Minister Heydon officially opens the National Centre for Brewing and Distilling, Teagasc, Oakpark, Carlow
- Published on: 26 May 2025
- Last updated on: 26 May 2025
Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Martin Heydon, officially opened the National Centre for Brewing and Distilling in Oakpark, Teagasc, which has been allocated funding of €2.3 million by the department since 2020.
The funding is used for equipment for the Centre to help producers in the beverage sector to pilot new products and innovate their production practices. In addition to supporting beverage producers, the equipment in the National Centre for Brewing and Distilling will also be available to students who undertake educational courses in brewing and distilling.
The initial funding investment by the Centre was used to buy malting equipment to allow testing of grains, including native grains, for malting and to facilitate the production of small batches of specialised malts for the craft beer and spirit drinks sectors. Previously much of this testing was conducted overseas because of the lack of such facilities domestically.
Additional equipment for brewing and dealcoholizing processes will be purchased and expected to be installed by the end of 2025.
Minister Heydon said:
“I am delighted to officially open the National Centre for Brewing and Distilling, Oakpark, which, this year, was allocated additional funding of €900,000 from my department which will be used to install pilot scale distilling equipment. This important facility has been established for the benefit of producers to test and pilot their production processes for beer and spirit drinks, including testing the types of grains they use in their products. I am pleased that this equipment can be used by students who have an interest in pursuing a career in the drinks sector.“
Minister Heydon also referred to other funding to support research facilities in the sector, adding that €925,000 was provided last year for laboratory equipment for the Food Research Centre, Moorepark, Teagasc, to provide for chemical analysis of Irish Whiskey to identify factors that have an influence on the sensory perception of the product.
Minister Heydon added:
“This funding supports the work of the Food Research Centre laboratory, helping to create a profile of the sensory properties including flavour of our Geographical Indication, Irish Whiskey. This profile will help to give insight into how, for example, different grain inputs or casks can influence the development of Irish Whiskey. This will provide valuable information available on the characteristics that make Irish whiskey a quality product.”
Professor Frank O Mara , Director Teagasc, commented at the opening:
“The development of higher value markets for tillage farmers has been a priority of our crops research programme for a number of years and increasing the use of Irish grain in the drink sectors has been one of the areas we have been researching. Teagasc has invested significantly in this area, without the support of the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, for the capital equipment this wouldn’t have been possible.”
Minster Heydon concluded:
“The National Centre for Brewing and Distilling will be a fantastic resource for drinks companies to try new products or methods of production at a test or pilot scale, including in the future, the development of non-alcohol alternatives in craft beers. All of those who use the Centre have the added advantage of being able to avail of the expertise of the Teagasc team on site.”
Notes
The funding allocated for both of these initiatives is in line with Goals and Actions in Food Vision 2030, the 10 year strategy for the Agri food sector, including Goal 3 of Mission 3 to create value-add in food through insight, innovation and Action 7 to “Consider the feasibility of extending innovation hub models to new sectors e.g. brewing and distilling.” It also supports Mission 2 Viable and Resilient Primary Producers with Enhanced Wellbeing, Goal 1 Improve the Competitiveness and productivity of primary producers”, Action 27 Development of the tillage sector to take advantage of potential growth in high value output (malting grains) to distilling and brewing.
The funding also helps to give effect to Action 10 of the Food Vision 2030 Tillage Group report which is to strengthen industry and grower links and continue support for research and early-stage product development focusing on the use of Irish grown crops in the drinks sector.