Update, August 2025. The story that was Black Donkey Brewing has been drawn to a sad conclusion. Due largely to prevailing market conditions and Ireland’s arcane and archaic alcohol licensing laws, the brewery ceased operations in June 2025, and began decommissioning in August of the same year. All beer has now been sold and soon we will be a mere memory, but hopefully a happy one for most if not all.
We’re firm believers that actions speak louder than words, so if you really want to get to know us, get to know our beers.
However, if popping open a nicely chilled bottle isn’t an option right now; Black Donkey Brewing was born at 19:20 on Saturday July 5th 2014, when the first pitch of yeast was added into the first brew of the now classic Sheep Stealer. The lead up to that moment was years in the making.
Richard Siberry and Michaela Dillon returned to their native Ireland in 2012, having spent the best part of 3 decades working abroad. Richard was thirsty; he was also dismayed to find that every pub and bar in the country was still pouring the same three industrial beers they had been when he left in 1986. Spurred on by both his thirst for good beer, and their thirst for adventure, Richard and Michaela set about laying the groundwork for Black Donkey Brewing.
About Our Beers
From the start we decided to brew the beers that we wanted to drink, and not to be dictated to by the market. It hasn’t always been an easy road, but by focusing on brewing our personal favorites, every recipe and every batch has to satisfy us first, before it ever leaves the brewery. We embrace the fantastic barley, which grows in abundance in our North Atlantic climate, to produce uniquely Irish beers, to suit Irish foods and palates, because, after all, we don’t grow grapes ‘round here.
Our Process
