The National Centre For Brewing and Distilling is based in Carlow, as part of Teagasc.
It's a new initiative that aims among other things to focus on the testing of raw materials for malting and the production of small batches of specialised malts for the craft beer sector, and of test batches for the malting and distilling companies.
As the Irish drinks industries continue to thrive, the country has seen significant growth in both alcoholic and non-alcoholic drink sales. Growing the brewing and distilling industries in a sustainable and climate-aware way is going to be a challenge, one the centre is going to play a large part in.
Manager Lisa Ryan joins me for a chat about heritage grains, the potential for Irish grains in Irish beer and whiskey and lots more.