• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Advertise
  • About Craft Brewing Business

Craft Brewing Business

Professional Insight, Unfiltered

  • News
  • Business & Marketing
  • Ingredients & Supplies
  • Packaging & Distribution
  • Equipment
  • Webinars & White Papers
  • COVID-19

World of Beer Craft: Here’s your update on the Irish craft beer market

October 12, 2016Keith Gribbins

Irish ireland flag drops
Let us grow our American/Irish bonds via beer.

The most reliable rule if you want to drink like an Irishman is to stick to stout. While that’s still a pretty reliable rule, the Irish inclination to try new beers and new beer categories is growing. While stouts and lagers still rule the sales of beer in Ireland, craft breweries and a variety of ales and other exotic brews are beginning to pop up all over the Emerald Isles. According to Ireland’s Food Serve Platform (a solid resource for those involved with Ireland’s food service sector):

According to the latest Bord Bia report, the Irish craft beer market continues to grow domestically and internationally with 62 microbreweries now operating in Ireland, and craft beer representing 2.5% of total beer consumption in Ireland, projected to rise to 3.4% in 2016. That amounted to sales of €40m in 2015 and projected sales of €59 in 2016.

You can compare the Irish market to the 12-percent market share for craft beer in America. Unsurprisingly, the Irish have a lot of the same hurdles as American beer entrepreneurs — namely distribution in a market that’s been monopolized by Big Beer for some time. Here’s a fun example: Heineken Ireland was recently accused of selling “low-volume high-quality draft products” at a number of Irish outlets under local craft beer names. Criminal, right? Unfortunately, we could see that same sort of stuff happening here in America or anywhere else for that matter. So what sets an Irish craft beer apart from these corporate ne’er-do-wells? Back to the article:

Reuben Gray, Chair of Beoir, the Irish Craft Beer Consumers Association, says: “We use the same definition as Revenue: an independently owned microbrewery, not owned by any larger brewery, producing less than 30,000 hectolitres per annum.”

Responding to the statements from Heineken and C&C Gleeson, Gray said: “We as the beer consumers organisation in Ireland would definitely welcome these clarifications because it clears up certain misgivings and misinformation that have been in the public domain. We welcome transparency from all brewers. It’s only from false provenance and when we don’t know where a beer is coming from that it becomes an issue. When the consumer sees a Bheanntraí Brú, they are not making an informed choice. Who knows where it comes from? It could come from Heineken in Cork or any part of the world. The independents are not competing on a level playing field, especially when it comes to sales and marketing budgets, they don’t even come close. This type of thing creates further imbalance and confusion. It skews the line.”

Meanwhile, according to the Brewers Association’s latest numbers (released in March), Sweden, Ireland and the United Kingdom each took a market share of approximately 10 percent when it came to buying U.S.-brewed craft beer exports. The numbers suggest there’s an opportunity for both Irish and American craft brands to satisfy customers in the U.K. market — if locals can level that playing field Gray mentions above.

beer pipe politician tap turning off cbb crop
Brewers Association releases craft brewing production report for 2020, volume and market share down
GABF medals
Great American Beer Festival canceled, awards ceremony to take place at Craft Brewers Conference in September
Craft Brewers Conference attendees
Craft Brewers Conference rescheduled for Sept., moves from San Diego to Denver, may go online as a backup
Brewers Association photo long
Brewers Association launches Mentorship Program aimed at increasing industry diversity

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Rossire84 says

    October 13, 2016 at 5:50 pm

    RT @CraftBrewingBiz: World of Beer Craft: Here’s your update on the Irish craft beer market. https://t.co/pOyCWwTHR2 https://t.co/OrwtNS5Ocy

    Log in to Reply
  2. BeerPadawan says

    October 13, 2016 at 12:41 pm

    RT @CraftBrewingBiz: World of Beer Craft: Here’s your update on the Irish craft beer market. https://t.co/pOyCWwTHR2 https://t.co/OrwtNS5Ocy

    Log in to Reply
  3. VicinityBrew says

    October 13, 2016 at 11:12 am

    RT @CraftBrewingBiz: World of Beer Craft: Here’s your update on the Irish craft beer market. https://t.co/pOyCWwTHR2 https://t.co/OrwtNS5Ocy

    Log in to Reply
  4. margaretadams_ says

    October 13, 2016 at 11:03 am

    RT @CraftBrewingBiz: World of Beer Craft: Here’s your update on the Irish craft beer market. https://t.co/pOyCWwTHR2 https://t.co/OrwtNS5Ocy

    Log in to Reply
  5. Jared Read says

    October 12, 2016 at 4:36 pm

    Jared Read liked this on Facebook.

    Log in to Reply
  6. KCHopTalk says

    October 12, 2016 at 3:17 pm

    The Irish inclination to try new beers and new beer categories is growing https://t.co/6uRmf8iEFw

    Log in to Reply
  7. crsimp01 says

    October 12, 2016 at 3:10 pm

    World of Beer Craft: Here’s your update on the Irish craft beer market 2016 https://t.co/DwN18FHxCC via @craftbrewingbiz

    Log in to Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Primary Sidebar

Latest News

  • Ohio’s Catawba Island Brewing plans major expansion, renovated taproom, new beers and way more capacity
  • Mass. Franchise Law UPDATE: Judge denies Atlantic’s injunction, Jack’s Abby heads to arbitration
  • Georgia’s StillFire Brewing is now accepting Bitcoin
  • Check out Briess’ new website, then enjoy this Journey of Malt video series, showing how barley goes from seed to malt

Sign up for our newsletter

unsubscribe from list

Most Popular Today

Recent Features

  • brewing lawsuitMass. Franchise Law UPDATE: Judge denies Atlantic’s injunction, Jack’s Abby heads to arbitration
    April 8, 2021
  • Check out Briess’ new website, then enjoy this Journey of Malt video series, showing how barley goes from seed to malt
    April 8, 2021
  • beer healthy glass dumbell working out excercise-001The Beer Flow: better-for-you beer growing, tap volume climbing and RTDs accelerating
    April 6, 2021
  • craft beer sales trendCraft beer sales trends in March: Sours, 16-ouncers trending up, says Tavour
    April 6, 2021
  • Growler-decisionsWatch: Rep. Jim Nash interviews Minnesota craft breweries, shedding light on the state’s useless growler sales cap
    April 5, 2021
  • Brewers Space Guild launches today, pick up some merch
    April 1, 2021

Footer

  • Email Newsletter Sign Up
  • About Craft Brewing Business
  • Contact Us
  • Advertise on Craft Brewing Business
  • Media Kit Download
  • Privacy and Terms

© 2021 · CBB Media LLC

Continue ...

sponsored by