Who owns MURPHY’S IRISH STOUT?

MURPHY’S IRISH STOUT is owned by

HEINEKEN N.V.

Website

Murphy’s Irish beer was created in 1856 in the city of Cork, Ireland by James J. Murphy and his brothers William, Jerome, and Francis. The company was originally known as James J. Murphy & Co, and the brewery was known as Lady’s Well Brewery, after the Lady’s Well spring from which the brewery sourced its water. The Murphys were the grandsons of a wealthy shipping magnate, and their father Jeremiah James Murphy founded the James Murphy & Co. distillery in 1825. The sons had an interest in the distillery until 1854, when they sold their stake in the business and purchased a former orphan’s hospital to turn into a brewery.

Although the brewery is now known for its Murphy’s Irish Stout, originally the only beers the brewery made were Murphy’s Porter and Lady’s Well Ale. In 1889, the company added Murphy’s Stout to the portfolio, which quickly grew to become their most popular product. In 1892, it beat out Guinness for the gold medal at the Dublin Brewer’s Exhibition.

The company continued to expand throughout the 20th century, and is now the second most popular Irish stout in the world after Guinness. The Murphy family remained the main shareholders in the company throughout this time. Heineken International acquired the Murphy’s Brand and the Lady’s Well Brewery in 1983, and renamed it Murphy’s Brewery. In 1988, the rights to sell Murphy’s in the United Kingdom were sold to Whitbread, which became part of the Belgian company Interbrew in 2000. Interbrew merged with South American company AmBev to become InBev in 2004, and in 2008, when Anheuser-Busch was purchased by InBev, the rights were sold back to Heineken to avoid antitrust issues.

Popular Beers by this Brand

• Murphys Irish Stout
• Murphys Irish Red

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