Beyond The Boundary

With the first batch of bottles rushing off the shelves faster than they could be stocked and the entire first batches sold out within days I knew I needed to get hold of Boundary's new beers before it was too late. Luckily i managed to snaffle a few bottles of each via my usual purveyor of libations, The Vineyard. But before I let myself sample my illicit gains I thought I'd better call in on Matt at the Brewery...

Matt and his new brewery!

Calling the PortView trade centre home since February Boundary have been busy making Unit A5 ship shape and ready for action for most of that period. Simultaneously they begun brewing their first batches of beer, bottles from which I will be reviewing below. Arriving in to the brewery on a miserable Wednesday lunchtime I'm greeted by bright lights, gleaming steel and the sound of high pressure water circulating post caustic-rinse. Matt stands beaming and hirsute amongst his newly acquired equipment, "I've just taken samples of the beers, would you like to try them?" Not one to offend I of course jump at the opportunity to sample the three beers in the core range and not one but two collaboration specials with Galway Bay (both of the latter are to be barrel aged; but you'll need to wait for ABV fest to find out what they are!)

Galway Bay collabs sleeping soundly in warm conditioning

Matt shows me around the brewery, pointing out the freezer (essential for hop life), pest proofed grain store and conditioning room replete with barrels "I bought 20 but only 6 are for us, the rest are already accounted for". Of course there has been teething problems, for example some of the fermenters don't seal correctly and there was no way to recirculate the wort, but these have now been Heath-Robinsoned out. With all vessels currently filled there will soon be a need to buy more. There's plenty of space within the brewery but Matt has his sights set on the unit next door "Its still unoccupied and I could use a space for a barrel store..."

Pallets of stock and the three label designs

The first event was held in the brewery last Saturday, managing to squeeze 80 people in for a cheese and beer tasting. There's also an artist studio where the resident label designer has already been hard at work but will also be available for the local community to rent. Being a part of the community is very important for the team and is why the brewery was set up as a co-operative. This has of course ppaid dividends in the form of a market thirsty for their beers!

The three "core" beers

"So what of the beers?", I hear you ask, alright I'm getting to it! There are 3 in the core range an APA at 3.8 %, an IPA at 7% and rounded out by an export stout also at 7% ABV. They're all bottle conditioned too, which should please the real ale fans though Matt says he's had to bring forward plans to keg the beer as bottled product just doesn't get the exposure in pubs in Belfast.

I sampled the APA first, a sensible plan given the jump in ABV of the next two! Priced very fairly at £2.09 it certainly drinks as a session beer. peach tea and mango on nose. Decent level of body for its diminutive ABV, light carbonation, gentle bitterness, red berries and some biscuit. Very sessionable indeed and would sing on cask. If anything I'd prefer a 500ml bottle to really get to know it, ah well I'll have to make do with a second 330ml...

The IPA certainly seems related to the APA but with a different hop bill Matt assures me. Its pretty boisterous on the nose with a mess of yeast esters interfering with what is obviously an exiting aroma - a base note of orange bitters jus makes its through. Super pithy grapefruit peel with herbal sage and pine notes, heavy body, super bitter, a little sticky with a dry finish, its not boozy per say but doesn't have the cleanliness of Kernel or Beavertown. Not how I enjoy my IPAs but will probably have plenty of fans and certainly the highest perceived bitterness of any beer on the IRish market to my knowledge! (In fact it reminds me of some of the Evil Twin/ Mikkeller efforts brewed at De Proef.)

I finished things off with the Export Stout, which is much more up my street. Daisy tasted it too; she thought [that it] "smells metallic, coffee, marmite chocolate and peanut...mocha chocolatey coffee. Mouthfeel is good, quite bitter 'Steve will like it' really smooth but tongue filling bitterness, touch of sweetness, lots of dark coffee flavour, should be called espresso stout. Actually its not really marmitey and its less bitter when you return to it" 

I picked up rich roast barley with chocolate coffee and a touch of mint on the nose. Its full bodied but smooth with light carbonation preventing it from becoming too heavy. Its roasty burnt toast with a touch of liquorice and quite brief in finishing with a touch of sweetness but not overly complex. It picked up a touch of burnt rasin/blackcurrant after allowing it to sit a while but overall  Iid have liked a few more hops to balance the malt and provide some lift.

