SOMEBODY IN WATERFORD is defacing Irish craft beer, and the owners aren’t happy. Brewers have hit back at stickers allegedly placed on McGargles beer claiming it was ‘an insult’ to Irish craft beer, as well as calling for a boycott.
Head brewer of Rye River Brewing Company, Alex Lawes acknowledges in a statement on Beoir.org that there are people who like and dislike the brand, but putting stickers on the pack was ‘sinister’.
He explains that a shop manager in Waterford sent the brewery’s operations manager Alan a photo they had taken of a sticker that they claimed been placed on a pack.
I’m honestly bemused. If you don’t like a beer, don’t f**king drink it. What on earth gives this person the motivation to go to the effort of getting this printed, going down to the shops and putting this on a basket that I packed by hand and sent out into the world?
He goes on to say that there had previously been backlash about beer being brewed abroad while waiting for the brewery to be ready, and speculation it was owned by a multinational.
Whoever made this sticker has insulted every brewer in this plant. We work 60-70 hour weeks, frequently, not because it’s expected of us, but because we live this stuff. Every extra hour is spent working on sourcing better hops, malt and even propagating our own yeast on site.
Lawes says that the person responsible has “properly pissed off 7 talented homebrewers and me” with “faceless digs” and says he would love to introduce them to the team to show them who they are insulting.
He finishes up with a pretty clear message.
I’ve one place in mind for where you can put the rest of those fucking stickers pal.
Irish craft beer organisation Beoir also issued a statement condemning the vandalism.
Rye River is brewery that meets both Beoir’s and revenue’s criteria for a microbrewery and this act is nothing short of an attack on the Irish craft beer consumers and consumer choice. Support Irish craft beer, acts like this run against our principles.
People have been coming to the brand’s defense on social media and the Beoir forums, even making some stickers of their own.
