The Porterhouse Brewing Company is a chain of bars in Ireland, London, England and New York in the Financial District. It was founded in 1989 by Liam La Hart and Oliver Hughes and now has 6 premises.
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Ireland has traditionally had a long history of brewing. At the beginning of the nineteenth century there were over two hundred breweries in the country, producing a wide range of Irish beer. This number dropped significantly by the twentieth century due to the dominance of a few large and famous breweries. Today, there are only about 15 breweries in the country, with most producing mass-produced beer, backed by formidable marketing budgets.
It was in this environment that, in 1989, Liam La Hart and Oliver Hughes bought a run-down building in Bray, County Wicklow, which became the first Porterhouse. In 1996, the Porterhouse brewpub was opened in the Temple Bar area of Dublin city centre. The group grew to open their next bar in Covent Garden London on 2000 with the then Taoiseach of Ireland, Bertie Ahern doing the honours of opening it. They opened Porterhouse North in Glasnevin in 2004, bought Judge Roy Beans and Lillie's Bordello in 2004 and converted Judge Roy Beans into The Porterhouse Central. In 2010 they were the only Irish Company to exhibit at The Shanghai World Expo, dubbed the Economic Olympics. They are seeking JV opportunities in China. In January 2011, they opened their doors on Pearl Street in the Financial District of New York in the oldest building in New York, The Fraunces Tavern where George Washington bade farewell to his officers over two centuries ago.
With the exception of TSB, the draught beers are filtered, kegged and served under pressure.
The regular beers are:
In addition, there are a range of seasonal draught beers including:
In 2009, the brewery launched a range of bottle-conditioned versions of its beers, beginning with Hop Head and Plain Porter. These are packaged in 33cl bottles.
Bottling now Plain Porter, Wrasslers 4X, Oyster Stout, Porterhouse Red, Brain Blasta, Hersbrucket, Celebration Stout and Down 'n' Outz.
Down 'n' Outz was launched in 2010 with lead singer of Def Leppard, Joe Elliott and his side project band also called the Down 'n' Outz. The beer recipie was chosen by Joe and was physically brewed by his own hand along with The Porterhouse masterbrewer. The group have plans to distribute the beer globally.
The Porterhouse Brewing Company regularly hosts beer festivals. Every October sees an Oktoberfest, and there have been many Belgian beer festivals, as well as a Winter Beer Festival, an Australia Day Festival and a Beer and Whiskey Festival Festival.
The Porterhouse also owns a chain of Tapas Bars,
See www.porthouse.ie for more info
The group also owns a club, The Eclectic and hotel at their Bray location on the seafront.
The Porterhouse also own Lillie's Bordello nightlub, boasting Bono, Colin Farrell, Def Leppard, Neil Jordan and Westlife as regulars. It has also been visited by Christina Aguelira, Kylie Minogue, Pierce Brosnan, Bjork, Prince, Take That, Helena Christiansen, Naomi Campbell and many more.
The brewery is located in Ballycoolin in Rosemount Business Park.
The Porterhouse has announced plans to build a distillery in Dingle, Co. Kerry[1]. Products envisioned include[2]: