Achill beer prepares to take island taste to the UK

TASTING Anthony Keating of Achill Island Brewery with Kelvin Fletcher, better known as Andy Slugden in the soap Emmerdale, enjoying a taste of Achill beer at the Bolton Food and Drink Festival.

Anton McNulty

It has been the talk of Achill for the summer and now the unique taste of Achill beer is set for export with over a dozen pubs in England ready to stock the latest craft beer.
Since starting production on July 2, Achill beer has been the sensation of the summer on the island with local pubs regularly selling out and the brewery struggling to keep up with demand.
In the first five weeks, one pub sold 31 30-litre kegs and there were similar figures in other pubs around the parish.
Now having upped their production and installed a bottling facility at their brewery in the Údaras na Gaeltachta industrial estate in Bunnacurry, the company have now started selling in towns around Mayo.
Malcolm Cooney of Achill Island Brewery told The Mayo News that the last few months have gone beyond all their expectations and they are ready to start selling in the UK - and even hope to extend to the US in the New Year.
“Between kegs and bottles we are looking to produce 2,500 litres a day and at the moment we have started supplying pubs with bottles around Mayo. We have caught up with production and we expect to be supplying to the rest of Ireland and exporting to the UK in the next couple of weeks.

‘Fabulous feedback’
“We have had a fabulous feedback from England and already we have a number of pubs and Hotels in the UK who are ready to take it. They will be mostly around the north-west of England in Greater Manchester and Liverpool and areas like that with a big Irish and Mayo population. Achill is a great brand name because people either know it or know someone from Achill.
“In time we hope to expand to London and we have also made contact with a pub in Chicago and hopefully Achill beer will be available in the US in the New Year,” he explained.
The beer was not the only thing in demand but also the distinctive Achill beer pint glasses which have a habit of going missing.
“They must be the most stolen piece of property in Achill,” laughed Malcolm. “Everyone has been looking for them and many have walked out of pubs with customers at the end of nights.”
Achill Island Brewery was formed in 2014 and after recruiting Canadian, James Groves as their chief brewer they started experimenting with the recipe. They now employ four full-time staff and one part-time and hope to employ more in the future.
“It has a unique lager taste with the added carrageen moss giving it its own identity,” explained Malcolm. “We know everyone has different tastes but we have got quite a following from locals and visitors to Achill over the summer. Visitors were calling to the brewery looking to bring it home with them but unfortunately we weren’t in a position to do that. Now we have the bottling facility up and running more people will be able to taste it.”