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Rebelling Against The 1% One Beer At A Time

If you're heading to the pub this weekend, then you may have an important choice to make, do you want to join a rebellion? Across Ireland, and indeed across many parts of the world, a beer revolution is taking place in the form of Craft Beer. Local breweries are popping up across the map, and are offering beer drinkers the chance to support business in their own areas.

For many years the choice was between national or international beers, such as choosing between Guinness and Budweiser, but now many pubs have a choice between beers brewed by local entrepreneurs or big corporations. Local breweries produce small quantities of beer that are described as craft made, with special attention given to each batch, and the best part is that the profits go to local people, rather than to investors scattered around the globe.

The idea of supporting local has many positives; it's more environmentally friendly as the beer is transported a very short distance, is supports local jobs, and promotes tourism in the area with many breweries offering tours of their facility. Limerick has been a leading example of how brewing locally can be a huge success. Treaty City Brewery collaborates with local pubs and off licences to provide local beer for regular customers and tourists alike, with many pubs promoting the drink, and with collaborated advertising that benefits both the local pubs and local brewery.

A pub I usually visit is Mother Mac's in the centre of Limerick City, which has an outdoor area sponsored by Treaty City. But the pub also promotes other craft beers made in Ireland such as Yellowbelly and many more. The rotation of the taps offers customers a much wider variety than pubs who stock just the major brands, and it's this variety that's a huge selling point. Another positive is that it's actually cheaper to drink the local beer. In Mother Mac's a pint of Treaty City - Harris Pale Ale, named after Limerick actor Richard Harris, is just €5, while Carslberg is €5.20. If that's not enough to sell you on the idea of switching to local, then the fact that HPA is 5%, while Carlsberg is 4.2%, and the fact that I get a bearable hangover from the HPA, should twist your arm into trying a local beer this weekend, wherever you are in the world.

Unfortunately not every pub stocks local beers, or at least not yet. Still many rural pubs have two or three taps available, usually of Guinness and one or two big brand beers. This is down to the decline of rural pubs who simply can't justify adding a tap of anything due to their customer levels. Also the arguments aren't as persuasive if you're drinking at home with your friends, as local beers are far more expensive in an off licence than the big brands. Often you can buy slabs of 24 cans for less than €30, working out usually at €1-€1.20 per can, while 500ml bottles of craft beer, even on offer, can range from €2.50-€4 per bottle.

While you may just simply be in the mood for a Guinness or Heineken this weekend, think about the benefits of supporting local business, and give your local beer a try, it may just become your usual.




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