Op Food - John McKenna

Alan Kelly’s Intoxicating Liquor (Breweries and Distilleries) Bill 2016 is the most important piece of legislation yet mooted for our tourism industry.
Hang on, you say. Don’t you mean for our craft brewing and distilling sector? What’s it got to do with tourism?
The answer is: Everything.
The type of tourist we should be focusing on attracting to Ireland is The Experientialist Tourist. This gal doesn’t just want to drink Dingle Single Malt in the pub, or try an 8 Degrees Barefoot Brahmin in the restaurant.
Instead, she wants to meet the brewer, she wants to smell the wort, she wants to hear the story from the distiller himself, she wants The Experience.
She is an Experientialist Tourist.
She wants the photo from the distillery down at The Wood, in Dingle, and she wants to have a selfie taken with Aidan and Ronan of Galway Hooker in Oranmore.
She’s been to Napa, and Yarra, and probably Islay as well. And Alan Kelly’s Bill means that she will be able to have a Napa/Islay/Yarra experience at every brewery and distillery in Ireland because the Bill allows everyone who is brewing and distilling to have a licence to sell their beers, ciders and spirits.
Deputy Kelly’s Bill is a game-changer. With a score of craft distilleries in the pipeline, and with scores of craft breweries created all over the country in the last seven years, this represents a whole new ball game for the most dynamic sector of our food culture, and for our tourism culture.
We want the t-shirt: Intoxicating Liquor (Breweries and Distilleries) Bill 2016 Yay!