Irish artisan spirits producer distills oatmeal stout

A new artisan Irish distillery has partnered up with a local brewery to distill and bottle an oatmeal stout.

Peter Mulryan (right), distiller as Blackwater Distillery, partnered up with Cormac O’Dwyer (left), head brewer at Dungarvan Brewing Company, to distill an oatmeal stout

The Blackwater Distillery – the first craft distillery to be opened in Waterford, Ireland, in 174 years – plans to distill and bottle the beer brewed by the Dungarvan Brewing Company, also based in Waterford.

The beer is currently fermenting at the brewery, but 800 litres will be transported to Blackwater for distillation next week. Once the liquid has been distilled, it will be matured in Sherry casks for two months and released as a limited edition spirit, called The Spirit of West Waterford.

The product will then be showcased at the West Waterford Festival of Food in April. A total of 250 bottles will be produced.

“This is a very exciting innovation,” said Blackwater distiller Peter Mulryan. “We will bring the flavours of West Waterford to a whole new audience.”

Earlier this month, Blackwater Distillery launched its inaugural product, Blackwater No. 5 Gin, with plans to release a whisky at a later date.