Ireland

Stout that became a national export, a long dry-county century, and the independent brewers who arrived after it.

115

Breweries

Independent

Macro-owned

Countries

Ireland · 115

What this archive can vouch for

The verification ledger

Every public record here carries a confidence grade, and most carry a source a reader can follow. This is that count, per country — graded A or B means independent or primary evidence, sourced means a followable citation on the record, checked means a person or source confirmed it within the last year. A low number is a research queue, not a secret.

Country	Public records	Graded A/B	Sourced	Checked this year
Ireland	115	48 · 42%	55 · 48%	6 · 5%

Totals as of 2026-10-11 · build 05zohbe

Dublin, Ireland

St. James's Gate Brewery (Guinness)

The great pivot. Arthur started with traditional Dublin ales, then noticed a dark, roasted London import called 'porter.' He abandoned ale entirely in 1799 to perfect the 'black stuff,' eventually…

Conglomerate-ownedGuinness Draught · 4.2%

Mitchelstown, Co. Cork, Ireland

Eight Degrees Brewing

The rarest ending in this archive: a brewery that sold to a multinational and then got itself back. Scott Baigent and Cam Wallace — a New Zealander and an Australian, the name is the latitude line…

IndependentHowling Gale Ale

Cork, Co. Cork, Ireland

Franciscan Well Brewery

Cork's craft pioneer, brewing on the site of a Franciscan monastery well since 1998 and genuinely one of the breweries that started Irish craft. Molson Coors bought it in 2013. Rebel Red still tastes…

Conglomerate-ownedRebel Red

Ballyvourney, Co. Cork, Ireland

9 White Deer Brewery

In the Cork Gaeltacht, brewing bilingually and best known for Stag Saor — a gluten-free range built properly rather than as an afterthought, which almost nobody else was doing in 2013.

IndependentStag Saor

Drogheda, Co. Meath, Ireland

Boyne Brewhouse

A serious packaging operation on the Boyne, built at a scale that suggests ambitions well beyond Meath.

IndependentBoyne Pale Ale

Carrickmacross, Co. Monaghan, Ireland

Brehon Brewhouse

A working dairy farm in Inniskeen — Patrick Kavanagh's parish — where the tasting bar is a pre-famine cottage from 1837. Beer served in a building that predates the Famine, on land the poet wrote…

IndependentShanco Dubh Stout

Ballyhaise, Co. Cavan, Ireland

Bréifne Gael Brewing

New in 2024, naming everything in Irish, in a county that had essentially no brewing. Bréifne is the old kingdom that covered Cavan and Leitrim.

IndependentÓr Dubh Irish Stout

Dungarvan, Co. Waterford, Ireland

Dungarvan Brewing Co.

In the Ring Gaeltacht on the Waterford coast, and cannily positioned on the Greenway — the old railway line turned cycle route that put this stretch of coast back on the map.

IndependentHelvick Gold

Oranmore, Co. Galway, Ireland

Galway Bay Brewery

The cleverest structure in Irish beer: a brewery that also owns the pubs. Galway Bay runs a chain of craft bars across the country, which means it never has to beg a publican for a tap. Of Foam and…

IndependentOf Foam and Fury

Letterkenny, Co. Donegal, Ireland

Kinnegar Brewing

Donegal's flagship, and one of the few Irish breweries with genuine cross-border reach into the North. Rustbucket made a rye ale a normal thing to order in Ireland, which took some doing.

IndependentLimeburner Pale Ale

Sligo, Co. Sligo, Ireland

Lough Gill Brewery

Named for the lake Yeats wrote Innisfree about. A serious canning operation for a town of twenty thousand.

IndependentMacchu Picchu Imperial Stout

Kilcoole, Co. Wicklow, Ireland

O Brother Brewing

O Brother Brewing brews in Co. Wicklow. The full profile — founding, people, beer library, travel — is still to be written.

IndependentThe Chancer

Inchicore, Dublin 8, Co. Dublin, Ireland

Rascals Brewing Company

A taproom and pizzeria in Inchicore, and one of the few Dublin breweries where you can drink the beer in the room it was made in — the city has more brewers than it has places to sit with them.

IndependentHappy Days Pale Ale

Crossmolina, Co. Mayo, Ireland

Reel Deel Brewery

Named for the River Deel that runs through Crossmolina. North Mayo is emptying and a brewery is one of the few things arriving.

IndependentReel Deel Red

Kilkenny, Co. Kilkenny, Ireland

Sullivan's Brewing Co.