So whilst I thought all three beers were well brewed (and amazingly so given how new the setup is!) it was the APA that I really enjoyed and will certainly be drinking again. The Export Stout would make a good base to a black and tan (The mixed drink, not the uniform!) but the IPA in its current guise just isn't my thing. There are still bottles in local off-licences and pubs; so go and try them for yourselves!

Finally getting decent beer in Belfast

I've been a bit lax with posting recently and this blog is perhaps a month past when it should have been posted, better late than never they say! A lot going on beer wise in NI at the mo, hopefully do a few posts in coming weeks to catch up a bit, not least on new breweries and beer venues in our capital.

Perhaps helped by the appearance of some craft-styled breweries in the North and the resurgence of good beer on the island of Ireland as a whole Belfast will host a new beer festival this Spring bank holiday (May 22nd-23rd). Set 6months apart and serving mostly from keg and bottle this will be a completely different affair to the November CAMRA cask festival held in the Ulster hall.

The listed and atmospheric Titanic Drawing Offices

ABVFest (for that is its name) has been organised by four disparate beer enthusiasts who have come together to bring decent beer to our shores.

Darren met Felicia at a beer tasting event at the National last year and she began to distribute his (Pokertree) beers through her business (Prohibition NI). Whilst they both love the Ulster Hall festival it doesn't reflect where good beer is in Ireland right now and wanted to run an event focussing on quality of beer, regardless of format where a group of enthusiasts could come together and enjoy beers in a more relaxed environment. When Boundary's Matt and Michael came along it turned out they were planning a festival on similar lines; so four people came together with the idea of putting on something a bit different in Belfast, modelled on the likes of Indy Man beer con. This is not least reflected in the choice of venue, wrangled somehow by Matt and Michael is the use of the formerly bustling now decrepit Titanic Drawing Offices. The festival will be the final event there before it becomes a boutique hotel. Of course this does mean if the event is successful they'll need a new venue next year, which is all part of the ethos says Darren!

All four are from different backgrounds and each contributed their own take on what they want from a festival, it really will be a reflection on four people's tastes. Michael's creative eye (he's a photographer by trade) has helped design the style of the festival and as the only non-beer-trade organiser he acts as a proxy for all 1200 attendees to ensure the festival caters for the geeks as well as the brewers!

A Boundary and Galway Collab Brewday
Photo courtesy of Tom Delaney

Each session will be fairly small with 400 people, allowing for conviviality rather than hubbub sometimes seenthe attendees reading like a who's who of the best our islands (and the worldwide brewing community) have to offer. Felicia's extensive list of contacts and good will built among brewers in the few short years Prohibition has been operating has resulted in an astonishing array of beers, the like of which have never before been seen on our shores including a number of festival specials and one-offs (currently held tightly underwraps) plus the official launch of newest Belfast brewery Boundary with their AGM being held on Saturday morning. It will also serve as a showcase for Northern Ireland brewers; all were invited and most were excited to attend, though Darren was at pains to stress that this is not "The Good Food show NI for beer" its a celebration of beer first and foremost, with of course a chance for enthusiasts to put the faces to the brewsters and brewers whose wares they so enjoy. Felicia said "we wanted to create an experience and not just a drinking session,  a festival that could allow people to taste some of the best beers that are available." In that respect ABV will be completely different to anything seen in Northern Ireland to date

And there will be a number of those purveyors of beers present at the event, behind the bar chatting all things beer, ably assisted by a posse of volunteers (including yours truly; who has volunteered to manage a bar for all three sessions). Most of these beers will be served on keg, 40 at one time across two bars, supplemented by a fistful of bottles. A lot will be a single keg only, meaning you'll have to make do with what's on during your session, but working out what's on is all part of the fun! There will also be some ciders for those of the fermented apple beverage persuasion and of course with decent drink must come decent food and a number of proper street food trucks will be in attendance.

