Beamish

Manufacturer	Beamish and Crawford
Introduced	1792
Style	Stout

Beamish and Crawford is the longest-established brewery in Cork, Ireland. Established in 1792 by William Beamish and William Crawford on the site of an existing porter brewery,^[1] it has had a number of owners over the centuries. These have included Carling O'Keefe, Elders IXL, Scottish & Newcastle, and (most recently) Heineken International.^[2][3]

The brewery's flagship product is Beamish stout.

[edit] History

The Beamish and Crawford brewery was founded in 1792 by William Beamish and William Crawford. They purchased an existing brewery (from Edward Allen) on a site in Cramer's lane that had been used for brewing since at least 1650 (and possibly as early as 1500).^[2] Beamish and Crawford's "Cork Porter Brewery" prospered, and by 1805 it had become the largest brewery in Ireland and the third largest in the United Kingdom as a whole. In 1805 its output was 100,000 barrels per annum - up from 12,000 barrels in 1792.^{[citation needed]} It remained the largest brewery in Ireland until overtaken by Guinness in 1833.^[4]

Beamish Stout, 1919 advert for the noted Cork brewers

In 1865, the brewery underwent a modernisation programme and was completely revamped at a cost of £100,000. Alfred Barnard, a noted brewing and distilling historian, remarked in his book Noted Breweries of Great Britain & Ireland in 1889 that:

"The business of Beamish & Crawford in Cork is a very old one dating as far back as the seventeenth century and it is said to be the most ancient porter brewery in Ireland".

The company went public in 1901, issuing a share capital of £480,000. Further expansion was aided by the acquisition of a number of local breweries in the early 1900s. In 1962, it was purchased by the Canadian brewing firm Carling-O'Keefe Ltd, who embarked on a modernisation programme at the brewery. In 1987, Elders IXL purchased Canadian Breweries (incorporating Carling-O'Keefe). In 1995, Elders sold the brewery to Scottish and Newcastle.

With the 2008 takeover of Scottish and Newcastle, the brewery passed into the hands of its main Cork-based rival Heineken International.^[5]

In December 2008 it was announced that the Beamish & Crawford brewery was to close in March 2009 with the loss of 120 jobs. The products currently brewed there will henceforth be produced at the nearby Heineken Brewery (previously Murphy's) with about 40 of the Beamish staff moving to Heineken.^[6]

The brewery buildings (including the Tudor fronted "counting house")^[7] are still situated in the heart of Cork's medieval city, close to the site of the city's South Gate.

[edit] Products

Key products include:

• Beamish stout is Beamish and Crawford's flagship product.
• Beamish Red is a sweetish ale, made to resemble Kilkenny or Murphy's Irish Red.

In addition to their own produce, Beamish and Crawford brew and distribute a number of internationally known brands of beer, with the Irish franchises for Fosters, Kronenbourg 1664 and Miller.

In 2009, after just over two years of being reintroduced to the U.S. market^[8], owners Heineken decided to stop distribution of Beamish products outside Ireland.^[9]

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Beamish And Crawford Brewery