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food-drink · Saturday 10 October 2026 · 2:00pm 
Meet the Brewer at Ballykilcavan Brewery
At Ballykilcavan Brewery · Kylebeg, Stradbally, Co. Laois
At Ballykilcavan Brewery · Kylebeg, Stradbally, Co. Laois
Ballykilcavan Brewery, run on a working farm outside Stradbally, hosts a Meet the Brewer session on Saturday, 10 October 2026, giving visitors a guided walk through the barley fields and hop garden before a tour of the 240-year-old stone farmyard and brewery itself. Owner and farmer David Walsh Kemmis leads the visit personally, talking through both the farming and the brewing side of the business, with a tasting of Ballykilcavan’s beers to finish. The event is part of the Centre of Food Culture Ireland’s Meet the Maker series, supported by Sheridans Cheesemongers.
A two-hour visit split between the land and the brewery. Walsh Kemmis walks the group through the barley field and hop garden where the ingredients for Ballykilcavan’s beers are grown, before moving into the historic stone farmyard buildings that now house the brewing operation. He talks through the family history behind the farm and the move into brewing, and the tour ends with a sit-down tasting of a range of Ballykilcavan beers with plenty of time for questions. Ballykilcavan is one of the few Irish breweries growing its own barley on site, which gives the tour a genuine farm-to-glass angle rather than a standard brewery tour built around imported ingredients. Numbers are kept small enough for proper conversation with the brewer.
Ballykilcavan Brewery is at Kylebeg, on the outskirts of Stradbally, a short drive from Stradbally village. On-site parking is available at the farm.
Ballykilcavan sits just outside Stradbally, home to the Stradbally Steam Museum and Electric Picnic. There’s more to explore across Co. Laois.
Heading to Ballykilcavan Brewery in Stradbally? Laois has plenty more to see. Read the Stradbally area guide, find what else is on, and explore the towns and villages nearby.