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State of the craft beer market in Ireland

Started by TheSumOfAllBeers, June 21, 2017, 12:40:02 AM

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Bazza

Completely agree with you, Rich. I'm not advocating the boring or the bland either (which is why you'll never see me at Glastonbury); I'm just saying that in terms of what used to be on offer in terms of craft, or non-macro, we're at least moving in the right direction, albeit in a slow and blandly overcrowded way.

Funny you should mention Pokertree. When the nearest offie to my mum's place in Ballygawley got in some bottles of Pokertree it was a personal Hallelujah moment. Finally something other than the flats of tinned piss. Unfortunately, I'm not down home that often and was the only bugger drinking them, so once they were gone that meant more fridge space for the usual fizzy piss. Supply and demand :(


-Barry
Whatever it is, I'm against it.
― Groucho Marx

Pheeel

Quote from: SlugTrap on June 28, 2017, 11:04:18 AM
But if you have national distribution, it better not be another feckin' 4.2% APA with Cascade, if for no other reason than when there are 6 others like yours, you won't get the shelf space (I've heard this is already happening with retailers.)

I'd murder a good 4.2 APA with cascade. Shame you can't get one :(
Issues with your membership? PM me!

Bacchus

October 10, 2017, 12:52:52 PM #62 Last Edit: October 10, 2017, 03:38:48 PM by johnrm
`ThestateofcraftbeermarketinIreland`...yeahitsinarightstate.Educationisthemainkeyingetting,attheveryleast,decentbeerstreamingthroughthepumps.IcalledintooneoftheBelfastcitycentrepubs,IaskedthebarmanifhehadanyIPAinstock...EFFme...helookedatmeasifIwastheanti-Christ...hehadabsolutelynoideawhatIwasaskingfor.Ifthestaff,andonoccasionsthebarowners,aretotallyuneducatedaboutstyles,tastes,coloursetc,whatchancedothedrinkingpublichave?Now,infairness,thereareafewbarsaround(otherthanTimMartinsestablishments)thatarestartingtostockdecentbeers,butnowherenearenoughandthenwe,asdiscerningale/lagerdrinkersarerelegatedtotheultra-commercial,homogenisedScheisse(thatthoughtmakesmeshiver).Howeverthesebarsarejust,asonepostersaid"Jumpingonthebandwagon"andbuyingintothe`Craftalerevolution,aphrasethatgratesonmebytheway,andthenchargeyouanextraquidoracoupleofeuroextrafortheprivilege...justbecauseitsayscraftaleonthelabel.Inmymind..acraftaleiswhatwedo...ifthelikesofGuinnessetc.doit...thenitscommercialandverylittlecraftworkinvolved.But,(asIstepoffmysoapbox)educationfromthemasterbrewerdowntothepointofsaleismostdefinitelytheanswer.Whichthencanbepassedontoconsumersthathopefullyretainthatknowledgeandcanthenmakeaproperinformedchoice.Anotherplusistheriseofeuropeanimmigrants(i`monlytalkingbeerhere),themajorityofwhichhavetheirowntastesinbeers.IknowatleastadozenPoles,lithiuaniansetcthattotallyrefusetodrinkthelikesofHarpandmostespeciallyTennents(Othercrapbeersareavailable).However,it`sgoodtoseethespringingupofmicro-breweriesaroundandthatonlybodeswellforusbeerdrinkers,providingtheyareproducingqualityalesanddon`tgetlazyorworse...indifferent.Anyway...that`smytwobobsworth.

tipp brewer

In relation to reviewing a beer again as a group, I wonder if we could revamp the idea but with a slightly different slant. Rather than choose a random beer maybe people could suggest a beer they really like. That way there s at least going to be one person likely to give it a positive review. I wouldn't be in favour of ruining anyone s business or reputation. There s actually a bit of research on how things are presented influence the decisions we make. Useful clip in you re into your ted talks or stuck in negative thinking.

It would be great if there was a brave brewer available from whatever beer we re reviewing to defend clarify etc.


Getting stuck in the negatives (and how to get unstuck) | Alison ... 
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=7XFLTDQ4

Hop Bomb

Im going to pipe up here in defense for the smaller brewers.

Holy trinity beers pay peoples salaries & keep breweries going & growing.  One offs & seasonals are the fun stuff.  You need to find the balance between both to keep your trade customers happy with stock on all products & the one & done promiscuous drinker who wants something new every week/month.  This balance is effected by access to equipment & technology.  If you dont make decent beers in the first place (born out of talent, equipment, branding to a certain extent), you wont have repeat customers, thus no capital to invest in more tanks & process improvements to meet demand & better your quality.

There are a lot of owner operated breweries in Ireland.  Small operations without the access to that crucial capital to invest in talent, equipment & technology. Easy get stuck in a rut, get left behind or simply struggle to stay afloat.  There is defo an unwillingness to ask for help & advice on how to make things better. Maybe its a pride thing?  No one likes to see breweries struggling. You are led to believe its a dog eat dog market out there now, but I dont believe thats the case amongst the actual brewers.  A lot of our pro brewers started here on this forum, & havent forgotten that. Most I know would happily share advice on all aspects of process from grain to glass. The thing is, you are rarely asked. 

Look across the pond to UK or USA & see daily hype about Monkish or Cloudwater to name two. Those breweries were multi million quid start ups with talented brewers to back that investment up.  Most of our small breweries here started with leader funding.  Small Irish breweries whose entire startup budget was smaller than the cost of one of those bigger brewers steam boilers.  They are often owned & operated by home brewers. Its a different league & we will get there one day. Until then, do everyone a favour & DM brewers or breweries if you have a flawed beer from them.  Give them the chance to make it better.

On tap: Flanders, Gose,
Fermenting: Oatmeal Brown, 200ish Fathoms,
Ageing: bretted 1890 export stout.
To brew:  2015 RIS, Kellerbier, Altbier.