RIP Beamish and Crawfords

Beer has been brewed on the Beamish and Crawfords site since 1650. Beer used to be a product like wine, with every region/ town having its own brews. From the 1960s, they have been eaten up by the likes of Diageo / Heineken and disappeared without a trace. In the UK the Campaign for Real Ale fought back hard as local pubs and breweries were shut down, and there was a reverse trend to microbreweries and pub breweries. 120 jobs are going in Cork, and presumably a unique beer. Down with this sort of thing.

Thanks to finfacts for the photo and report here -

http://www.finfacts.ie/irishfinancenews/article_1015455.shtml

cactus flower wrote:

Beer has been brewed on the Beamish and Crawfords site since 1650. Beer used to be a product like wine, with every region/ town having its own brews. From the 1960s, they have been eaten up by the likes of Diageo / Heineken and disappeared without a trace. In the UK the Campaign for Real Ale fought back hard as local pubs and breweries were shut down, and there was a reverse trend to microbreweries and pub breweries. 120 jobs are going in Cork, and presumably a unique beer. Down with this sort of thing.

I think something like beer or anything really can either be produced at an economic level or it can’t, there is nothing stopping someone from producing a local beer, particularly in somewhere like Cork where local loyalties are usually very strong, we all know this.
The problem as I see is we all look for someone else to do it.

Nope, nothing stopping anybody except health and safety and general food production regulations. Perhaps what cactus refers to in the UK is what will happen here too, a new generation of Irish brews. Would suit me down to the ground, particularly if they are at a decent price.

Can't remember the Dub Pub which makes the one below. Microbreweries. I think there is some popping up in Cork now too.

I had a visit to Beamish & Crawford when I was young. Then drank Beamish in Cork when old and in Cork. Lately Beamish was creeping into the Dublin diet I noticed as a good pint of Guiness was increasingly hard to find. I had to try seven pubs one day after school to get a good pint and still wasn't satisfied.

But yeah, beer loyalties seem to get roots fairly quickly and very soon you're a Beamish, Murphy's (blech) or Guinness man. I think in England there is a brewery in every pub.

Diageo and now Heineken have systematically reduced choice for drinkers in Ireland over the last forty years. Beamish will survive as a drink for now but experience teaches that choice in ales or stouts in Ireland contracts. Anyone remember the last time that they saw Macardles on tap? Bass, even?

There is a future for craft beer in Ireland if punters are willing to support beers rather than keep falling back onto "Bud" or "Heino".

I know a place in Drumcondra that serves Bass....

Auditor #9 wrote:

Can't remember the Dub Pub which makes the one below. Microbreweries. I think there is some popping up in Cork now too.

I had a visit to Beamish & Crawford when I was young. Then drank Beamish in Cork when old and in Cork. Lately Beamish was creeping into the Dublin diet I noticed as a good pint of Guiness was increasingly hard to find. I had to try seven pubs one day after school to get a good pint and still wasn't satisfied.

But yeah, beer loyalties seem to get roots fairly quickly and very soon you're a Beamish, Murphy's (blech) or Guinness man. I think in England there is a brewery in every pub.

The Porterhouse makes that beer. They make a lot of their own stuff, and it's a bit cheaper than the mainstream brands. Same with Messrs Maguires.

Messrs is a nice pub, not too fond of the Porterhouse. I tend not to go to the pub in town too much though, sometimes drop into the Duke or the President's Bar at the Davenport.

As I said elsewhere, the role of the Competition Authority in sanctioning Heineken's takeover of the brewery has to be questioned. Once they said yes to Heineken, the end was nigh for the brewery. The Competition Authority knew this. I just hope that the site doesn't end up in UCC's hands for more Stalinist apartments...

Why don't the 120 form a co op and brew their own stout. Call it OLLFEIN and away they go. Let them borrow 100000 on their houses and put their balls where their mouth is. 12 million should get the show on the road. This crying has to stop. That country needs to wake up and smell the yeast pretty soon

Get brewing lads !

We'll do the drinking

I'm thinking of homebrewing. Probably won't be able to do it until the summer, I'll see how things go.

Homebrewing was a brief fad back in the eighties. Poisonous swill

youngdan wrote:

Homebrewing was a brief fad back in the eighties. Poisonous swill

Did you give it a try then youngdan ?

