The Great Northern Brewery, on the Carrick Road,

Dundalk Dundalk ( ; ) is the county town of County Louth, Ireland. The town is situated on the Castletown River, which flows into Dundalk Bay on the north-east coast of Ireland, and is halfway between Dublin and Belfast, close to and south of the bor ...

County Louth County Louth ( ; ) is a coastal Counties of Ireland, county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. Louth is bordered by the counties of County Meath, Meath to the ...

, was an Irish brewery. It was home to

Harp Lager Harp Lager is an Irish lager created in 1960. Since 2013, it has been produced by the Guinness Brewery in Dublin. Prior to this, it was produced at the Great Northern Brewery in Dundalk. It is a major lager brand throughout most of Northern Ire ...

, and was formerly owned by

Diageo Diageo plc ( ) is a British Multinational corporation, multinational alcoholic beverage company, with its headquarters in London, England. It is a major distributor of Scotch whisky and other spirits and operates from 132 sites around the world ...

. In 2015 the brewery closed, and production of Harp Lager and other products was moved to St. James's Gate Brewery in

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

. The site has since been bought by John Teeling, and converted for operation as a distillery, the Great Northern Distillery.

History

The Great Northern Brewery, which commenced operations in 1896 in Dundalk, Ireland, was the second largest brewery in Ireland, after St James’s Gate Brewery. It was bought in the late 1950s by Smithwick's Ale of

Kilkenny Kilkenny ( , meaning 'church of Cainnech of Aghaboe, Cainnech'). is a city in County Kilkenny, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is located in the South-East Region, Ireland, South-East Region and in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinst ...

, and subsequently by

Guinness Guinness () is a stout that originated in the brewery of Arthur Guinness at Guinness Brewery, St. James's Gate, Dublin, Ireland, in the 18th century. It is now owned by the British-based Multinational corporation, multinational alcoholic bever ...

, which became part of

. Up until 1960, the brewery produced stout and ale. However, in response to an increased demand for lager at that time, Guinness converted the brewery into a modern lager operation. Working with German master brewer, Dr Hermann Muender, who had worked in the Dom Brewery in Cologne, and local ingredients,

was created. Within 12 months of launch in 1960, Harp had become an established brand throughout Ireland. A year later it was launched nationwide in Britain. This success meant that the brewery’s capacity had to be expanded to meet demand.

Expansion

The brewery had extensive facilities and it produced and packed a range of beers and ales, including

, Smithwick's Ale, Satzenbrau Pils, Carlsberg and Warsteiner. Some 80 people were employed across a range of disciplines, including production, supply, customer service, technical and quality control. There was a substantial investment which saw the addition of a new brewhouse, additional fermentation vessels, a pall filtration plant and a

carbonation Carbonation is the chemical reaction of carbon dioxide to give carbonates, bicarbonates, and carbonic acid. In chemistry, the term is sometimes used in place of carboxylation, which refers to the formation of carboxylic acids. In inorganic che ...

/ nitrogenation plant in the existing filtration centre.

Closure

On 9 May 2008, Diageo announced that the brewery, along with another plant in Kilkenny, would be closed by 2013, with operations moving to either St. James's Gate in Dublin or a new brewery to be built near Dublin. However, due to the declining property markets throughout the globe, Diageo reassessed its decision and put all closures on hold for a period, although the kegging facilities in Dundalk were moved to St James Gate. In effect this led to a reduction in staff from 82 to 53, not taking into account contractors. On 30 September 2013, all brewing and processing ceased and the brewery was officially closed by Diageo. Dismantling and removal of certain facilities to St. James' Gate in Dublin continued into 2014.

Great Northern Distillery

After Diageo closed the site, it was announced that John Teeling, founder of the

Cooley Distillery Cooley Distillery is an Irish whiskey distillery on the Cooley Peninsula in County Louth, Republic of Ireland, Ireland established in 1987 and owned by Suntory Global Spirits, a subsidiary of Suntory Holdings of Osaka, Japan. The distillery ...

and director of the Irish Whiskey Company, would acquire the site and convert the brewery into a distillery.Independent.ie Argus Local News: Harp brewery shuts up shop after half-century
/ref> On 31 July 2015 distilling began for the first time with the brewery having been renamed as the Great Northern Distillery. The site was renamed as the Great Northern Distillery. The Great Northern Distillery became the second largest and only the third grain distillery in Ireland. Products include various forms of whiskey, some spirit, and gin. It maintains the use of spring water from the

Cooley Peninsula The Cooley Peninsula (, older ''Cúalṅge'') is a hilly peninsula in the north of County Louth on the east coast of Ireland; the peninsula includes the small town of Carlingford, the port of Greenore and the village of Omeath. Geography ...

as a key feature of production, just as the brewery had before.

References

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External links

History of Brewing in DundalkImage of Brewery from Carrick Road
Beer in Ireland Buildings and structures in Dundalk Food and drink companies established in 1846 Food and drink companies disestablished in 2013 Diageo 1846 establishments in Ireland 2013 disestablishments in Ireland Companies based in Dundalk