Michael said "We've planned a festival that we know we'd love ourselves and I can't wait to enjoy it." He's particularly looking forward to a few "dark beasts" with more details to be released in the coming weeks @ABVFest.Felicia is also looking forward to seeing others getting pleasure from the beers, finding out "how fun and interesting beer can be, trying beers they have maybe never tried before and having a bit of craic." This sharing aspect will be cultured by some special tastings on the day.

Could this vial hold a clue?

I'm most looking forward to trying the Boundary Beers on draught (including some of those aforementioned collaborations)* and meeting a lot of those people who help keep our beer community lubricated plus of course catching up with old friends from around the UK. And for the team behind the festival its all a bit overwhelming but of course very exciting, "it's amazing how many hundreds of people have been so quick to buy tickets and support our efforts to do something different". The Friday, Saturday evening and weekend passes had already sold out one month before hand; so you'll need to act fast to get one of the last tickets for a Saturday lunchtime session (12-5)  and the final Saturday day session tickets sold out shortly afterwards. There is a waiting list, so try your luck on the website, hope to see you there!

*I'll hopefully bring you an update of these as soon as I hear about them!

Wow, that was fast!

On Friday I wrote about a hopeful new brewery start up in Belfast. Well that dream begun 18 months ago has almost become a reality! Boundary have hit the £70,000 target in just six days (currently £75,000) with around 300 of us (mostly Northern Ireland dwellers) joining with the board to make the vision a reality. Funding will stay open until £100,000, the closer to the stretch goal, the more fermenters and thus the more frequent the collaborations and specials that can be produced.

Their blog yesterday also hinted at the purchase of multiple wine barrels via contacts with the excellent OX Belfast for ageing beers in. Matthew intends to brew the first (intentionally!) soured beer in Northern Ireland in the Flemish Red style which will be the inaugral brew on the new kit. This will then be aged in those barrels along with various monster Imperial Stouts to slumber  away and be brought out on special occasions. It appears us members will be given first refusal on these special brews...it seems we will continue drinking our own investment for a long time to come.

After the keys have been obtained it will take around a fortnight to refurbish the building and install the brew kit, with the hope to be mashing in the first brew in late January. After that it'll take around 90 cases/ month to break even on overheads and after that any profits will be reinvested into the business. Matthew hopes that they'll be able to take on their first paid employee towards the end of 2016. Beers should sell in offlicences around the same price point as Kernel and Siren (as long as the "craft tax" isn't set too high), and going for 330ml bottles should really set them us apart from the competition.

The fantastic response from everyone will mean that Matthew should even be able to afford a week off for Christmas before the hard work begins in earnest in the New Year. Thank you to everyone who has helped the dream become a reality and there's still a wee bit of time left to get involved if you haven't already; you've probably got a few days at most!

Follow Boundary on Twitter to keep up to date with other new developments.

Pushing boundaries

Its a heady time for beer up here in the North, 15 breweries and counting now. Some of the newer ones are even producing beers I'd happily drink regularly and the old guard are continually upping their game. I may even be able to recommend a few NI brews in my next top beers post!

Despite the quality and variation in beer styles improving we still lag a way behind the mainland, and indeed the rest of Ireland, with a lot of brewers sticking to the tried and true holy trinity of Red, Blonde and Stout. A new start-up on the scene is looking to change this launching with an IPA, session pale ale and export stout. But that's not the only thing they're doing differently...

I first met Matthew at Hilden Beer Festival in 2011 where he kindly smuggled me in a few bottles of home-brew in his Son's pram. I was pretty impressed with them, all influenced by Belgian style and could sense the passion in him to go on to bigger things. Fast forward a few years and a sizeable length of bear later and he's finally ready to take the plunge with a full size kit after working for Brewbot for the last few years as well as running the hugely successful Beer Clubs in Belfast's Hudson Bar. Watch this space for a probable contribution from yours truly next year.

