Nothing enhances World Cup TV watching more than a beer, although not necessarily an ice cold one.

From a sub-zero lager to a room temperature stout with a quick detour for a chilled amber ale, Ireland is without doubt one of the hoppiest countries in Europe. What gladdens the heart most is the explosion here in recent years of craft breweries. Barely a week goes by without someone entering the beery fray, the newest artisan tipple for us to say “hello” to being The Hurler, a 4.2% ABV copper ale from the Four Provinces Brewing Company, which made its bow on June 5 in Dublin 7’s L. Mulligan Grocer. Joining them soon will be St. Mel’s, a Longford Town micro whose Brown Ale and World Cup Lager are bottle fermenting as we speak. Their Head Brewer, Liam Hanlon, is going it alone after six years with the Carlow Brewing Company.

“Thanks to pioneers like Franciscan Well and O’Hara’s there are now 50 microbreweries in Ireland, which I believed would happen but not nearly as quickly as it has,’” enthuses Grainne Walsh, one of the team behind Waterford’s Metalman Brewing and a founder member of the Independent Craft Brewers of Ireland.

“We’re still pretty fledgling and determining what it is we want to achieve,” Grainne resumes. “We have an independent consultant pulling together information on a confidential basis from each of our members and other breweries in Ireland, which will tell us how much the craft beer industry here is worth and the number of people it employs. It’s evident to everyone that we’ve been growing over the past few years, but nobody’s in a position to say, ‘In 2020, this is how many litres of craft beer we’ll be producing.’ To progress we really need that data.”

Top of the agenda is making sure that the existing tax incentive, which allows micros to compete with the big boys, doesn’t fall foul of government cuts.

“We get a rebate which was introduced about ten years ago as part of an EU-wide incentive and which needs to be preserved,” she continues. “It’s up to us as an organisation to demonstrate the value of the employment and increased consumer choice we offer, and grow the industry as a whole. Beer tourism, for instance, is big in other countries and starting to take off here.

“Consumer-wise, the ICBI wants to show people that what they’re buying is a genuine craft beer from a small producer in Ireland.” The speed at which things are developing, Walsh says, is breath-taking.