Beamish and Crawford

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, 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.

The brewery's flagship product is Beamish stout.

History

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.

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.

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

Products

In addition to their own produce, Beamish and Crawford brewed and distributed a number of internationally known brands of beer, with the Irish franchises for Fosters, Kronenbourg 1664 and Miller. Fosters has remained with the new owners, while Miller was transferred to a new distributor, importing the beer from SABMiller's Netherlands brewery.

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

References

External links