Heineken Ireland boss Geert Van Loo was in chipper form this week following the release of solid results for the brewer. Sales at the Cork-based group rose by 4 per cent while Heineken lager gained share, Murphys held its position in a declining stout market and Coors Light continues to grow in popularity.

He also shed some light on the proposed takeover of Beamish & Crawford. Many industry commentators have questioned whether Heineken would want to operate two stout brands - Murphys and Beamish - in the Irish market.

"People say this, but at the moment I am able to manage and position and sell five lager brands [ here]. The answer is yes." He was a little more coy on whether Heineken would continue to operate two separate brewery sites in Cork if the takeover gets the green light from competition regulators. "We have not thought about that yet," he said.

Given the prime locations of the breweries close to Cork's city centre, most analysts believe that one of the sites would go in any merger of the two groups. "I keep hearing that helicopters [of property developers] have been circling over the breweries, but I have not seen them," he said.

It can only be a matter of time Geert.