Dead Centre reveals new brewery development plan

It was Albert Einstein who famously said: “In the midst of every crisis, lies great opportunity”.

The great scientist who lived during the 19th and early 20th century could have been talking about right now, Covid-19, and in turn, a local business – Dead Centre Brewing.

Why? Because the local company has just unveiled ambitious plans for a new Athlone brewery four times the size of its current facility at Custume Pier where they already operate a successful taproom and microbrewery.

“At the moment we're brewing out of our own brewery in Athlone, but the brewery at Custume Pier is very small and while it's great to service the bar on-site, we're currently forced to brew our volume for distribution outside of Westmeath with 12 Acres Brewing in Laois,” Liam Tutty from Dead Centre Brewing explains.

While the plan for Blyry in the former Walsh Mushrooms plant is sizeable in comparison to what they currently have, Liam says in brewery terms it is still small but it will allow them to make their popular brews like 'Marooned' or 'Seeking Sunshine in their home county, something Liam says they are very keen to do.

With an upsurge in demand for their brews nationwide since restrictions came in, the new 2,000-litre production facility will allow them to cater for that, something they are struggling to fulfil currently.

“It will also allow for far easier distribution and logistics. At the moment, we are limited not just by the volume of beer we can produce, but also by the storage space that we have access to. The brewery in Blyry will occupy very little floor space within the premises with a majority of the space being used for storage and packing meaning we'll have the ability to pack and ship a far higher volume of Dead Centre products,” adds Liam of the planning application lodged on January 8 to Westmeath County Council for the premises in Blyry Business & Commercial Park.

During the initial lockdown in April, Dead Centre, in collaboration with other craft brewers around the country, also started BeerCloud.ie, essentially a one-stop-shop for craft beer enthusiasts and an online off-licence which he says has been key to allow them to stay trading throughout the restriction.

Liam says this will also “ease the pressure” on them to get their BeerCloud orders out to their delivery partners, DPD, every evening.

Asked to describe the impact of keeping a business going amid what seems like a constant cycle of closing and reopening, Liam candidly admits that he has been a hard person to be around at times.

“It's been a mix of stubbornness and drive, but the creation of BeerCloud.ie certainly has been key to our ability to keep trading. The support of people who made sure to eat from Dead Centre via our takeaway/delivery service or to pick up Dead Centre beers when they saw them on the shelves has made a huge difference too.

“Our first year was such a fantastic year that I was genuinely worried we would start to fade out of mind with the closures but the local (and national) support has been very humbling,” he tells the Westmeath Independent.

While Liam admits it's “definitely daunting” to be planning to expand in the current climate, and the risks that brings, he is confident that brewing themselves rather than under contract will create jobs, increase their margin and improve availability nationwide - which at the moment is limited.

Should it progress with planning development can be swift, Liam explains: “We've been lucky enough to source an entire brewery in Cork which is 'plug and play' and ready to be commissioned straight away, so we're confident, if the application is approved, that we could get groundworks completed, the brewery installed and customs and excise satisfied within six to nine months.”

In year one he expects to employ four staff in Blyry - a head brewer, an assistant brewer, a packing operative and an operations lead. At the peak of the summer, Dead Centre employed 16 people, three in the brewing area, while the majority were in the bar and kitchen. Four of those have been retained.

Looking ahead to the rest of 2021, Liam is certainly optimistic, notwithstanding Covid-19, that the craft beer sector can continue to thrive, observing a positive trend that more and more people are looking to local for food and drinks.

“Looking at the success of BeerCloud to date, I really feel as though a lot of people during lockdown actively attempted to broaden their horizons and look at local foods and drinks that not only tasted good, but would also support the local economy and make the customer feel as though they were part of a tribe.

“We're very lucky like that in Dead Centre - we've created a community as well as a brand so people who enjoy Dead Centre beers are part of something bigger. I think that the sector will continue to grow, as a result, granted, not as quickly as initially projected, but steadily and in a really sustainable way,” comments Liam.

The planning application covers a change of use of part of the Blyry premises (625 square metres), from its existing permitted use as a self-contained warehouse/distribution store to a brewery. With the rest of the Blyry premises zoned for warehousing and distribution, Liam Tutty says they have started to use this section – putting in racking and storage of packing materials.

Westmeath County Council is due to decide on the brewery plans in the name of Central Brewing Company by March 18.