Beer in Northern Ireland
Beer in Northern Ireland has been influenced by immigration, especially from Scotland and the drinking habits in Ireland until the partition of Ireland. Whiskey[1] drinking was always a tradition with Guinness from Dublin being a strong influence in the style of beer drunk in the 19th and 20th centuries. Brewing traditions almost ceased to exist as smaller breweries closed, or were taken over, and then the large breweries in turn closed down their facilities. The Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) was founded in 1971 however it was 10 years before the first new brewery, Hilden Brewing, opened its doors. The industry has been saved by the recent boom in microbreweries.
History

The Celtic tradition of brewing beer almost certainly existed in Ireland from before 1,000BC using barley. The Roman emperor Julian, in a 1,600-year-old poem, correctly described Celtic beer as smelling “like a billy goat.” [2] Historically Ireland produced ale without the use of hops, as the plant is not native to Ireland, which led in the 18th century to importing quantities of hops from England.
During the 18th century the Irish parliament used taxation to encourage brewing at the expense of distilling, reasoning that beer was less harmful than whiskey.[3] In the 1760s about 600,000 barrels of beer were brewed annually in Ireland.[3] In the 1760s the Royal Dublin Society offered prizes to brewers who used the most Irish hops and those that produced the most Porter.[4]
During the interwar period in Northern Ireland, "many drinkers preferred whiskey to beer."[5]
The Caffrey's Ulster Brewery, established in Belfast in 1897 and taken over by Bass in 1974, closed in 2004, so ending big company brewing in Northern Ireland.[6] Stout is the most preferred beer in Northern Ireland, with lager second and bitter beer as a distant third preference.[7] Guinness, brewed in Dublin is still a popular stout beer in Northern Ireland.[7]
Hilden Brewing Company claims to be Ireland's oldest microbrewery, founded in 1981.[8]
In 2007 an ale produced by Whitewater Brewing Company was judged one of the best 50 beers in the world.[9]
The number of microbreweries in Northern Ireland has significantly increased in recent years, from 5 in 2012 to 28 in mid-2016.[8]
List of Northern Ireland breweries
See also
- Beer and breweries by region
- Beer in the United Kingdom
- Beer in England
- Beer in Scotland
- Beer in Wales
- Beer in Ireland
References
- ↑ Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed.: "In modern trade usage, Scotch whisky and Irish whiskey are thus distinguished in spelling; whisky is the usual spelling in Britain and whiskey that in the U.S."
- ↑ "2,500 year old Celtic recipe resurrected".
- 1 2 Ireland Industrial and Agricultural, 1902,. p. 455.
- ↑ Ireland Industrial and Agricultural, 1902, p. 454
- ↑ Blocker, Jack S.; Fahey, David M.; Tyrrell, Ian R. (October 5, 2015). "Alcohol and Temperance in Modern History". ABC-CLIO. Retrieved October 29, 2015.
- ↑ "Bass Ireland Limited — Ulster Brewery".
- 1 2 "Passport to the Pub Chapter 6". Social Issues Research Centre. Retrieved October 29, 2015.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Northern Ireland's craft beer revolution:".
- 1 2 "Real ale in world's best 50 beers". BBCNews. 23 Aug 2007.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 "Local Breweries". CAMRA Northern Ireland. Retrieved 3 Nov 2015.
- ↑ "First brewpub to open in Belfast". Belfast Telegraph.
- ↑ "Business award for fledgling Mournes brewery".
- ↑ "Newry craft brewery bought by US firm Alltech".
External links
- CAMRA Northern Ireland
- Society of Independent Brewers
- CAMRA
- Belfast Bar Reviews bars, pubs and clubs in Belfast, Northern Ireland