Yes - it's just a cash flow benefit, you defer having to pay the duty until you sell the beer. Imagine you had a microbrewery without a bonded warehouse; you would have to pay duty as you produce the beer - you might not sell it for a month and be paid for another month. Likewise for distributing beer - you would have to pay all the duty on purchasing from an Irish brewery, or at point of import for imported beer.
You can move beer between bonded warehouses without paying the duty (with C&E agreement to transfer). You only account for the duty at the end of the month of sale, and actually pay it the following month.
Of course C&E, require guarantees - they will need a bond from a major bank, which can be difficult to obtain without a strong relationship and background.
Basically, you probably would not be able to manage the cash flows of large scale distribution without a bonded warehouse.
