As part of our development in The White Hag, we’ve always aimed to resolve the growing pains and frustrations that come from being small and independent. Don’t get us wrong, we love the agility our size gives us and we are hugely proud of the progress we’ve made while remaining independent, but we hit barriers at times that are hard to overcome.
Last week we had a loyal beer fan from County Clare message us as he’s never gotten his hands on Fionn, our DIPA which we released this year, and so he was wondering how to get some of the latest batch. Fionn has been brewed three times, with each batch lasting a matter of days, being shipped to Galway, Russia, France, Italy, Dublin, Denmark, Cork, and even China; but impossible to find in County Clare!
It’s a frustration that is compounded by us not knowing just how much some of our loyal supporters want our beer, as we don’t have direct access to consumer feedback through a taproom or chain of bars, as is the case for most breweries in other countries, and some here in Ireland.
For the most part in Ireland, it is just the case that distribution of craft beer cannot compete with that of the big guys who have availability nationwide. Our distributor is the best in the country at what they do, and we have some stellar stablemates in Kinnegar, Sierra Nevada and a range of others who sit somewhere alongside those two titans. The challenge is getting our beer to the rural and regional consumer who isn’t blessed with a craft focused pub or bottle shop in their neighbourhood, but who still want great, fresh craft beer without needing to buy a train ticket.
We have listed Little Fawn and The Púca with some regional supermarkets to combat this in some areas and also to grow an appreciation of Irish Craft beer amongst the masses, while also ensuring their prices are not undercutting that of the loyal Independent stores who have worked with us from day dot.
So at last, we’re really happy to launch our online store, ready to ship beer to consumers and trade who want access to our great beer selection, when it’s fresh and ready to be enjoyed. For trade, we’ll be honouring the same prices as available from our distributor, including delivery; we just need to verify who we’re sending it to. As to our regular customers who want the beer, we’ll be shipping it in a specially commissioned shipper that protects the beer all the way to your fridge. In line with Ireland’s archaic laws, we’re only allowed to ship full cases (7.5 litres or more per time) and so we’re launching with full cases of our beers for sale to both trade and the individual consumer.
For now, we’re looking for pedantic Pats and Paulines to help us iron out the user journey on the store, so if you’re the pernickety sort and want some free beer, sign up here.
If you’d like to become a trade member sign up here, or a normal consumer, drop your details here.
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