The Final Draft > The Oldest and Most Interesting Beer Breweries in Ireland
The Oldest and Most Interesting Beer Breweries in Ireland
Brewing in Ireland has a long and fascinating history, dating all the way back to prehistoric times when ancient tribes would brew a primitive kind of beer from malted barley and water. Some archaeologists believe that fulacht fiadh (Ireland’s bronze age ‘cooking pits’) might even be Ireland’s oldest breweries!
Without hops, which weren’t introduced to Ireland until the 1600s, Bronze Age ales and beers would have been a far cry from the beverages we know and love today. But the practice persisted, so we can only assume that ancient celts got what they needed from their home brews.
As time passed, and our access to new ingredients and technology improved, so too did the brewing process. By the Middle Ages, brewing was the domain of monks - in fact our very own Smithwick’s Brewery was once a Franciscan Abbey – and they started to produce a much wider range of beers and ales.
But brewing really began to take off in the 1700s (starting right here in Kilkenny), and it was at this time that breweries began to open and start producing beers, ales, and stouts for both domestic consumption and export. By the mid-1800s, there were almost 200 breweries operating all over the island of Ireland, and we were making a name for ourselves as producers of high-quality beers on a global scale.
Let’s look at three of Ireland’s oldest breweries, from their beginnings through to how they’re doing today.
Smithwick’s Brewery, Kilkenny - 1710
Founded on the site of a Franciscan Abbey where monks had been brewing their concoctions for centuries before us, John Smithwick set up Ireland’s very first wholly dedicated brewery. His operation was veiled in secrecy at the time, as restrictive penal laws of the time forbade him from owning the land.
It was here, in anonymity, that he developed the red ale that is now known the world over. When the penal laws were finally lifted and the Smithwick family were finally able to claim public ownership of the brewery, he had already won the hearts, minds, and palates of the people of Kilkenny and beyond.
The brewery stopped brewing in 2013, when production was moved up to St James Gate in Dublin, but the brewery has a new role now, as the Smithwick’s Experience you can come and enjoy today.
Guinness Brewery, Dublin - 1759
In 1759, Arthur Guinness had the incredible foresight to sign a 9,000-year lease for Dublin’s St. James’s Gate Brewery. Here, he first started to brew ales before developing the black stout that was to eventually become as iconic a symbol of Ireland as the harp, the flag, and the colour green.
Although not the oldest brewery in Ireland, Guinness’ soon became the largest - and not only in Ireland but in the world. By 1886, the brewery was producing some 1.2 million barrels in a year. The site has been expanded since the 1700s and is still a fully operational brewery - but it’s also now home to the Guinness Storehouse, with its seven-floor museum and Gravity Bar, where you can sip a pint with a panoramic view over Dublin city.
Beamish Brewery, Cork - 1792
Cork’s Beamish & Crawford brewery was established in 1792 and crafted its own stout that became a firm favourite throughout Munster for its creamy texture, its slightly sweeter profile compared to Guinness, and its status as a good local brew that bolstered and boosted the local economy.
At one time it was the largest brewery in Ireland, producing around 100,000 barrels annually at the height of its success in the early 1800s. Though the original site closed in 2009, Beamish’s legacy lives on in Cork, particularly in the South County Bar in Douglas, which was once a brewery pub, owned by Beamish and Crawford.