In the rolling hills of Monaghan, the home of Patrick Kavanagh, not far from Carrickmacross, in the countryside resides Brehon Brewhouse. It is housed in the parish of Killanny, which is also the name of their Red Ale.
Established in 2014, owner Seamus has set up a lovely brewery in one of the old sheds, located behind the milking parlour. This brewery is set up on a working Dairy Farm. The team have renovated the shed to exacting specifications. The brewery was installed in April 2014, with further vessels currently enroute to Monaghan to expand the breweries capacity to meet ever growing demand for their beers.
The slogan “Irish Beer, Crafted by Hand” rings very true here. Everything is done under brewer Phil’s supervision, brewing, cleaning, bottling and kegging. In fact all their beers are hand bottled on site. Local enterprise supporting local jobs in action. This is great to see. They also work on a basis of no waste. The spent grains are fed to the cattle on the dairy farm, and the hops are used to fertilise the flower beds!
However the real highlight for me personally is the Tasting Room. A lovely room set in the former farmhouse where Seamus and his family lived for many years before moving into more modern accommodation. In here they’ve carefully restored the main room with a full bar of their range of beer, but original fittings like the cast iron range still in tact and provides character to the room. Peppering the walls are photo’s of the family over many years. It has a really homely feel to it.
Their range currently has the Killanny Red Ale, Stony Grey IPA, Shanco Dubh Porter and Brehon Blonde. The blonde in particular a great introductory beer for those who are new to craft beer. If you keep your eyes peeled you’ll also see the Shanco Dubh on Cask in the winter months.
Brehon Brewhouse’s Beers are available nationwide, and are distributed by Vanguard Beer Collective and through Barry & Fitzwilliam. You can find out more about Brehon Brewhouse on www.brehonbrewhouse.com including how to arrange a tour and tasting .
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Wayne Dunne
From IPAs, to Stouts, to everything in between. Wayne is a passionate advocate for Craft Beer and Cider in Ireland. He regularly features in online publications and podcasts, as well as writing with his wife on www.irishbeersnob.com. Wayne’s aim is to kick down the doors of convention surrounding Craft Beer and Cider by writing in a no nonsense style. Drawing on his experiences of many different beers he is going to bring you on a journey that you’ll be asking yourself, why didn’t I join this revolution sooner?