Answering the phone pretty hoarsely and apologising about coming down with a cold (he's been working too hard I told him!) we chat for an hour or so about his motivations and future plans.  Matthew decided about 18 months ago that the time was right to break out from brewing for just himself and a few friends to supplying the whole of the North and likely down South too. The question was how to go about doing it? He'd liked what Brewdog did with Equity for Punks and wanted something similar but in a truly equitable way but wasn't quite sure of the best way forward. Meeting Matt through a mutual acquaintance and getting chatting about beer (as you do) the suggestion of a co-operative came up. After Googling it to find out what the hell a co-operative was Matthew knew this was the way forward and a plan was hatched by the two of them (Matthew as secretary and Matt as CEO).

A year or so later, they have a premises lined up with keys almost in hand, brew kit sourced from the Isle of Man's Hooded Ram brewery (via a tip off by Marble's Matt) and deposit paid. A 2600 square foot there's more than sufficient space for expansion and indeed their plans are ambitious. Most importantly that all important co-operative registration has been obtained. For those of you who don't know about them, co-operatives are mutual organisations, where every member has an equal vote regardless of the number of shares ). They aim to be a part of their local community (their site is in the middle of a new "East Belfast Partnership" which will eventually have craft Butchers, Bakers (not sure about candlestick makers), cheese makers and a bar and events space: ideal then for a new brewery.

So What's the story behind the name? "I was inspired by a quote from Gustave Flaubert [French author of Madame Bovary], 'Be regular and orderly in your life, so that you may be violent and original in your work'.'" Matthew liked the idea of creating a definitive boundary between home life and the brewery, so he can concentrate all of his creative energies on innovations in beer. His wife is looking forward to gaining some space back in the house!

The logo designed by Ali Sisk

Matthew will start off going it alone, brewing 2 or three times a week with a hand from other board members for bottling but its likely they'll have at least one paid employee by the end of next year. Beer wise his plans are pretty big. They'll be hitting the market in 330ml bottles aiming for that shelf space in bar and off licences which is finally becoming available. Alongside the core range which Matthew reckons will be 2:1:1 Session:IPA:stout there will be regular seasonals and specials, member collaborations and of course collaborations with other brewers from across the UK, Ireland* and the world. Taking inspiration from Belgian and American brewing leaves Matthew plenty to play with and there has been talk of a barrel ageing program (a potential source of wine barrels in France...) and as a fellow sour head he also hopes to make sour and wild beers (especially after an epiphany moment via LoverBeer at IndyManBeerCon) but that's all stuff for the future...

*The first of these has been announced with Chris of Galway bay, brewing a southern sour and a northern Fruit infused IPA - can't wait!

For now then, what about those all important core beers? The malt is coming via Simpsons which Matthew is really chuffed about "we're  a pretty small account for them but they actually rang me and they're among the best in the business. I asked about the yeast: "its the one thing I haven't quite settled on yet, the simplest thing would be to use [Safale, dried yeast] US-05, but this can give an apricot flavour leading to all beers having a similar flavour". Ideally of course Boundary would have  house strain but all of the associated equipment for maintaining one doesn't come cheap, so that's something for further down the line.

Matthew loves American C-hops (especially Columbus and centennial) and they'll take centre stage in the session pale, coming in at a truly sessionable 3.5%. "Light, refreshing, sessionable and absolutely packed with hops"

The IPA is actually a scaled back double IPA which Matthew describes as "cakey but still hopped up the wazzoo". Think a Pliny malt bill minus the sugar and you're just about there. At 7% it will certainly be the strongest regularly produced beer in Northern Ireland. Matthew's hoping for Simcoe but its hard to get hold of due to a certain big Scottish brewery buying most of it!

The Export Stout is based on a historic Truman's recipe via Ron Pattinson's blog, with a bit of input via Kernel. 100% Fuggles hopped with pale, brown and black malt and a modern tweak of some crystal and pale chocolate the export stout should be a properly decadent cocoa and coffee affair, also weighing in at 7%, perfect for the depth of winter when Boundary are hoping to launch.