Kilkenny is a brewing town that spent decades with its beer made by somebody else — Smithwick's went to Diageo and the brewery closed. Sullivan's revives a name from 1702 in a city that badly wanted…

Single brewerySullivan's Maltings Irish Ale

Kenmare, Co. Kerry, Ireland

Tom Crean Brewery

Named for the Kerryman who survived three Antarctic expeditions including Shackleton's, went home to Anascaul and opened a pub called the South Pole Inn. A brewery named for him is about the least…

IndependentTom Crean Irish Red Ale

Kill, Co. Kildare, Ireland

Trouble Brewing

One of the earlier arrivals of the Irish craft wave, brewing in Kildare since 2009 and still making the case for a hoppy beer in a stout country.

IndependentSabotage IPA

Baltimore, Co. Cork, Ireland

West Cork Brewing Co.

Baltimore is the jumping-off point for Sherkin and Cape Clear, and the beer is named accordingly. Island tourism in a glass.

IndependentSherkin Blonde

Ballyfermot, Dublin 10, Co. Dublin, Ireland

Whiplash Beer

The most exported reputation in modern Irish brewing. Whiplash built a following abroad before Dublin quite caught up, and Rollover is the beer that made a session IPA feel like a statement.

IndependentRollover Session IPA

Redcross, Co. Wicklow, Ireland

Wicklow Brewery

Attached to Mickey Finns, which is the sort of arrangement that keeps a rural brewery alive — the pub sells the beer and the beer fills the pub.

IndependentSt. Kevin's Red Ale

Dublin, Ireland

Forged Dublin Brewery

A stout launched by a fighter, into the one market on earth least likely to be impressed by a new stout. Ireland has Guinness, Beamish and Murphy's, and a home crowd with strong opinions about all…

Single breweryForged Irish Stout · 4.2%

Limerick, Co. Limerick, Ireland

Treaty City Brewery

In Limerick's medieval quarter under King John's Castle, named for the 1691 Treaty of Limerick — a city that has spent three hundred years arguing about a broken agreement now sells beer named after…

IndependentThomond Red Ale

Kilmaley, Co. Clare, Ireland

Western Herd Brewing Co.

A family farm brewery in the middle of Clare, which is dairy country — the herd in the name is not decorative.

IndependentPoint Blank Session IPA

Bagenalstown, Co. Carlow, Ireland

Carlow Brewing Company (O'Hara's)

One of the founding brewers of the modern Irish craft revival, going since 1996 when the entire market was Guinness and everything else was imported. O'Hara's Irish Stout was the first credible…

IndependentO'Hara's Irish Stout

Clonakilty, Co. Cork, Ireland

Clonakilty Brewing Co.

Clonakilty is a West Cork food town famous for its black pudding. A brewery was the obvious next entry on the trail.

IndependentTojo

Dublin 12, Co. Dublin, Ireland

Dublin City Brewing Co.

Dublin City Brewing Co. Brews in Co. Dublin. The full profile — founding, people, beer library, travel — is still to be written.

IndependentLiberty Pale Ale

Glasnevin, Dublin 11, Co. Dublin, Ireland

Third Barrel Brewing

Third Barrel Brewing brews in Co. Dublin. The full profile — founding, people, beer library, travel — is still to be written.

IndependentShut Up Juice · 5.0%

Newtownmountkennedy, Co. Wicklow, Ireland

Wicklow Wolf Brewing Co.

Solar-powered and growing its own hops in the Wicklow hills — one of the few Irish breweries where the sustainability talk is backed by the electricity bill.

IndependentElevation Pale Ale

Killeshin, Co. Laois, Ireland

12 Acres Brewing Co.

Named for the field the barley comes from. Estate brewing in Laois, where the grain does not travel further than the yard.

Independent12 Acres Amber Ale

Stradbally, Co. Laois, Ireland

Ballykilcavan Brewing Co.

A farm that has been in the same family since 1639, now growing its own barley and brewing it on site. Thirteen generations of tenancy and then somebody finally decided to make beer with the crop.

IndependentBawn Irish Pale Ale

Cork, Munster, Ireland

Beamish and Crawford

Cork had two stout breweries arguing with each other and with Dublin for two centuries. Beamish was once bigger than Guinness. The brewery is gone, the brand continues, and the city has one fewer…

ClosedBeamish Irish Stout · 4.1%

Ballinlough, Co. Roscommon, Ireland

Black Donkey Brewing

Farmhouse ales in Roscommon, a county with almost no brewing and a lot of good barley. Sheep Stealer is a saison, which in the Irish midlands counts as a provocation.

IndependentSheep Stealer

Kinsale, Co. Cork, Ireland

Blacks Brewery & Distillery

Started in a garage in Kinsale by a couple who got a homebrew kit as an anniversary present, now a brewery and distillery over the Bandon estuary. Ireland's food capital acquired a drinks industry to…

IndependentKinsale Pale Ale

Killarney, Co. Kerry, Ireland

Killarney Brewing Co.

