A recent study released by the Irish Brewers Association shows that Irish downed fewer pints in 2011 and the demand of Irish beer abroad is on the rise.
 
According to TheJournal.ie, the Irish public consumed 694 million pints of beer, in 2011.

That number was down on the previous year’s total by some 2 percent.
 
Stout accounted for about one-third of that total consumption, while ale made up 6 percent and lager was the most consumed beer with 61 percent according to Just Drinks.
 
The number of full-time employees in the Irish beer industry in 2011 was 1,584, up from 1,441 in 2010.