Labels designed by John Robinson

And that's where you guys come in. As a co-operative membership is open to everyone who agrees to abide by the constitution and are happy with the by-laws. Shares are sold at a nominal £1 with a minimum investment of £100. Those who have a bit more to invest and can afford more than £250 will achieve supporter status and be able to run for the board of directors at the first AGM (which has to be held before August!). Share value cannot go up in a co-operative (it can go down!) but after year 3 if the membership agrees dividends and interest could be paid. Check out the website (a professional and accomplished design from Jonny Campbell) for more details. As of writing they're well over halfway at £40,000 £50,000 to their goal of £70,000 taking in 10,000 a day in the first four days with over 150 members already on board, with the maximum they can raise pegged at £100,000 you need to act fast if you want to get involved!

So if you want to support a local business run and owned by local people for local people then invest. If you enjoy flavourful craft beer and want to be able to buy it where you are then get involved- I know I certainly am!*

If you have any questions then drop Matthew an email or Tweet @Boundarybrewing. Find more details on Facebook. Please do help to spread the word about this exciting new Brewery!

Thanks to Matthew for taking the time out of his hectic schedule to chat to me, I hope to come to visit in the New Year!

*I'm contributing this post towards this month's #TheSession about how you contribute to your local beer scene. This along with writing a blog and buying local beers are a few examples!

More new NI brews!

The Beer Nut pointed out that Strangford Lough Brewing Co is no more; so Norn Iron were back down to 9 breweries...that is until Pokertree launched their first bottled offerings at Belfast Beer Festival a few weeks ago. 30 bottles of each and I snagged a pair for review purposes (volunteering for the festival does have its perks after all!)

I brought these back to the hotel room and daisy asked "what smells of lemons"? Turns out the wax seals are made from scented candles! The consistency isn't quite right but that's something to tweak for next time. So are these beers all style and no substance? Read on for the details.

Red Earl is different from your standard Irish Red...its much darker than most and there's some interesting sour cherrry in the aroma. However it does have a low hopping rate in common with many Irish reds and its a little too caramalt forward for my liking but its certainly better than most.

Ghrian Golden Ale is very different to your usual blonde beer...its actually a wit with lemon peel and corriander front and centre. It actually reminds me somewhat of Camden's Gentleman's Wit, with plenty of fresh lemon and some kiwifruit NZ hops that really make it zing...search out this one for sure.

Darren's first few ales have bucked the usual "holy trinity" trend and by the sounds of it the rest of the range also mixes things up a bit...ones to watch certainly.

Another new brewer is Clearsky...currently contract brewing their first

release at Hilden - Fulcrum. I met brewer Steve (good name!) briefly at Belfast but haven't had a reply to my email yet. Fulcrum is a weiss beer and to me tastes like Hilden's Barney's Brew without the additional spices...which is no bad thing as its a perfectly decent wheat beer. I look forward to see more from these guys and hope they get a brew kit at their trading address as its a few miles from Beers I've Known HQ.

Finishing up the selection of new bottled beers are a couple of offerings from Inishmacsaint who until now only had a single release - Fermanagh Beer. 

This had a special edition release at the festival brewed with hops grown by Gordy's own fair hand on his farm...could this be the first commercial NI beer with local hops?! Its certainly an improvement on an early version I tasted with some herbal and blackcurrant hop notes complementing the full bodied wheat spiciness.

Also up for grabs was their new Brown Porter which I was less enamoured with. It started off well with  oaky brown malt and blackberry on the nose but it finished a bit thin...perhaps needing more speciality malts to make up the body but certainly great to see a dark beer differing from the typical  Irish dry stout and with a few tweaks this could be fantastic.

Ivory Festival (BBF 2013)

The 14th Belfast Beer Festival is almost upon us starting next Thursday (21st) and running until Saturday (23rd). In fact, as you read this a tireless band of volunteers are getting the stillages erected in preparation for the casks arriving over the next few days.

 As usual plenty of beers from Northern Ireland and the UK but this year we also have three breweries from the south, Dungarvan, Metalman and White Gypsy with a handful of beers in cask between them.

The festival also sees the launch of three new local breweries and a handful of new beers from other Norn Iron brewers. There's free tasters of some of these from 1pm-4pm on Thursday with the brewers on hand to ask any questions.

