Mayor Clancy Launches Cotton Ball Brewery

Cotton Ball Brewery Launch

Lord Mayor Catherine Clancy cut the ribbon to launch Mayfield’s Cotton Ball Craft Brewery at the packed pub last Saturday night. Jack Lynch and sons Humphrey and Eoin are the three men behind this venture and they were all in top form as they mingled with the guests.

The guests though had their eyes on another handsome threesome, the trio of beers that the brewery has produced so far: Lynch’s Pure Cork Stout, Mayfield Gold Lager and the Kerry Lane Pale Ale.

Those of us who live locally were already familiar with the stout and the lager and were keen to try the Kerry Lane Ale that just about made it to the party, having been put on tap earlier in the day. It was served unfiltered using natural sedimentation and proved very popular, certainly a favourite among the groups that I was with.

Humphrey’s great-grandfather, Humphrey J. Lynch, was born in Ballyvourney in 1841 and, at 15, headed for America. Some twenty years later, he fought on the Union side in the civil war (1861-1865). He returned to Ireland in the 1870s and the Cotton Ball was established in 1874 (there had been a pub on the site since the 1830s). There are reminders of his adventures on display in the pub.

Now that the brewery is up and running, there were many discussions on the night as to what direction the Cotton Ball would take. One of the more interesting took place between Jack and another micro brewer Peter Curtin from the Roadside Tavern in Lisdoonvarna who attended with his wife Birgitta. Peter had already provided some practical guidance for the Lynch team as they explored the ins and outs of setting up a brewery.

John Duffy, Humphrey Lynch (brewer) and Yours Truly

By the way, if you are in the Clare area next Sunday and looking for entertainment and craft beer, be sure and check out the Roadside where Peter has a great musical session  in store. But get there early – it starts at 4.00pm!

Before I met up with Peter and Birgitta, I had an enjoyable mini session with John Duffy, one of the team behind Beoir.   Proudly wearing the Beoir tee-shirt, John was in Cork especially for the opening. He regularly tweets on craft beer (home and away) as @thebeernut. Interestingly, his first tweet after leaving Mayfield read: The Cotton Ball is a must-copy model for ordinary neighbourhood brewpubs making top notch beer onsite. To read more, check out his blog.

Ale going well. Here with Peter and Brendan.