to agree, I regularly pick up some Jaipur in lidl for a break from the haze

I picked up some Dankful, Torpedo and (with some trepidation) some Cold Torpedo last evening, along with some Scraggy and Handsome Jack.

Scraggy and HJ are probably around the same IBUs. But may as well be pale ales compared to the SN stuff.

I'll do a side by side with the two Torpedos later this evening probably.

I wouldn't claim to be an expert, but wouldn't WW Mammoth another contender?

Picked up some Stony Grey from Brehon Brewhouse over weekend. Another one to add to the list of piney resinous no haze IPAs that we really need to start seeing more of!!

Whiplash seem very quiet these days, especially compared to their hectic release schedule of days gone by.

Galway Bay still haven't released their 2022 barrel aged big boys, despite their being at beer festivals they seem to be at according to Instagram.

I was just thinking this as well. I know Jan is a quiet time in general for new releases from Irish brewers but it definitely seems more quiet so far in Feb compared to this time last year. I guess time will tell as we move into March/April but it does seem like the several new beers every week from various brewers might be a thing of the past due to costs/inflation/economic downturn etc.

Same. And I've noticed all my friends have more or less stopped stocking-up and drinking 1/2 cans a night, in favour of going out one big night at the weekend.

I don't understand why none of them have done this - apart, possibly, from the hope that IPAs wouldn't catch on because they're more expensive to make? Cute Hoor was a sugary mess, the Smithwicks non-red ales I've had once each and wondered what they're trying to do and why they bothered. Still, I guess it's a good thing overall that they haven't, there's then still a gap in the market for the craft breweries!

They tried and we're useless at it so instead just bought out the likes of Fran Well, Beavertown and Camden.

Generally though in Ireland things like IPA and pale are still only drank by people who know the breweries. Also to use Limerick as an example macro won't do well because most decent pubs have Harris on draught which will even appeal to people who don't know breweries. So buying breweries or massive retros to exclude micro are the only way to go.

A lot of pubs for various reasons don't really care what they sell. Guinness for the auld locals or Heineken for the match nights is all they need.

You also have a woeful amount of talentless publicans in Ireland that need to be spoonfed. They literally would not be able to cope with ordering from and working out GPs for craft beer never mind being able to clean the lines themselves or knowing why thats important.