The story of over two centuries of an iconic Irish brewery and the people who worked there. Ireland's worldwide reputation for stout was first established by Beamish & Crawford in Cork - the first Irish brewery to produce it on a large scale. The Cork Porter Brewery was founded in 1792 by two successful merchants, William Beamish and William Crawford, together with two local brewers. It was Ireland's leading brewery until the 1830s and remained an integral part of Cork's economic and social life until the twenty-first century. Beamish & Crawford's extensive company papers, some of which remained hidden for over 200 years, form the basis of this book - the most comprehensive history of an Irish brewery published in one volume. This book is also a broader history of brewing in Cork, featuring accounts and images of long-forgotten concerns such as the St Finbarre's and Southgate breweries, and of the remarkable Beamish and Crawford families, who left an indelible mark on Cork's cultural, political and physical landscape.