Irish Domestic Beer Production versus Consumption
This chart shows the increase in volume of beer produced in Ireland. The differential between the amount produced and the amount consumed suggests the amount of beer exported. Consumption included beer imported from abroad for consumption which is limited but the margin reveals that even amongst industrial brewers, a significant portion of beer brewed in Ireland is exported. There are no longitudinal data available for craft brewing separate from industrial brewing.
The dip in the mid-1940s relates to the Emergency and food rationing as agricultural produce was diverted from alcohol production to food. Note that there has also been a decline in domestic Irish beer production since 2000 resulting from an increase in imports of factory-produced beer and a significant rise in demand for other forms of alcohol such as wine and harder liquor. Likewise, there has been a very significant decline in the amount of beer consumed in Ireland. 2020 is a somewhat anomalous figure as due to the COVID pandemic, bars were closed in Ireland and industrial brewing (which represents roughly 97% of the beer brewed in Ireland) reduced production as it is substantially reliant on trade through pubs. What beer that was produced largely satisfied domestic consumption through the on-trade.
[Source: Data compiled from Brewers of Europe annual reports and historical data provided by The Brewers Almanack, 1928, 1955, 1962 and charted by the author]
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