Irish Virtual Beer Festival returns June 6th

When and where is it on?

Online, June 6th, 4-10pm

How many years has it been going?

One month. First festival was on May 2nd, third one is on June 27th

What was the inspiration to start it?

The Covid-19 crisis. I set up Craic Beer Community in early 2020 as a sort of advocacy group for independent Irish breweries. It’s something I’m very passionate about and wanted to try to help the market to grow after a period of stagnation. I had been hosting online events for breweries to tell their story, lead a tasting of their beers, and interact and engage with a live audience. When lockdown kicked in, there was a lot of uncertainty within the industry, with the on-trade market drying up completely.

I began hosting virtual pub meetups to encourage people to continue supporting their local / independent breweries. The idea was you brought along your favourite independent Irish beers and met up online with other beer enthusiasts and had a general beer chat. I then had the idea to merge the two concepts into a longer festival format. I organised for the breweries to get involved, and then teamed up with Beercloud to distribute the beer. Beercloud emerged out of necessity, it was set up by Liam Tutty, owner of independent brewery Dead Centre Brewing, and runs out of Dead Centre in Athlone. Liam has provided an amazing sales outlet for so many Irish breweries.

There were a number of distributors / off licences interested in distributing the beer for the festival, but Liam’s philosophy ties in exactly with my own, so the decision to team up with him was a no-brainer. He has been amazing in facilitating the whole concept.

What exciting things can people look forward to?

Hearing from each of the breweries, learning about their story, enjoying their beers and engaging with other festival goers.

What opportunities are on offer for those attending?

A fun, relaxed environment that provides a welcome distraction from the current situation and supports Ireland’s independent breweries. The opportunity to learn about breweries from all around the country, ones which they normally wouldn’t have access to in their local market. Opportunity to chat with like-minded people.

Who will be speaking?

The schedule is as follows: 4:00 – 4:30pm – Wicklow Brewery
4:30 – 5:15pm – Rascals
5:15 – 6:00pm – Hope
6:00 – 6:30pm – Black’s Brewery
6:30 – 6:45pm – Break
6:45 – 7:15pm – Hopfully
7:15 – 8:00pm – Ballykilcavan
8:00 – 8:45pm – Lineman
8:45 – 9:15pm – Dead Centre

Save the date folks!!

Here's a little preview of the lineup (so far)… pic.twitter.com/TZIU6jDinX

— Craic Beer Community (@CraicCommunity) May 29, 2020

What tips would you give to people attending to get the most out of it?

Responsible drinking is paramount. There are 12 beers in the festival box, so check out the schedule and choose which beers you would like to sample on the day before the festival begins. The aim of the festival itself is to learn more about the breweries and the particular beers that are in the box. You are encouraged to enjoy the beers at your own pace, at any stage before, during or after the festival. You’re also more than welcome to draft in a partner(s) if you wish!

How can people book tickets / when does it usually sell out?

There were 96 festival packs available for this festival, they sold out in less than 24 hours.

Anything else you’d like to add / we should have asked?

Boxes for the next festival will go on sale next week. It features breweries such as Boundary, The White Hag, Stone Barrel, Third Circle, Third Barrel, Wicklow Wolf, Dead Centre and Yellowbelly. Demand will be extremely high, so keep an eye on the Craic Beer Community

Twitter and Instagram pages for updates!

View this post on Instagram

Save the date folks!! Here's a little preview of the lineup (so far)… #irishcraftbeer #independentirishcraftbeer #independentirishbeer #craftbeer #DrinkIrish

A post shared by Craic Beer Community (@craicbeercommunity) on May 29, 2020 at 1:10pm PDT

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