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

Whitewater - Clotworthy Dobbin

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

This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by expanding it with reliably sourced entries.
Brewers in Northern Ireland
Brewery Town County Wikipedia Web page FB Since Contract Brewed?
Ards Brewing [8] [10] Newtownards County Down Ards 2011
Barrahooley Brewery [10] Martinstown County Antrim Barrahooley 2014
Black Mountain Brewery [10] Lisburn County Antrim Black Mountain 2016
Boundary Brewing [8] [10] Belfast County Antrim Boundary Boundary 2015
Brewbot Belfast [11] Belfast County Antrim Brewbot 2015
Bullhouse Brewing [10] Newtownards County Down Bullhouse Bullhouse 2015
Clanconnel Brewing [8] [10] Craigavon County Armagh Clanconnel 2008 Hilden
Clearsky Brewery [10] Dungannon County Tyrone Clearsky 2013 Hilden
Cloughmore Brewing [10] Rostrevor County Down Cloughmore 2014 Whitewater
Farmageddon Brewing [8] [10] Comber County Down Farmageddon Farmageddon 2013
Glens of Antrim Ale [10] Ballycastle County Antrim Glens 2014
Hercules Brewing [10] Belfast County Antrim Hercules 2014
Hilden Brewing [10] Lisburn County Antrim Hilden Hilden 1981
Hillstown Brewery [10] Randalstown County Antrim Hillstown Hillstown 2014
Inishmacsaint Brewery [10] Derrygonnelly County Fermanagh Inishmacsaint 2009
Knockout Brewing [10] Belfast County Antrim Knockout 2015
Lacada Brewery [10] Portrush County Antrim Lacada Lacada 2015
Mourne Mountains [10] [12] Warrenpoint County Down Mourne Mountains Mourne 2015
Night Cap Beer [10] Belfast County Antrim Night Cap Beer Gallopers 2015 Sadlers, Stourbridge
Northbound Brewery [10] Derry County Londonderry Northbound 2015
O’Connor Craft Beer [10] Derry County Londonderry O’Connor 2015
Pokertree Brewing [10] Carrickmore County Tyrone Pokertree Pokertree 2013
Red Hand Brewing [10] Dungannon County Tyrone Red Hand 2013
Sheelin Brewery [10] Enniskillen County Fermanagh Sheelin Sheelin 2013
Station Works Brewery [10] [13] Newry County Down Station Works 2013
Walled City Brewery [10] Derry County Londonderry Walled City Walled City 2015
When We Are Giants/Sailortown Belfast Antrim 2015 Carrig, Co Leitrim
Whitewater Brewery.[8] [10] [9] Kilkeel County Down Whitewater Brewery Whitewater Whitewater 1996

See also

References

  1. ↑ 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. ↑ "2,500 year old Celtic recipe resurrected".
  3. 1 2 Ireland Industrial and Agricultural, 1902,. p. 455.
  4. ↑ Ireland Industrial and Agricultural, 1902, p. 454
  5. ↑ Blocker, Jack S.; Fahey, David M.; Tyrrell, Ian R. (October 5, 2015). "Alcohol and Temperance in Modern History". ABC-CLIO. Retrieved October 29, 2015.
  6. ↑ "Bass Ireland Limited — Ulster Brewery".
  7. 1 2 "Passport to the Pub Chapter 6". Social Issues Research Centre. Retrieved October 29, 2015.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Northern Ireland's craft beer revolution:".
  9. 1 2 "Real ale in world's best 50 beers". BBCNews. 23 Aug 2007.
  10. 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.
  11. ↑ "First brewpub to open in Belfast". Belfast Telegraph.
  12. ↑ "Business award for fledgling Mournes brewery".
  13. ↑ "Newry craft brewery bought by US firm Alltech".

External links

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