Irish Craft Beer Festival 8th to 10th September
Next week, for the sixth year running, the Irish Craft Beer Festival returns to the RDS in Dublin from the 8th – 10th September 2016
. The nation’s biggest and best craft beer event will host over 50 breweries boasting over 300 tipples to tantalise your taste buds. Having attracted over 12,000 visitors last year, the organisers are once again predicting a record turn-out of punters to reflect the record number of breweries and cider makers signed up to date.
This year’s line-up consists of over 50 breweries and cider makers – totalling an astounding number of over 300 Irish produced beverages on offer to attendees. In addition to the unparalleled array of Irish product on offer, this year’s organisers are proud to announce the international guest brewery line up of Logan Plant’s Beavertown and Odell’s Brewery from the USA. Guests will be granted unlimited access to brewers, festival special brews, one off collaborations as well as masterclasses featuring Irish top chef, Kevin Dundun and the master of craft in the United States, Doug Odell.
In addition to all of the craic agus ceoil, the event will also play host to the launch of the Independent Craft Brewers of Ireland annual economic report (in association with Bord Bia) as well as the Independent Craft Beer of Ireland symbol. A symbol which will clearly differentiate independent Irish craft beer to from beer disguised as such. The Independent Irish Craft Beer symbol offers reassurance to consumers that the beer they are buying is what it says on the bottle – that the brewery the beer came from is independently owned, small scale, a registered microbrewery as recognised by Revenue, and that the brewer has complete ownership of the brand.
Some interesting figures and fact from this year’s report include:
– The number of Irish micro (craft) breweries has quadrupled in four years – currently sitting at approximately 90 nationwide.
– Total turnover in the industry sat at €40million last year and is anticcipated to grow to ust under €60million this year. This is an eleven fold increase since 2011.
– Based on the 2016 estimates for Irish craft beer production and consumption, the share of craft beer in overall Irish beer production and consumption has risen approximately six fold since 2012.
– The production microbrewing sector has directly created 167 extra jobs in the past year. There are production microbreweries in operation in 23 of the 26 counties
This year’s festival promises to bring visitors an experience that is unrivalled throughout the country. It is the pinnacle of the year within the Irish craft beer and cider industries. For three days, each supplier sets up its own space within the venue and chats with consumers, enjoying discussions about the intricacies of each unique combination of flavours making every individual product stand out from the next.
Breweries and cider makers participating include: Arthurstown Brewing Company, Beaky Dargus, Beavertown, Black Donkey, Blacks, Boyne Brewhouse, Bushmills, Carrig, Dew Drop, Dungarvan, Eight Degrees, Galway Hooker, Hope, Independent, Jack Codys, Killarney Brewing, Kinnegar, Long Meadow, Longueville House, MacIvors Cider, Metalman, Micil Irish Poitin, MONT, Mountain Man, N17, O’Haras, OBrother, Odells, Porterhouse / Dingle, Rascals, Reel Deel, Scotts Cider, St Patricks Distillery, Stationworks, Stonewell Cider, Sullivans Brewing Co, Toby’s Cider, Tom Creans, Trouble, West Kerry, Western Herd, White Hag, Wicklow Brewery and Wicklow Wolf.
The festival also offers a selection of the capital city’s favourite food producers will be cooking up a storm including Jane Russell Sausages, Cillian the Pie Man, Dave’s Wood Fired Pizza and more to be confirmed.
For more information on the festival, log onto http://www.irishcraftbeer