Every time Ellon’s team post a blog about a new BrewDog bar opening, the comments generally become littered with mention of Dublin and or Belfast. Sure, BrewDog are opening up bars all across the UK, Italy & every other mannerof exotic place you can stick your dirty, greasy, hop covered thumb on, & over the last few months Dublin has gone from being ‘coming soon’ to not being mentioned by BrewDog at all any more on these announcements. Some, including myself thought it was because BrewDog has given up on trying for Dublin. It seems we were wrong.

For a long time, BrewDog have been hunting for a bar here in Ireland. According to BigHospitality.co.uk in a piece published today interviewing David McDowall, the MD of BrewDog Bars , ‘this year Dublin will get its first and second BrewDog bars‘. But, when you look at the latest blog from BrewDog about bar updates also published today, there is no mention of Dublin. So, how can this be?

According to a source, it was hinted that the two bars are being set-up in co-operation with an existing undisclosed bar operating company here in Ireland. If this is true, it would follow along the lines of some of their other bars, such as BrewDog South Africa which is run by their distributor there, Beverage People.

The Dublin craft beer scene is heavily dominated by the Galway Bay Brewery with their bars such as BrewDock, Alfies, Against The Grain & The BeerMarket to name but a few, as well asthe BodyTonic Group who operate Grand Canal, MVP, WigWam, as well as established operators such as the Mercantile & Capital Bars group (who recently have been going through somewhat of an acrimonius divorce after their merger last year.

Currently, there’s no hint of these two bars on the existing publican licensing lists, or in the planning application list for Dublin City Council.