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Right, I am a little clearer now.

So the only fee with the bond is the quarterly fees then?

What sort of ballpark figure are we talking about here?

Maybe ask your bank that one?

Thing is, it'll likely depend on what the bond is set at: a number which varies quite a bit. They might be able to quote you a percentage.

I haven't looked into it a whole lot yet but I think some insurance companies will issue a bond too. Meaning you can shop around, I think.

Some great info there, makes interesting if slightly depressing reading. The odds are certainly stacked against the small guys in Ireland.

It would be interesting to hear how some of the new smaller breweries got going, although they may be unwilling to share the secret to their success, which is understandable.

Having a more diverse brewing industry has got to be a good thing. Small breweries will tend to be run by people who are doing it for the love of it and not to make vast amounts of money. The big guys need to make big money so they need to sell a huge amount of tasteless beer to young people in debt, or with "disposable income" as it used to be called <!-- s:) --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_smile.gif" alt="" title="Smile" /><!-- s:) -->...

Bonded warehouses aside, what license or licenses are required to operate a microbrewery in Ireland, and what authorities issue those licenses?. No retail sales, just manufacture and wholesale.

I'm also curious as to why, in my very limited experience, none of the current Irish microbreweries are producing any high ABV beers, all seem to be producing similar session strength beers. Is it a matter of the high excise rates on "strong" beers? Where are the craft brewed barley wines, Imperial stouts and Belgian strong ales?

I reckon the high excise duty has something to do with it but there are breweries that produce higher ABV, or at least higher than session strength with 6% and 7% beers.