A while ago, we published some maps that were from some preliminary research TBN and I did on lost breweries in Ireland. At the time, I bought scanned copied of Alfred Barnard's books, Noted Breweries of Great Britain and Ireland. It's a brilliant read, being more like a travel guide than anything else.
I just found out you can download them free here[/url:1gv8t3v4]. If you want to learn more about the Anchor Brewery, where the original D'Arcy's Dublin Porter was made, have a trawl <!-- s:) --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_smile.gif" alt="

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Of course, the big breweries that survived the 19th and 20th century are also there, and that's also fascinating.