My new years resolution is to get homebrewing some dark ale.

Two fingers to the Depression!

I drank everything that flowed. I rarely partake anymore.

youngdan wrote:

I drank everything that flowed. I rarely partake anymore.

You never even have a pint in the Sibín Reoite either - Where everybody knows your name

That why I don't go in. Either Ibis, the lad on the uniform or Batman would be out to get me. The rest would be cheering wildly

cactus flower wrote:

Beer has been brewed on the Beamish and Crawfords site since 1650. Beer used to be a product like wine, with every region/ town having its own brews. From the 1960s, they have been eaten up by the likes of Diageo / Heineken and disappeared without a trace. In the UK the Campaign for Real Ale fought back hard as local pubs and breweries were shut down, and there was a reverse trend to microbreweries and pub breweries. 120 jobs are going in Cork, and presumably a unique beer. Down with this sort of thing.

Thanks to finfacts for the photo and report here -

http://www.finfacts.ie/irishfinancenews/article_1015455.shtml

It's a sad week that the creamiest, tastiest, stout on the planet will be homogenised under the Diageo brand. Even if you care nothing about the tradition, diversity is important in an economy and in most products. But especially most of all, hic,in alcohol!

I also noted that the Echo's editorial on the day of the closure was a mealy mouthed puff piece about 'economic efficiency', and how everything will be rosy under the new coalesced Heineken brand, typical corporate media claptrap.

evercloserunion wrote:

I'm thinking of homebrewing. Probably won't be able to do it until the summer, I'll see how things go.

Never tried it. Is there an easy stout recipe? Not that I'm a fan of stout or anything but how do they get it so black?

I'm not sure, I wouldn't mind looking into it though I'm not stout's biggest fan either. Most of the beginner recipes seem to be for various types of ale.

I heard it's black because it gets burned or is that an urban myth.

The Crystal Lounge on Gilabbey Street had the best pint of Beamish before the pub was taken over by bikers. Or the Tower Bar. £1.20 a pint while I was alive.

God this is sad. I left Ireland about two years ago and hought I left strict instructions for nothing to be moved or changed until I came back.

As far as I can see Beamish will continue as a brand but will be made at the same site as Murphys. Presumably in a couple of yeatrs it will be run down as a brand in the hopes of murphys taking their share of the market. Either way its sad, the micro brewry phenomenon has surely shown that lots of different brands can exist side by side.

As for home brewing - done correctly by someone who has invested in proper gear its pretty decent. A NZ friend of mine reckons he can accurately replicate any beer he wants and is supposed to be doing up a batch of smithwicks for me. In college we went for potency/quantity over quality - an extra bag of suger usually resulted in some serious rocketfuel which was pretty hard to keep down.

shutuplaura wrote:

God this is sad. I left Ireland about two years ago and hought I left strict instructions for nothing to be moved or changed until I came back.

As far as I can see Beamish will continue as a brand but will be made at the same site as Murphys. Presumably in a couple of yeatrs it will be run down as a brand in the hopes of murphys taking their share of the market. Either way its sad, the micro brewry phenomenon has surely shown that lots of different brands can exist side by side.

As for home brewing - done correctly by someone who has invested in proper gear its pretty decent. A NZ friend of mine reckons he can accurately replicate any beer he wants and is supposed to be doing up a batch of smithwicks for me. In college we went for potency/quantity over quality - an extra bag of suger usually resulted in some serious rocketfuel which was pretty hard to keep down.

How are the beers down under, Shutuplaura?

They are alright in fairness. I like lager but I'm getting fairly sick of it becasue thats practically all they seem to drink. Though that said there is a fairly wide variety of different types and some of them are very good. Coopers are probably considered the best but its a small brewrey and they are that bit more expensive - and hard to find on tap. Carlton Union Brewries beers in general are fairly good for a large brewry - they do VB, Carlton Draught and Crown, all massive in Melbourne. I actually think Sydneysiders have it rough in that regard, their local brew is Toohys and not as nice in my experience.

I'm going through a major craving for stout phase at the moment and tried Coopers bottles stout over the weekend and was pleasantly surprised I have to say. Perhaps its a sign my standards are slipping but there is a few pubs that do a decent Guinness, some oven know to do the two step pour, tilt the glass thing. Haven't found anything comparable to Smithwicks/Bass though, and that was my tipple of choice back home.