800 kegs an hour prepared at Cork brewery ahead of pubs reopening

Some 8.5m pints of draught beer, stout and cider are set to pour from the production lines of Heineken Ireland’s brewery in the heart of Cork City between now and June 7
800 kegs an hour prepared at Cork brewery ahead of pubs reopening

PJ Tierney, head brewer at Heineken Ireland in Cork, where preparations are well under way in advance of the expected re-opening of many bars, restaurants and hotels in June. Picture: Denis Minihane

Excitement, and a whole lot of beer, is brewing inside one of Ireland’s largest breweries as production ramps up ahead of the phased reopening of pubs, hotels and restaurants in a few weeks.

Some 8.5m pints of draught beer, stout and cider are set to pour from the production lines of Heineken Ireland’s brewery in the heart of Cork City between now and June 2, when some hotels are allowed to reopen, and June 7, when some pubs and restaurants will open outdoor facilities for groups limited to six.

The distinctive smell of roasting oats and barley was hanging in the air in the Blackpool area of the city yesterday as head brewer, PJ Tierney, oversaw a massive scaling-up of operations.

Production slowed to a trickle during the pandemic when so-called ‘wet pubs’ were forced to close, with only 1,000 of Heineken’s 7,000 customers countrywide offering a limited take-away drinks service.

Production scaled up

But production has scaled up significantly this week, with 800 kegs an hour, including Heineken, Murphys, Beamish, Orchard Thieves and Coors, rolling off the production lines yesterday.

It is estimated that 95,000 kegs will be produced between now and June 7, when punters gasping for a pint are set to flock to outdoor facilities.

Staff at the brewery were working frantically on Wednesday to stack, store and ready the kegs for delivery, with 60 trucks expected to depart the brewery to depots around the country every week.

The pub trade has been hammered during the pandemic, with most venues closed for well over 400 days, putting an estimated 50,000 people out of work.

“Currently we see that over 1,000 of our accounts are trading, serving take-away, and over the coming weeks we expect that an estimated 50% of accounts, about 3,500, will open their doors on June 7,” a spokesperson for Heineken said.

Members of the brewery’s in-house quality team are already out visiting pubs to clean their lines to ensure that punters will be able to enjoy a fresh, top-quality pint once the restrictions lift.

She said its sales team has been supporting customers with re-opening advice, and has given specific support and advice on the development or redevelopment of outdoor areas.

Sense of hope

Michael O’Donovan, chair of the Cork branch of the Vintners Federation of Ireland, said there was a sense of hope in the pub sector ahead of June's reopening.

Michael O’Donovan, chair of the Cork branch of the Vintners Federation of Ireland, said there was a sense of hope in the pub sector ahead of June's reopening. File picture: iStock
Michael O’Donovan, chair of the Cork branch of the Vintners Federation of Ireland, said there was a sense of hope in the pub sector ahead of June's reopening. File picture: iStock

“We reckon that about 30% of our members will be able to reopen with outdoor facilities in June before we're allowed to open indoors in July, with more or less the same guidelines, contact tracing, social distancing, and closing time limits, that were in place when we reopened temporarily last year," he said.

“We are still waiting for the guidelines to be published for the June 7 reopening and we await the guidelines for July.” 

He said the various Government pandemic supports were a vital lifeline for many in the trade but he said publicans will need re-start grants and other financial supports up to Christmas as they try to rebuild their businesses.

“Some banks have been supportive but many publicans who lease premises have just not been able to pay their rent, and debts have been mounting,” he said.

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