“We want to bring taste and flavor back into beers”; the O’Haras told me at the festival. This is certainly something that I experienced at the event.
In its fifth year, the Irish Craft Beer Festival has expanded from just 13 brewers to over 50. We got there pretty early, at 12.30, so it wasn’t packed to the brim yet. Juggling a beer glass, drinks tokens and my camera, I crossed the threshold into the all too familiar RDS. This was the same hall in which I had sat for many college exams. But instead of the scribbling of pen to paper and the ominous ticking of the clock, my ears were filled with the sound of traditional Irish music.
These family companies hearken back to the Irish traditions around which our little Emerald Isle is based.
Our first stop was “O’Brother Brewing”, a company started in 2013 that consists of three brothers: Brian, Padhraig and Barry O’Neill . Brian explained how the company started out with a 25 litre container in their father’s shed, and how they have expanded their business since then. This was their second year at the festival, and they have also had stands at the Cork and Killarney beer festivals.
Brian described their beers as “bold, flavorful, and exciting”. I tasted the “The Fixer”, a red ale that he offered me. It was on draft, and was reddish brown in color. It was like Halloween night in Dublin. The air is fresh and crisp, the smell of pine wood and burning fills your nostrils, while fireworks and laughter serve as a distant background noise. “The Fixer” did not have a bad aftertaste and its appeal remained consistent to the very last drop.
The dry cider from “Toby’s Handcrafted Cider” was very light, summery and fresh. It had a welcome tang as an aftertaste, but it got a bit too sweet towards the end. Nonetheless, I could actually taste the apples. It seems strange that it was shocking that, momentarily, I couldn’t fathom being able to experience the true ingredients of a product, without all the additives and chemicals.
As the economy is gradually picking up, we should be investing in our home brands.
The majority of the brewers at the festival are relatively new and have only been around for a few years. However, “O’Haras”, based in Carlow, started their business in 1996. In this regard, they are pioneers in their craft. They described how they were ahead of their time when they started, because there were no importers and no distributers. Since their beginnings, they have grown to be one of the biggest craft beer producers in Ireland.
As the O’Haras explained, “every company starts off as a family”. This seemed to be a theme at the festival, as so many companies were made up of husband-wife teams, siblings, or whole families. These family companies hearken back to the Irish traditions around which our little Emerald Isle is based. In keeping with this, Brian O’Neill described how, years ago, “every street corner had its own brewery”. It was clear from both “O’Haras” and “O’Brother Brewing” that they really cared about beer and their product. It was quite heartwarming and refreshing to be in a room full of passionate people.
When asked about why students should buy craft beer, over the commercial brands, the O’Haras stated that they would be supporting Irish companies with beers filled with Irish ingredients, which are “people focused companies” that are “in touch with their beers”. This should serve as an overall incentive for the public to buy craft beer in Ireland. As the economy is gradually picking up, we should be investing in our home brands. Craft beer is ultimately, and inevitably, still the minority in most pubs. One of the brewers said that, if you’ve got 12-15 taps, chances are that only 2 of them will be craft beer. After talking to brewers and tasting beers, the next time I go into a pub I know that I will be trying a craft beer. Although I won’t always have the available funds, I know that I will be paying for the quality of the beer.
“Quality” and “tradition” were on everyone’s lips at the festival. After trying a lot of different beers and ciders, I can firmly state that you can taste the difference. For each one, I could taste the amount of care and passion that had gone into it. This is difficult to say of the majority of the commercial beer and cider brands.
The O’Haras are strong believers that there is a definite future in Irish craft beer and that there is a solid potential for growth. We can only wait to see how much this industry will have developed by next year’s festival. In the meantime, Brian O’Neill imparted a piece of wisdom for any Irish graduates and anyone hoping to get into the business: “Believe in your product”. These four words of advice can serve as a source of inspiration to any Irish start-ups and, indeed, global ones. Now is the time for Irish craft beer, and I would urge everyone to try it.