Built for the Killarney tourist trade at proper destination scale, with a distillery alongside. Devil's Punchbowl is named for the corrie lake above the town.

IndependentKillarney Blonde

Rathcoole, Co. Dublin, Ireland

Lineman Brewing Co.

Lineman Brewing Co. Brews in Co. Dublin. The full profile — founding, people, beer library, travel — is still to be written.

IndependentFrank IPA

Cork, Munster, Ireland

Murphy's Brewery

Order a stout in Cork and specifying which one is a real choice rather than a formality. Murphy's is sweeter and lighter than Guinness, and in its own city it wins. Dublin does not get a vote.

Conglomerate-ownedMurphy's Irish Stout · 4.0%

Celbridge, Co. Kildare, Ireland

Rye River Brewing Company

The commercial workhorse of Irish craft — Rye River brews its own brands and a great deal of what ends up on supermarket shelves under other names. Unglamorous, and quietly one of the biggest…

IndependentSolas Irish Pale Ale

Kilkenny, Ireland

Smithwick's Brewery

Ireland's oldest ale, brewed on an abbey site for three centuries before the kettles moved to Dublin.

Conglomerate-ownedSmithwick's · 4.5%

Longford, Co. Longford, Ireland

St Mel's Brewery

St Mel's Brewery brews in Co. Longford. The full profile — founding, people, beer library, travel — is still to be written.

IndependentSt Mel's Helles

Lisdoonvarna, Co. Clare, Ireland

The Burren Brewery

Behind the Roadside Tavern in Lisdoonvarna, a spa town best known for a matchmaking festival. Trad music, seafood and beer brewed through the wall.

IndependentBurren Red Ale

Ballymote, Co. Sligo, Ireland

The White Hag Brewing Co.

Named for the Cailleach, the hag-goddess of Irish myth, and every beer follows the theme. One of the most internationally visible Irish breweries, out of a Sligo village most people have never heard…

IndependentLittle Fawn Session IPA

Ballyferriter, Co. Kerry, Ireland

West Kerry Brewery

Out on the Dingle peninsula in the Kerry Gaeltacht, brewing since 2008 and labelling in Irish first. About as far west as brewing goes in Europe before the Atlantic takes over.

IndependentCarraig Dubh Porter

Templemore, Co. Tipperary, Ireland

Whitefield Brewery

Organic farmhouse brewing in Tipperary with the agriculture taken as seriously as the beer.

IndependentWhitefield Farmhouse IPA

Wexford, Co. Wexford, Ireland

YellowBelly Beer

Comic-book branding and genuinely good beer out of Wexford — yellowbelly being the old nickname for a Wexford native, which makes the name a local handshake.

IndependentCastaway Pale Ale

Carlingford, Co. Louth, Ireland

Carlingford Brewing Co.

Overlooking Carlingford Lough with the Mournes across the water — a medieval village that does a brisk trade in weekend visitors and now brews for them.

IndependentTáin Irish Pale Ale

Athlone, Co. Westmeath, Ireland

Dead Centre Brewing

Named for Athlone's claim to be the dead centre of Ireland, which the town wears with more humour than most. A brewpub on the Shannon in a place people usually drive through.

IndependentMarooned IPA

, Ireland

Dublin Brewing Company

Microbrewery

Ownership unknownD'Arcy's Dublin Stout

Dundalk, Co. Louth, Ireland

Dundalk Bay Brewery

Dundalk Bay Brewery brews in Co. Louth. The full profile — founding, people, beer library, travel — is still to be written.

IndependentBrew 39 Craft Lager

, Ireland

Hope Beer

Microbrewery

Ownership unknownHop-On Session IPA

, Ireland

Mescan Brewery

Microbrewery

Ownership unknownWestport Blond Beer · 4.8%

, Ireland

Original 7 Beverage Co.

Microbrewery

Ownership unknownRevolution IPA · 5.4%

, Ireland

Black's Brewery

Microbrewery

Ownership unknownKPA Kinsale Pale Ale · 4.3%

, Ireland

Donegal Brewing Company / Dicey Reilly's Microbrewery

Microbrewery

Ownership unknownDonegal Blonde

, Ireland

J.W. Sweetman / Messrs Maguire Brewpub

Microbrewery

Ownership unknownPorter · 4.8%

Waterford, Co. Waterford, Ireland

Metalman Brewing

One of the genuine originals of Irish craft, brewing in Waterford from 2011 and named for the navigation tower on the Tramore coast. Went on hiatus in 2022 and did not come back — an early-wave…

