Born of a desire to see more beer produced by independent brewers in Ireland, Metalman Brewing is the brainchild of beer enthusiasts Gráinne Walsh and Tim Barber, who wanted to see better availability and choice of tasty, authentically Irish beer.
The name of the brewery is inspired by the famous Metal Man navigational aid on the Waterford coast, which was erected in 1823 and stands on one of three pillars overlooking the bay.
The first beer, Metalman Pale Ale, was brewed under contract at the White Gypsy Brewery and launched in March 2011. Production then moved to their own Waterford brewery in May 2012, housed in what used to be an old jute factory just outside the Waterford city centre.
In the spring of 2015, Metalman became the first craft brewery in Ireland to can their beer instead of bottling it. Their flagship Metalman Pale Ale, which is brewed all year round, is currently the only beer being canned. Their Hardknott Yerba Porter is available in bottles, the result of a collaboration brew with the Hardknott Brewery in Cumbria.
Regular seasonals (released around the same time every year) include Metalman Windjammer, an amber beer; Metalman Alternator, a wheat beer; Moonbeam, a dark beer with a light body; and Heat Sink, a smoked porter with a touch of cayenne pepper that was introduced in 2015.
The Chameleon range is their vehicle for experimentation – when they want to try something a bit different or a variation on a theme, they brand it under Chameleon. So far the range has included ginger, chilli, lime, wheat and lager 'and a multitude of dry hops'.
They brew something different every month, so check their website for current offerings as well as a list of the pubs and stockists where you can find the beers. You can also catch them at craft beer festivals around Ireland throughout the year, where they’re sure to have something interesting and unusual on offer.
