Seamus O'Hara of the Carlow Brewing Company has told The Irish Times that there is "no reason why [the craft beer industry] can’t reach 5 to 10 per cent of the market".
In an interview in today's paper (14 August), O'Hara says that such growth in the industry "would have a significant impact on job creation because the industry is dispersed throughout the country. Every job created in a brewery creates another job outside.”
O'Hara also added that he would not be tempted to sell up to a major brewer, claiming that it would remove the "freedom and flexibility" of remaining independent.
On the Molson Coors takeover of Franciscan Well, he said, “There’s nothing wrong with that, but they are part of the Molson Coors brand and that’s a totally different set up from a small independent brewery that is Irish owned in terms of its resources.
"You have a lot more commercial clout if you are part of a large organisation such as that. The whole culture changes, there is no point in pretending otherwise.”
The interview can be found here
© 2015 - Checkout Magazine by Stephen Wynne-Jones
