12 Acres Brewing

12 Acres is headed up by Paddy McDonald who after traveling the world with his then girlfriend, now wife Aisling, found himself back in Ireland and began to look at his employment options as Ireland emerged from recession. Thankfully, he brought something back from his travels, a love of craft beer.

Paddy qualified as a brewer after attending an intensive training course run by the Institute of Brewing and Distilling and began developing his own recipes, testing them out on family and friends. Together with his three brothers Rory, Barry and Ian he founded 12 Acres and in 2014 the first commercial 12 Acres beers were brewed. First on contract at 9 White Deer in West Cork before converting a lean-to sheep shed on their own land into a state-of-the-art brewery in 2016.

Producing a product that is tied to the land and traceable from ground to glass was important for 12 Acres. The family have been farming for generations in Killeshin, Co. Laois. It was his grandparents who added the 12 Acres field to their holding back in the 1920’s. Paddy’s grandfather John is the dapper gent you will see on the can of Pale Ale.  

The first step was getting Minch Malt, Ireland’s leading malt producer, to malt their barley separately for 12 Acres. This together with their own spring water, drawn form a source deep beneath the McDonald land, ensures that they can control the quality of raw materials and therefore the quality of the finished product.

You can taste this quality for yourself with a special offer for the month of August of 4 for €10 on selected 12 Acres cans.

12 Acres The Far Side IPA

This hazy IPA is fresh and juicy with zesty tropical and stone fruit flavours.

12 Acres Pale

A delicious, refreshing pale ale with a moderately sweet malt body, balanced with a burst of citrus hoppyness.

12 Acres Pallet Jack India Pale Lager

A clean crisp fruity Pilsner style Lager beer with the hoppy bitterness and flavour of an IPA.