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Can't find beer (micro)brewery tours in Dublin

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  • 12-03-2016 11:07pm
    #1
    Seanie M
    Registered Users Posts: 1,795 ✭✭✭


    Apart from the Guinness Storehouse tours, I can't find any craft beer brewery tours. JW Sweetman was a candidate, but I found from them today that they don't do tours anymore (tastings and lunch, yes).

    Does anyone know of any place in Dublin City that have craft beer tours?

    Seanie.


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    #2
    matrim
    Registered Users Posts: 7,518 ✭✭✭matrim


    Seanie M wrote: »
    Apart from the Guinness Storehouse tours, I can't find any craft beer brewery tours. JW Sweetman was a candidate, but I found from them today that they don't do tours anymore (tastings and lunch, yes).

    Does anyone know of any place in Dublin City that have craft beer tours?

    Seanie.

    I think Five Lamps brewery will organise tours.


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    #3
    BeerNut
    Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators Posts: 11,874 Mod ✭✭✭✭BeerNut


    Not really. Breweries are just factories; Irish licensing law doesn't allow them to be tourist attractions like in other countries.

    If you ring/tweet/facebook them, they might show you round if someone's available. Dublin's other breweries are Rascal's in Rathcoole, Porterhouse in Ballycoolin, Five Lamps in the Liberties, Craftworks in Broombridge and Ravenbrew in Swords.

    My beer blog | The Twitter | My other beer blog



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    #4
    Seanie M
    Registered Users Posts: 1,795 ✭✭✭Seanie M


    matrim wrote: »
    I think Five Lamps brewery will organise tours.

    Still waiting for them to get back to me with info.

    Seanie.


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    #5
    Seanie M
    Registered Users Posts: 1,795 ✭✭✭Seanie M


    BeerNut wrote: »
    Not really. Breweries are just factories; Irish licensing law doesn't allow them to be tourist attractions like in other countries.

    If you ring/tweet/facebook them, they might show you round if someone's available. Dublin's other breweries are Rascal's in Rathcoole, Porterhouse in Ballycoolin, Five Lamps in the Liberties, Craftworks in Broombridge and Ravenbrew in Swords.

    How do distilleries get around that, and why did some craft beer producers have tours up to the recent past?

    Seanie.


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    #6
    BeerNut
    Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators Posts: 11,874 Mod ✭✭✭✭BeerNut


    Seanie M wrote: »
    How do distilleries get around that, and why did some craft beer producers have tours up to the recent past?
    By "some" do you mean Sweetman's? They're a pub so can sell beer. Also their brewery tour didn't include a tour of the brewery.

    I assume Teeling's has a full pub licence, like the Open Gate does. The whiskey business can afford things like that.

    My beer blog | The Twitter | My other beer blog



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    #7
    Ste.phen
    Registered Users Posts: 2,808 ✭✭✭Ste.phen


    What about the license would prevent them offering tours, paid or otherwise?


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    #8
    AlanG
    Registered Users Posts: 1,425 ✭✭✭AlanG


    Ste.phen wrote: »
    What about the license would prevent them offering tours, paid or otherwise?

    They can't offer tastings without a licence so it's not much of a tour without a drink at the end.


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    #9
    AnonoBoy
    Closed Accounts Posts: 22,559 ✭✭✭✭AnonoBoy


    AlanG wrote: »
    They can't offer tastings without a licence so it's not much of a tour without a drink at the end.

    What about tastings of wine in supermarkets?

    I've been offered a thimble of wine in Tesco or Dunnes over the years. Surely they don't have a licence for that?

    If you pay for the tour and there's a complimentary drink at the end does that contravene the law as they're not selling you alcohol, just providing it free for refreshment?


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    #10
    L1011
    Registered Users Posts: 68,848 ✭✭✭✭L1011


    AnonoBoy wrote: »
    What about tastings of wine in supermarkets?

    I've been offered a thimble of wine in Tesco or Dunnes over the years. Surely they don't have a licence for that?

    If you pay for the tour and there's a complimentary drink at the end does that contravene the law as they're not selling you alcohol, just providing it free for refreshment?

    Tesco/Dunnes have alcohol sales licences; more often than not actually a full pub licence transferred over. Breweries don't.

    They would have to give the tour for free if they wanted to give samples


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    #11
    BeerNut
    Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators Posts: 11,874 Mod ✭✭✭✭BeerNut


    There are breweries that offer a paid tour which include beer (see Jack Cody's here, for instance) but it's a grey area (as in, I think it's illegal; they, presumably, don't). The minimum amount a brewery is allowed to sell you under a brewer's licence is ~20 litres. It's specifically designed to ensure they act as wholesalers only, unless they get a separate on or off trade licence.

    My beer blog | The Twitter | My other beer blog



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    #12
    AlanG
    Registered Users Posts: 1,425 ✭✭✭AlanG


    AnonoBoy wrote: »
    If you pay for the tour and there's a complimentary drink at the end does that contravene the law as they're not selling you alcohol, just providing it free for refreshment?

    I don't know the details of the law but I remember seeing a representative of a brewing or distilling association on nationwide or a similar programme recently calling for a change in the law to allow them to serve tasters without a pub licence.


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