‘They won’t sell our beer’ – Irish brewer calls out Electric Picnic festival for deal with Heineken that excludes smaller businesses

Ballykilcavan Brewery was set up in 2017 to secure the financial future of a farm that has stood in the small town in County Laois since 1639

Irish brewer calls out Electric Picnic festival for deal with Heineken that excludes smaller businesses

Azmia Riaz

The owner of a small brewery in Stradbally, County Laois is asking why he can’t sell their beers at Electric Picnic – one of the largest events to take place in their town. The annual music festival that has been running since 2004 at Stradbally Hall is just 2.5 km away from Ballykilcavan Brewery.

The festival will run between September 1 to 3 this year with 70,000 people expected to attend. Major headliners for the event include Billie Eilish, Fred Again and The Killers. In a video posted on Twitter on August 17, the owner David Walsh-Kemmis says: “Every year, a deal is done between the festival organisers and a very large Dutch brewing company which means they have complete exclusivity and we are simply not allowed to sell our beers on the site.”