Innishmacsaint have been quiet for a while and they return with their Lough Erne Porter.

New brewer Clearsky have their fulcrum wheat ale

People from Nicholson's will be handing out tasters of Nicholsons Pale (brewed by St Austell).

Other Northern Ireland beers to look out for are Hilden number 4 which was well received at the spring Wetherspoon beer festival, Innishmacsaint's dry-hopped special with home-grown hops (bramling x, fuggle, east kent goldings and northern brewer) and a number of interesting things from Ards.

Some other interesting UK beers I'm looking forward to trying are Mordue's Imperial  raspberry stout, Dark Star's Art of Darkness and a new Imperial IPA from Outstanding. 

For those who prefer fruit to grain there are 20 ciders and perries from across the UK, including new releases from Macs, Tempted and Toby's.

There's still spaces left on the tutored tastings at an excellent value of £10 for 5-6 beers, book via the websiteI'll be there from about 6pm on Thursday through until Saturday evening. Hope to see you there!

Follow @BelfastBeerFest on Twitter for more details!.

Irish Beers to Watch Out For

Following on from Boak and Bailey's suggestion (I think) here's some of my favourite beers available from (Northern) Irish Brewers. Its not an exhaustive list,I've not tried everything and with new breweries coming online all the time the next gem could be just around the corner!*

Whilst the majority of these beers are available in bottled form, i think they taste better on draught (cask/ keg) with the exception of one. Some of these beers started off as seasonals and became regulars, I hope the others don't remain as one offs.


White Gypsy's sessionable Weiss (aka Blond), 4%, really impressed me out of keg at Hilden Beer Fest a few years ago. Proper German weisse banana esters on the nose, hazy, full bodied with handsome foamy white head and spicy wheat and clove esters mean it can hold its own against stronger German offerings. Its now a part of the core range; so may be easier to come by. 

Tiny Beoir Chorca (West Kerry) produces a fantastic porter in the shape of Carraig Dubh. I've had it on both cask and bottle and both are lovely. A complex and mouth-filling porter with smoke, chocolate, coffee red berries and a touch of roast barley in the finish. Just how I like my porters.Condition spot on too. This may be a little harder to track down but drinkstore.ie often has bottles.

Via Beermack (Alex)

A recent trip to Waterford for the Beoir AGM saw me drinking Metalman Sahara (6%) at the brewery. Its a modern take on a Vienna lager with the deep amber colour and toffee malts but the addition of sorachi ace creates subtle cheesecake/ custard creams flavours that build and interact with US hops to give tangerine pith and noble hop dry bitterness leading to a long finish. I could still taste it half an hour later.

Another modern take on a traditional style is Brown Paper Bag Project with Doxie a 5.6% wheat ale with magnum, amarillo and cascade, which was released for a blind Twitter tasting.
In bottle form it has an interesting Belgian ester saison character, despite being fermeneted with a neutral US ale yeast. This is apparently due to warm conditioning post bottling and doesn't appear in keg form. Immensely drinkable, with plenty of pithy hop character, try side by side to see the differences dispense method can make to a beer.


Trouble Brewing Dark Arts is another from the porter spectrum at the more robust end. Thick bodied with roasted coffee and chocolate notes. They're expanding which should hopefully mean this beer becomes more widely available.




Another beer which really stood out recently is JW Sweetman's Pale Ale. Out of the growler the carbonation had diminished somewhat allowing the dank hops leafy freshness to shine through with grapefruit balanced by shortcake malt making this marvellously refreshing and a real showcase of cascade.

Sneaking into export stout territory is Carlow's Leann Follain at 6% It brings aromatic pipe tobacco, chocolate and a touch of lactose on the nose, dry roast barley up front and finishing with chocolate malt  and caramel.

Whitewater Hoppelhammer smashed onto the Northern Ireland scene last Novemeber at Belfast beer festival and really impressed me (finally a Norn Iron beer with hops!) Plenty of citrus fruits, oranges and tangerines to the fore...could be simcoe. Doesn't matter what it is its a hop bomb and very moreish.