ClosedMetalman Pale Ale

, Ireland

St. Francis Abbey Brewery / Smithwick's Brewery

Macro

Ownership unknownSmithwick's Red Ale

, Ireland

Galway Hooker Brewery

Microbrewery

Ownership unknownGalway Hooker Irish Pale Ale · 4.3%

, Ireland

Kildare Brewing Company

Microbrewery

Ownership unknownElectric Juice IPA · 5.5%

, Ireland

Lady's Well Brewery

Macro

Ownership unknownMurphy's Irish Stout

, Ireland

Munster Brewery

Microbrewery

Ownership unknownBlackguard · 4.9%

, Ireland

Otterbank Brewing & Blending

Microbrewery

Ownership unknownGrianán Gold

, Ireland

Four Provinces Brew Co

Microbrewery

Ownership unknownPiper

, Ireland

Killarney Brewing & Distilling Company

Microbrewery

Ownership unknownDevil's Helles

, Ireland

Oileán Éadaigh West Mayo Brewery

Microbrewery

Ownership unknownClew Bay Sunset · 4.0%

Blarney, Co. Cork, Ireland

Blarney Brewing Co.

Blarney Brewing Co. Brews in Co. Cork. The full profile — founding, people, beer library, travel — is still to be written.

Independent

Roscrea, Co. Tipperary, Ireland

Canvas Brewery

Canvas Brewery brews in Co. Tipperary. The full profile — founding, people, beer library, travel — is still to be written.

Independent

, Ireland

Crew Brewing

Microbrewery

Ownership unknownPolly

Doolin, Co. Clare, Ireland

Dooliner Beer

Doolin is the trad music capital of Clare and the ferry point for the Aran Islands. A beer named for the village is aimed at a very specific and very reliable crowd.

Independent

Ballymount, Dublin 12, Co. Dublin, Ireland

DOT Brew

A blending house more than a brewery, working in barrels and mixed fermentation. No public room; you find DOT on other people's taps, which is its own kind of reputation.

Independent

Wexford, Co. Wexford, Ireland

Drew Fox Brewing Company

One of the newest breweries in the archive, opened in 2025 into the hardest market Irish craft has faced.

Independent

Annagary, Co. Donegal, Ireland

Errigal Brewing

Named for Donegal's quartzite mountain, brewing in the Gaeltacht on the wildest coast in Ireland.

Independent

Whitefish, Ireland

Great Northern Brewery (Dundalk)

Macro

Ownership unknownHarp Lager

Waterford, Co. Waterford, Ireland

Hopfully Brewing

Art-led branding and contract-brewed batches — a modern way to run a beer company without owning a building, and increasingly the only affordable way to start one.

Single brewery

Tallaght, Dublin 24, Co. Dublin, Ireland

Jack Smyth Brewing Co.

Jack Smyth Brewing Co. Brews in Co. Dublin. The full profile — founding, people, beer library, travel — is still to be written.

Independent

Kilmallock, Co. Limerick, Ireland

JJ's Craft Brewing

JJ's Craft Brewing brews in Co. Limerick. The full profile — founding, people, beer library, travel — is still to be written.

Independent

, Ireland

Kinsale Brewing Company

Microbrewery

Ownership unknownKinsale Irish Lager

Kilcoole, Co. Wicklow, Ireland

Larkins Brewing Co.

Larkins Brewing Co. Brews in Co. Wicklow. The full profile — founding, people, beer library, travel — is still to be written.

Independent

, Ireland

Macardle Moore Brewery / Cambricville

Macro

Ownership unknownMacardle's Traditional Ale

Cork, Co. Cork, Ireland

Original 7 Brewing Co.

Original 7 Brewing Co. Brews in Co. Cork. The full profile — founding, people, beer library, travel — is still to be written.

Independent

Muff, Co. Donegal, Ireland

Otterbank Brewing Co.

Wild fermentation and barrel-aged cider on the Inishowen side of the border, minutes from Derry. Patient beer in a place where the border has never been theoretical.

Independent

Kill, Co. Kildare, Ireland

The Dew Drop Brewhouse

The Dew Drop Brewhouse brews in Co. Kildare. The full profile — founding, people, beer library, travel — is still to be written.

Independent

Killarney, Co. Kerry, Ireland

Torc Brewing Co.

Torc Brewing Co. Brews in Co. Kerry. The full profile — founding, people, beer library, travel — is still to be written.

Independent

Ballymahon, Co. Longford, Ireland

Wide Street Brewing

Wild yeast, mixed cultures and oak in rural Longford — the most patient brewing in the Irish midlands, and the least commercially sensible, which is usually a good sign.

Independent

Banagher, Co. Offaly, Ireland