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1996 CARLOW BREWING COMPANY ESTABLISHED
In 1996 O’Hara’s Carlow Brewing Company signed a lease on the nineteenth century “Goods Store” in Carlow town within the local railway
station grounds. Fortunate that our family roots are in County Carlow with its rich arable land and limestone-rich hard water supply which
is particularly suited to brewing Irish stouts and ales, the location was ideal. With a passion for craft beers and a budget just big enough to
scope out our initial brewing plant, we set out on our mission to change the brewing landscape in Ireland - to revert it back to a country
where flavoursome beers would once again be the standard beverage in every town!
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1998 LAUNCHING OUR FIRST BEERS
In a market totally dominated by international mainstream breweries with strong control on the distribution channels, the outlook was
daunting but we pressed ahead. Having restored the old Goods Store and sourced and commissioned our new 15HL brewhouse, we set about
developing and launching our first two beers - O’Hara’s Irish Red (formerly known as Moling’s Red Ale) and Curim Gold Celtic Wheat Beer.
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2005 REACHING CAPACITY AND REVIEWING
Sales continued to gain momentum and in 2005 we expanded our capacity by adding additional fermentation vessels, allowing us to
add more brews to our daily schedule. By end of 2006/2007 we were again approaching the limits of our capacity and it was clear that if we
wanted to continue to grow and realise our aims a more dramatic solution was needed - which meant moving the brewery to a new location
that would allow us to increase capacity significantly and also provide space for potential future growth.
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2008 10TH ANNIVERSARY BREW
During the intervening years at the Goods Store, we introduced some seasonal and limited edition brews including a Winter Warmer Red Ale, our Druid’s
Brew Celtic Stout and the much acclaimed once-off limited edition O’Hara’s Celebration Stout, a special brew launched to mark our 10th year of brewing.
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2009 PREPARING FOR THE MOVE / THE GOODS STORE IPA
Behind the scenes a lot of planning went into scoping out not only a new facility but a brewery plant that would match our ambitions as well as
our budgets and provide the flexibility we needed for the future.
However, before departing the old premises, we had one final task! In August 2009 we decided to brew something different as our last brew at the old
Goods Store - a cask-conditioned and dry-hopped IPA, which we called The Goods Store IPA. This brew was intended as a once-off to mark the occasion,
but the reaction was so positive that we repeated the cask versions a few more times in our new facility and later added kegs and bottles – and changed
the name O’Hara’s Irish Pale Ale, which is now one of our most popular beers.
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2009 THE MOVE - OUR NEW BREWERY
In September 2009 we underwent a major expansion project moving our production to a new purpose built premises in our hometown of
Bagenalstown, County Carlow. With this move came a lot of challenges maintaining supply without interruption but thankfully all came together well.
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2012 LICENCED TO DISTILL
While we continued to expand our brewing capacity further with more new tanks in 2012, we also embarked on a new adventure with the installation
of a boutique distillery in the brewery. The first spirit was laid down in oak barrels on the 1st of November 2012 and will store for a minimum
of 3 years before its earliest release date as a true single malt Irish whiskey.
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2013 BREWERY CORNER - CRAFT BEER BAR
In April 2013 we embarked on another adventure and opened the doors to our own craft beer pub, serving only independent Irish craft beers
on tap. Brewery Corner is located 24km from our brewery, in the heart of Kilkenny city in an area with a long tradition of brewing and
distilling. The full O’Hara’s beer range is available at all times alongside guest draught beers and ciders from other independent Irish craft
brewers and a wide range of quality imports in bottle. Brewery Corner is an experience for the craft beer enthusiast and a great place to learn
what craft brewed beers are really about – taste the flavours.
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2015 BARREL AGED LEANN FOLLAIN WINS AT IRISH WHISKEY AWARDS
There was great celebrations with the news of yet another accolade for our multi-award-winning Barrel Aged Series after winning the ‘Best Irish Whiskey Barrel Aged Irish Craft Beer’ at the recent Irish Whiskey Awards.
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2016 BREWERY EXPANSION
This year has seen the addition of 4 new fermentation vessels which have been installed outside the brewery walls in our courtyard. These giant new tanks combined have added on approximately 100,000 litres to our final output which was a massive boost for us and of course our customers.
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2017 URBAN BREWING
Urban Brewing officially opened its doors to the public on 30th August 2017. Dublin’s newest craft brewery, bar and restaurant saw a long time dream of the brewery team being fulfilled.
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OUR TRADEMARK - OUR HERITAGE AND OUR FUTURE
Our trademark represents the Celtic warrior’s sword and shield, a symbol of endurance and distinctiveness. Brewing is our heritage and we
want to preserve that legacy.
Today, there has never been a more exciting time to be part of the craft beer scene in Ireland. With craft beer supporters like Beoir.org and
the annual Irish Craft Beer and Cider Festival event, the virtues of Irish craft beer are now available to a wide audience. Craft beer consumers
are becoming more numerous, more confident and more adventurous than ever before, leading to demand for a wide variety of flavours and
styles. Pubs and off-licenses are playing their part and many now stock a broad range of Irish craft beer to meet customer demand.