In 2015, sitting in the snug of his local, a Galway City native came up with the dream of having Connachts first cider company. A voyage that would lead him to launch ‘The Galway Cider Company’.
The first port of call was to sample every craft cider from the island of Ireland. This in itself was a tall challenge, with over 25 craft ciders to sample and critique. Many Sunday mornings were spent suffering.
After a year or so, he took a more professional approach and enlisted in a Cider Production course at The Cider & Perry Academy in Gloucester, England. This gave him the knowledge to produce a quality cider product on a small scale.
The next few months were spent making small batches of “home brew” ciders with a close friend on the weekends. Much fun was had mulching apples, juicing and controlling the fermentation process. They outlined a flavour profile they wished to produce, a flavour they felt the people of Connacht would not only like but love and be proud of.
Developing a great taste was one thing but turning it into a functioning business that would stand the test of time was a whole other thing. Lucky for them, another friend by chance suggested a part time course in GMIT – Food Innovation and Entrepreneurship.
The following 6 months were spent turning an idea into a real business. With great help from course lecturers, a business strategy and plan was formulated.
Without the required capital to set up their own cidery, they set out to find an existing quality Irish craft cider producer to partner with, a producer that spoke the same language as them and know what they wanted. They travelled the country in search of the right person.
Lucky for them on a Sunday afternoon after a half marathon in Limerick, they ended up in the beautiful town of Dungarvan, where a man called Liam would be their man. Many long drives were spent commuting up and down to Dungarvan and again rough Sunday mornings were endured to develop that taste profile they had set out to find 12 months prior.
Roll onto early April 2019, on an early foggy morning in Enniscorty, 15,238 bottles of Galway Cider rolled off the bottling line and the dream the man once had become reality. Galway Cider is now available in all good pubs in Galway City for you to enjoy.
And always remember, “wild dreams” in your local pub late at night can become a reality.