Brewing up a storming Laois brew in Ballykilcavan

Ballykilcavan Farm, just outside Stradbally, has been the home of the Walsh family for 13 generations since Oliver Walsh moved there from Kilkenny in 1639.

It has seen a lot of changes over the 384 years since then, and those changes have continued recently, with the current owners, myself, David, and Lisa Walsh-Kemmis, setting up a craft brewery in 2018, and then adding a visitor centre in 2022.

Ballykilcavan’s beers are made from barley and water sourced from the farm, and I have also established a small hop garden which means they now brew one special edition beer every year made using ingredients that all come from within 500 metres of the brewery.

Running a small brewery in rural Ireland is not without its challenges, but Ballykilcavan has done well by focusing on a strong local trade, a growing export market and by building a unique and authentic tourist destination.

The local trade is the bread and butter of the business, and retailers, pubs and hotels in Laois are increasingly seeing the benefits of supporting their local brewery as well as some local festivals such as Forest Fest in Emo.

Ballykilcavan beers are also exported to Italy, Switzerland, Germany and France. The main market is the area around Milan, but anyone visiting the lovely city of La Rochelle can enjoy three different Ballykilcavan beers in McNulty’s Irish Bar, run by Portlaoise native Noel McNulty.

Having completed the brewery, the next step was a careful restoration of the adjoining 200-year-old mill building into a new visitor center. This involved securing the building to make it safe and then fitting it out with furniture made from oak trees from the farm.

The visitor centre has only been open since the start of last year, but it is already attracting visitors from all over the world, with a particular focus on tourists from North America, France and Germany. There are also frequent public tours over the summer, and private tours can be booked for family, corporate or discussion groups.

Sustainability has always been important, but it is quickly coming even more sharply into focus for both businesses and consumers.

Ballykilcavan is a member of the Origin Green sustainability programme run by Bord Bia. This is a fully certified programme, and Ballykilcavan are gold status members, one of only three breweries in the entire country to have achieved this highest level possible of certification.

We have also won national sustainability awards over the last 18 months, including picking up the overall Agri-food award at this year’s national Sustainable Business Awards.

The beers themselves have also been picking up awards in 2023, including the Brickyard red ale winning overall best red ale at the Concours International de Lyon in France, and the Blackwell stout winning a gold, with Ballykilcavan being named Best in Laois, at the recent Blas na hÉireann awards in Dingle.

Overall, the future looks bright for Ballykilcavan. Having award-winning beers, local ingredients and the unique story of the farm means that they can increase sales both in Ireland and into the EU.

One big advantage of being located in Co Laois is the ease of getting visitors into the area, and Ballykilcavan is working with other local tourism providers to make sure that Laois gets the visitors that its beautiful countryside and wonderful people deserve.