The Wild Atlantic Half

Connacht

Connacht, Ireland

Breweries

Towns

Tally's take

The character

The emptiest quarter of Ireland and the one with the most interesting structural idea in Irish beer: Galway Bay Brewery owns the pubs it sells into, which means it never has to ask a publican for a tap. Sligo carries two breweries with international reach from a town of twenty thousand, Roscommon does farmhouse saisons in the middle of nowhere, and Leitrim — the county with the least of everything — has no brewery at all.

Oranmore1Ballinlough1Sligo1Crossmolina1Ballymote1

The breweries

5 in this scene

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

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

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

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

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

Counts here are the length of this list, not an estimate. For why a brewery you know might be missing — closures, shared roofs, contract brands, ownership exclusions — see how we count.