Grainne Walsh

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The difficult aspect of the movie, “We Built a Brewery”, is, as always, the casting.

The film is going to be one of those Him 'n' Her movies, where a couple do something that is – objectively, sensibly, emotionally – impossible. They build a brewery, and make beer. Yep, it's not new, but the two-against-the-odds is one of the great plot devices here in Movieland.

The Him is easy – Ryan Gosling might have a stab at it, though Jeremy Renner would likely bag it in the end, just ahead of Hugh Jackman. Eric Bana? Hmmm, maybe, maybe. Bradley Cooper? Now, Bradley might just be the man.

But the Her? Now, that's hard, verging on impossible. Kate Winslet? Can't see Kate celebrating the arrival of the pallet truck in the brewery with much enthusiasm, far less pulling a pint. Julianne Moore might scrub up, no? Anne Hathaway? Has to be Cate Blanchett? Actually, when you think about it, Naomi Watts? No? Yeah, no.

Face it: if we want someone to play the part of Gráinne Walsh, of Waterford's Metalman Brewery, we need someone who isn't afraid to get her hands dirty, who is autodidactic, smart, dreams up solutions, and likes bolting things together. Oh, and this movie is unusual: the girl is the brewer. So, she has to have a grá for beer.

Face it: the only girl who could play the part of Gráinne Walsh is... Gráinne Walsh. Good news is, she has also written the script: it's her blog, on the brewery website; funny, pithy, undaunted. Let's green light this one.

Ms Walsh has an i.t. background, and when she worked at Amazon she liked the way they would work out different approaches, how the managers would take responsibility. “You learn how to do”, she says. Do what? Everything. She describes herself as a tweaker, that old Steve Jobs thing – keep at it, keep at it, keep at it. Having travelled and worked abroad, she was dismayed by the lack of good beer in Ireland, so she decided to do something about it with her partner, Tim: they would create some brews – Metalman Pale Ale; Windjammer; Alternator – then they would build a brewery, Metalman Brewery. As you do. She's going to be a star, we know it. Taste those Metalman brews, and you will know it too.

Metalman Brewing Company,Waterford,County Waterford
+353 87 250 9638
www.metalmanbrewing.com