David and Lisa Walsh-Kemmis set up Ballykilcavan Brewing Company on their tillage farm at Ballykilcavan, Stradbally, Co. Laois in 2016.
Ballykilcavan Farm has been the home of our family for 13 generations. We have lived and worked here since 1639, and diversification has always been important to keep our farm viable for future generations. When I took over Ballykilcavan from my father in 2004, my motivation was to try to sustain it so that someone else would be able to take it over from me.
Our brewery is installed in the original stone grainstore for the farm, which was built in around 1780. In previous centuries, the building was used to store barley and oats after harvest, and then to mill them for bread making, feeding animals and maybe even making beer. Like most of the buildings in the 240-year-old farmyard, it is too small for modern farm equipment, but it is the perfect size to fit a small craft brewery.
Medium gold with a thin head. Aroma of syrupy tropical fruit. Flavour is spicy chemical fruit. Sweet syrup finish, finish is lightly acidic overripe fruit.
Brownish black with a medium tan head. Aroma of toasted fruit. Flavour is bitter chocolate, warm spice fruit, dry dark chocolate malt, boozy coffee finish.
Growler can from beerclub. Black with a tan head. Aroma of sweet toasted malt. Flavour is deep roast malt, warm dark fruit, whiskey wood on a long dry burnt malt and liquor base.
Bottle from beercloud. Jet black with a full head. Aroma of creamy toasted malt. Flavour is dry toasted licorice malt, dry bitter base, roasted dry base.
Can from beerclub. Clean gold with a thin head. Aroma of tropical hop. Flavour is bitter citrus, bread malt, crisp sharp dry bitter finish. Earlier Rating: 11/7/2019 Total Score: 3 Can, branded as Millhouse IPA. Pale yellow with a large frothy head. Aroma of citrus hop. Flavour is light bitter fruit hop, grainy malt on a citrus lemon finish.