Beer we go! Manning's adds to its drinks licence

MANNING'S Emporium, a business that has been supporting local producers since the 1970s, has been granted a licence to sell West Cork beers.

Andrew Heath, one of the owners of Manning's Emporium which is situated in Ballylickey, between Bantry and Glengarriff, attended Bantry District Court recently to make an application for a restaurant certificate that would allow the restaurant and deli to sell bottled beer with food.

Speaking to The Southern Star afterwards, Andrew said: ‘We've had a wine licence for a number of years, but with the increase in popularity of craft beers we decided to get a restaurant licence so visitors and locals could sample some of the excellent beers that are being made in the locality.

‘At the moment,' Andrew said, ‘we are stocking Blacks of Kinsale, Nine White Deer from Ballyvourney and the West Cork Brewery range from Baltimore, but we hope to increase the range over time.

‘People enjoy a glass of wine with their meals, but in the last two years we found more and more people asking if we stocked craft beers.

‘Now that we have the right licence, we are delighted to be able to support West Cork's emerging craft brewery industry,' he said, adding: ‘And our customers tell us that they go very well with our local cheeses!'