The vessels which are up to 85ft in length and up to 28 tonnes each in weight were shipped from Menen in Belgium. Once erected, the largest of the vessels will be capable of holding just under one million pints at a  time.

The arrival of the vessels is part of the €153 expansion and re-development of the St. James’s Gate Brewery. Construction of the project started in early summer 2012 and the plant will start producing beer in June 2013.

The brewery is to receive twenty-seven brewing vessels in total.

Paul Armstrong, supply chain director at Diageo Europe beer supply, said: “The arrival of these vessels symbolises that the long term future of brewing in the heart of Dublin is secure for the next generation. The new vessels will be partly responsible for brewing 40,000,000 pints of stout and beer each week, most of which will be exported to markets across the world. The scale and size of the vessels underscores the role that Diageo plays in the Irish economy in terms of employment, exports, agriculture and tourism.

“The new brewery will be the first-of-its-kind on the island of Ireland and will use state of the art plant and processes to minimise energy consumption and greatly reduce environmental impact. It will save an Olympic swimming pool of water every 30 hours and will save enough energy each year to power 1,200 Irish households.”