*Maeve Sheridan of Western Herd Brewing.
TEN YEARS ON from its foundation, Western Herd Brewing Company continues to serve as an example to all small businesses in Clare.
The Kilmaley enterprise specialises in a wide range of craft beers including Blue Jumper IPA, Loop Head Pilsner and Flora and Fauna Double IPA.
The Clare Echo spoke to Maeve Sheridan, one half of the brother and sister duo that founded the successful business a decade ago. “It was myself and my brother who started it up. Michael is actually an engineer by trade and I had been working in finance in Luxembourg and moved back. Michael had been working in a bar in Dublin and he could see how the craft beer industry was taking off and there was no one down here doing it”.
“We did up a business plan and got funding from the Local Enterprise Office. We had a pub in town as well McHugh’s so we had two of our beers on draft in there. We opened for the Ennis Trad Fest in November 2015 and we’ve been at it since”, she continued of the start of the venture with her brother Michael Eustace.
The brewery is housed in a century old farm shed in Kilcloher, close to Lissycasey. The shed was the first of its kind to be built in Clare’s largest parish. Despite its small size, the shed is home to a number of 3200L and 1500L tanks which are used as part of the brewer’s unique double-hopping process.
Montana native Bridger Kelleher is the business’ main brewer, having emigrated to Ireland in 2018. The brewery’s beers can be found across the county in locations such as The Armada Hotel in Spanish Point and Shannigan’s Gastro Pub located at The Inn at Dromoland in Newmarket-on-Fergus.
Despite these successes, the business has faced its fair share of challenges. “A big challenge is getting a Wi-Fi connection and electricity. We started off with a generator and we now have three phase but that stopped down the road so it took months and cost a fortune just to get electricity out here”, said Maeve.
Regulations and red tape have caused the business further difficulties, the Kilmaley woman added. “The licensing regulations are so strict. We would love to have a visitor centre here and while they’ve adjusted the licensing to allow for it, like everything else in this country there’s so much expenses and red tape involved that we just haven’t done it yet”.
Covid lockdowns in 2020 forced the brewery to prioritise its online market, something it continues to do today. Maeve says that adaptation has been key to Western Herd’s survival. “We saw it in the pub, you’d bring out a new beer on Friday and on Saturday people would be looking for something else that was new. It’s fine for the big breweries that just mass produce the one beer but we have to keep coming out. Already this year we’ve had one new beer and we’ll probably have another new one by the end of the year. Obviously there’s a cost with that, each label is €500 alone to get it made”.
Clare has always been at the forefront of Western Herd with company selling beers such as County Clare Pale Ale, Spanish Point APA and The Height DIPA, named after the O’Connell Monument in Ennis.
The brewery is well known for its unique collaborations, helping it to distinguish itself from other Irish craft beer providers. This year, the business began a project with Waterford whiskey distillery WD O’Connell and produced their “Barrell Aged Imperial Stout”. The Stout is matured in whiskey barrels, giving it a strong 9.5% alcohol content. “After the third or fourth year we did a collaboration called Dolmen with Anam Coffee with a beerista, we dry hop with coffee beans instead of hops. As a small brewery you can do those kinds of things and those are the beers that you build your reputation on and that keep the lights on”.