Via Chilli and Chocolate

Ards Ballyblack is another newish addition from the newest (until recently that is) Northern Irishbrewery.
Dark brown black with lively white head its a dry stout how they should be made. Chocolate, roast barley and a slight chalkiness and very easy to knock back by the pint when served at (the correct) cellar temperature.




Another of Whitewater's specials that seems to have survived to be brewed again is McHugh's 300. At only 3.5% and often kegged, you'd be forgiven for thinking this is justa bog standard lager substitute/ golden ale but you'd be wrong. Alongside the biscuit malt and clean hop aroma there's a pleasing level of bitterness and somegrapefruit flavours which I suspect just might be cascade. Perfect summer refresher.

Back to black again for College Green (Hilden) Molly's Chocolate Stout. Unlike some, this derviews all of its chocolate flavour from the malt. Definitely worth hunting for in cask (try Molly's Yard in Belfast) It pours an attractivegarnet-brown with hints of beech-smoke then rich roast barley on the nose. A giid robust body withplenty of burnt toast, coffee and rich fruits thatlovers of high cacao chocolate would lap up and certainly drinksmore than its 4.3% ABV would sugges.



Perhaps the longest established Belgian style beer in Ireland is Hilden Barney's Brew. It gives a cough candy spicey medicated aroma on the nose with plenty of the requisite corriander. However this from a wit when a peppery punch of ginger sneaks up on you unawares demanding you to take another gulp. Its difficult to say no. Its available right now all over the UK as part of Sainsbury's Great British Beer Hunt, though sounds like it may not be at its best by some accounts.

Also look out for Dungarvan's Coffee and Chocolate Stout if its released in bottle form again, white gypsy's weisse which I loved, Franciscan Well's Bell Ringer and Eight Degrees Cyclone/ Hurricane #IPAoff duo. These were not included in the main post as they're not regularly available and may even have been one offs.

*Looks like this couldn't be truer with at least 12 breweries due online in 12 months and a whole host of specials available at the recent ICBCF. I reckon I'll need to do a new beers post in 2014.

Serendipity

It shouldn't surprise my readers to find out that beer isn't the only alcoholic beverage that I enjoy. In fact, even the not so eagle eyed amongst you will have noticed the link to all of my whisky posts above ^. I've also enjoyed cider from a  young age, but a drink class I've been getting into more recently is cocktails. 

It probably stems from my trip to the Maven in Leeds as recommended by Neil Eating Isn't Cheating where I enjoyed a very nice rum short drink. fast forward a year and I now have a well stocked cocktail cabinet at home and a couple of interesting old cocktail books to peruse for inspiration (more on those in a later post). It helps that my wife also enjoys trying cocktails; so I have a guinea pig for my creations!

From Love & Death Inc website

But I digress. Today's post is about a specific cocktail bar, Love & Death Inc to be precise. Its Ann Street location in Belfast (perched atop the fab Little Wing pizzeria) puts it within  stones throw of trendy shopping area Victoria Square and the more touristy area of Laganside.

To enter is to be transported back in time to American speakeasies of the 1920s. Oh no, I hear you dry, taht's been done to death already: well maybe so; but no-one does it quite like Love and Death Inc. Up the stairs from street level and you reach the bar area. All manner of bric a brac are suspended from the ceiling, including a full sized bike! Its always buzzing on evenings I've been in with a mixed soundtrack of easy listening and rock n' roll, though later on a DJ is often in attendance. There's also a nightclub upstairs, which I'm yet to investigate.

A view of the bar

 

From Love & Death Inc website

Staff are friendly and efficient, making cocktails with skill in front of your eyes. A number of them have entered competitions and performed well; not bad considering the bar is pretty new. The bar itself is an A-Z of alcohol with almost every liquer and spirit imaginable crammed into its many nooks and crevices, with a decent range of bitters and purees across the front. There's also food available, but I'm yet to sample this as both of my visits to date have been after dinner.

