Supporting craft breweries

I'm fairly sure previous boxes have had a cider also.

Bit disappointed to see the hard seltzer from Green Cheek, they are renowned for their IPAs. Also Wide Street with one of their most run of mill offerings. Other than that looks great, can't wait to try them

Good to see this being called out. The practice is all too common, though, and not just festivals, it's one-off concerts too. As all of these need a licence to operate, maybe that's the way it could be tackled - a "non-exclusivity" clause, or something?

It's interesting, I'm on the periphery of Electric Picnic's target audience. I don't like festivals (but if the right acts were playing, then who knows!) but my kids are of the age to be going and they've been to EP. I listen to the radio a lot, especially Today FM, the "official EP station", and this article is the first I've heard about Heineken being the headline sponsor.

I think it's just making this guy look a bit stupid to be honest.

We all know the big festivals, stadiums and venues have exclusivity deals and we all know why.

If this guy thought he could open a brewery and operate at Electric Picnic he really doesn't know much about the industry he is after getting involved with.

Early EPs had independent bars.

There could be both.

I wonder will Heineken allow a small Ballykilcaven stand to operate for the sake of PR.

I think he knows the industry - look at the publicity he's got pointing out EP banging on about sustainability, while a multiple winner of sustainability awards from 2.5km away is locked out!

Having someone complain about the obvious certainly wouldn't full me with confidence about a place or have me running to it. But then I I don't believe in the idea of "no such thing as bad publicity"

I wonder how many craft breweries would sell Heineken in the same spirit of openness.

Fair play to him. I think there should be legislation brought in to guarantee a minimum (small) percentage of independent/local suppliers for major events/festivals.

The other side of it is that were independants allowed to set up stall, the cost of the pitch would be so high that making money might be extremely difficult!

Same as I suspect some of the smaller food suppliers struggle to cover the huge costs associated with doing business at festivals!

Then the exclusivity option is offered?

Is Guinness a local producer for Dublin and Heineken for Cork for instance.

It was nice to see the food and drink on site and for the closing ceremony for the Tag Rugby World Cup in Limerick was from Treaty City and Wickham Way market.

I'm going to try dig up the NINETEEN SIXTIES state document I found claiming that the big breweries in Ireland - there were only three then as now, but a slightly different lineup of Guinness Limited (who even owned Bulmers from 1961-67), Murphys and Beamish were acting in a manner that was "anticompetitive but not illegal".

That still defines the sales tactics of the big three now, plus MolsonCoors; albeit Heineken appear to be much more aggressive in that manner than the others are and Diageo the least. Outside of an occasional concert I've not seen a Diageo-only or Diageo-with-one-single-other bar but I've been in plenty of Heineken only and MolsonCoors only bars; mostly with a solitary Guinness tap to satiate those drinkers and also claim its not just one brewery.

I suspect Diageo are the one most likely to potentially be done for abuse of a dominant position and hence can't be as aggressive, whereas the other two-and-a-bit big breweries can get away with whatever they want and point to Diageo's market share as cover.

60 years and nothing changes.

Amex has two local independents - Harvey's and someone else, it was Dark Star when they were indie, and still existed - plus nearly always a local independent or craft to the visiting teams area. This is despite being a Heineken stadium otherwise.

Underdog at the top of Capel Street or possibly Drinkstore on Manor Street.