Two times the brew

One of Ireland’s smallest brewery is elbowing its way towards the front of the pack with the announcement of a €60,000 investment.

Cork’s Elbow Lane Micro-Brewery says it will be in a position to double its brewing capacity with the funding from Cork City’s Local Enterprise Office.

This significant investment in the tiny site on Oliver Plunkett Street will help the micro-brewery keep up with existing demand and help develop its distribution within the region.

Master Brewer Russell Garrett said he and his colleagues will now be able to bottle faster, brew larger volumes and age them for longer.

“Given the growing demand for our beer, we were running out of product twice per year, especially as we condition each brew for four weeks. We are now in a position to be able to fulfil existing demand, develop new beers and start to expand slowly throughout the county,” explained Russell.

Elbow Lane is one of the few Irish breweries that strictly adheres to the principles of the ancient German purity law ‘Reinheitsgebot’, which means only four ingredients are used - malted barley, hops, yeast and water.

This means there are no additives, no artificial fermentation acceleration and no filtration used in production. It’s all totally natural.

“Because we don’t add enzymes or stabilizers, our beers have a shelf life of three months. This means that at the moment we have no ambition to sell our beer the length and breadth of the country. Instead, we would like to practice a German model of selling beer within 20/30km of where it is brewed,” said Russell.

Elbow Lane has just released an anti-imperial stout called Resist in support of those affected by the war in Ukraine. This is now on sale with all profits donated to the International Red Cross. For a time, Resist will sit alongside the brewery’s core range of five beers which includes Elbow Lager, Angel Stout, Arrow Weisse, Wisdom Ale and Jawbone Pale Ale.

Elbow Lane Brewery is part of the Market Lane Group which also includes Elbow Lane Smokehouse, Market Lane, Goldie, ORSO and Blackrock Castle restaurants.

Managing Director Conrad Howard said: “Encouraging business growth within the city centre is what we are all about as a group. It is great to be part of Cork’s buoyant brewing scene and now we feel we can play a fuller role in spotlighting the quality of what we brew in the city.”

At present, Elbow Lane beers are available through the Market Lane Group of restaurants as well as off licenses such as Bradley’s, the NeighbourFood Market and a limited number of pubs and restaurants in the county.