Local Food Hero
Liam Lahart and Oliver Hughes,
Porterhouse Microbrewery and pubs.
Opening their first pub in the seaside town of Bray,
County Wicklow, in 1989 was just the first step. Liam
Lahart and Oliver Hughes were two young men with a
simple mission: to revive the traditional Irish culture of
small craft breweries producing a variety of ales, beers
and – their first love – traditional Irish stouts and porter.
In 1996, they realized their dream by opening their first
microbrewery in Temple Bar in Dublin’s city center.
Ahead of their time in embracing diversity, they found
a huge interest in the concept of microbreweries.
As the business has grown, so has a wider
appreciation of the excellence of their products.
In the World Beer Competition held in the United
Kingdom, they were awarded the accolade
Best Stout in the World.
The original Porterhouse pub in Bray has
since been joined by three other pubs
– Temple Bar, Nassau Street and Glasnevin
in Dublin, and one in London’s Covent
Garden. With nine Porterhouse brews on
offer plus the occasional seasonal brew,
connoisseurs can sample nearly the full
range on a tasting tray featuring plain
porter (a traditional light stout), Oyster
stout (brewed with fresh oysters),
Wrasslers 4X (based on a traditional
recipe from Cork), Porterhouse Red
(a traditional ale), An Brain Blasta
(strong), and Temple Brau.
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