Ballykilcavan Brewing Company

About the company

Established in 2016, Ballykilcavan Brewing Company is based at Ballykilcavan Farm, near Stradbally, Co. Laois. Home to 13 generations of the Walsh family since the year 1639, Ballykilcavan has primarily been a tillage farm for the past 50 years. With malting barley being the main crop on the farm, the brewing company was setup to diversify and safeguard its long-term future. The company launched its first beer in July 2017 and was followed by three more bottled beers to create its core bottled beer range. The on-farm brewery was opened in December 2018 and since then, the company has added four canned beers and an unfiltered lager to its range as it continues to grow.

Key Sustainability Commitments

Spotlight Target Area: Packaging

Over the year 2021, Ballykilcavan Brewing Company displayed outstanding achievement across its sustainability plan in a range of key target areas, including Raw Material Sourcing, Packaging, Waste, and Community Engagement. Within the packaging target area, the company looked to reduce its dependence on plastic shrink wrap, setting a target to reduce this material by 25%. Throughout 2021, the company increased its use of compostable shrink wrap by 63% from a baseline of 0% in 2020.

Using a compostable alternative to plastic shrink wrap, which breaks down into biomass rather than micro-plastics, significantly reduces the environmental impact of its product packaging. In addition, Ballykilcavan Brewing Company also introduced multi-use polycarbonate cups for use at festivals and events which are returned, washed, and used again at future events which reduces single use cups.