Dum dum (right) and (i think) Paradise Lost
with the comic book menu

One thing I particularly like is the menu (PDF), a collage of old comic strips, with speech replaced by cocktail descriptions. Average price for a cocktail is around £6 which is very decent considering the quality involved. I did splash out £12for a "dum dum" because it sounded intriguing with chili and orange alongside aged Guatemalan rum and sicilian digestif. That's it in the photo to the left. I thought about recreating it at home, but the rum is £100 a bottle so maybe not!

On my recent visit I stuck to rum creations. "Origins" features Appleton 8 and ginger and "To Have and Have Not" is an exposition in grapefruit featuring ruby grapefruit juice and grapefruit bitters alongside mint and rum. Both tasty and so appealing that I neglected to take a photo...

One thing that caught my eye this time around however wasn't a cocktail, but a half finished beer on my table. Still in its dark brown bottle with hand-written sticky label I'd discovered a new Northern Ireland brew! Turns out I'd managed to time my visit to co-inside with the release of the new house brews. I picked up the last couple of bottles, which I'll review on a later post.

So next time you're in Belfast, pay Love & Death Inc a visit, I promise you won't be disappointed.

Love & Death Inc

10a Ann Street, Belfast, BT1 4EF (map)

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Twitter @LoveanddeathNI

A Belfast Affineur

Sometimes I wish I lived in Belfast. Being out here in Tyrone means I miss out on all kinds of events but it also means my visits to specialist retailers are few and far between. Sometime I don't even find out about the place. Arcadia is one such place. Its been there for 60 years yet I only found out about its existence a few weeks ago and resolved to investigate ASAP.

I'm glad I did. In addition to all the usual deli bits like cheeses and meats there's a range of home-made chutneys and other tasty produce. I especially liked the wide variety of UK cheeses available, some of which will be making their way into my new book. There were a couple of cheeses I hadn't even heard of, let alone tasted which has now been rectified. They include the fantastic Leggygowan Blue from Saintfield. These will no doubt be making an appearance in blog form in the near future. They're happy to let you taste the cheeses too; so don't have to be buying blind

I've agreed to participate in an Belfast Bloggers Unite one topic, 40 opinions project. This post is my wilful misinterpretation of the brief "Eating Out in Belfast". If you live in Belfast or its environs get yourself down to Arcadia and bag yourself some tasty cheeses and meats, pop in the bakers next door for some fresh bread and the grocers on the other side for some salad bits then get yourself out there and enjoy Belfast's green spaces. Have a picnic in the Botanic Gardens, a ploughman's in Ormeau Park. You could even pair it with beer by grabbing some bottles from the ever plentifully stocked Vineyard...though of course most public places disallow alcohol; so perhaps save that for those back garden picnics!

Punk in Belfast

An unassuming backstreet location

It seems that the Brewer's House was not the only new pub to open in the province at the end of 2011. As recommended by Ciaran, landlord of the aforementioned, a friend and myself went to investigate Hudson's Bar (@hudsonbar) in Smithfields, Belfast.

Unable to recall the name we gave Ciaran a bell and he confirmed the name. Not one that had previously appeared on our radar.

"Whisky, Ales & Disco"

Its not exactly the busy end of Belfast, dominated by "adult" shops and bric-a-brac. The bar itself is on the site of a former gay club on first site Hudson's seems like many other Northern Irish bars. Gleaming fixtures and fittings, large frontage and door staff. The similarities end there however as once you get over the threshold you sense something different afoot.

Free music

Maybe the fact that its packed full of people and the night is yet young. Or perhaps its the acoustic guitar playing something other than Irish folk-songs. Or perhaps its the Brewdog beer on draught. Yes, you heard correctly, Keg Brewdog beer in Belfast! Punk IPA and 5AM saint to be precise. A chat with the landlord reveals he is a Brewdog shareholder and wanted to be able to drink it on draught in his native country.

Fresh Brewdog

Okay; so its not the cheapest of pints (£4.20 each) but compared to the £3.90 asking price in the Crown and the John Hewitt for Belfast Ale it is worth more. There's a range of bottled beers and Williams Bros Fraoch, also on keg, plus the regular macrobrands and a big whiskey selection.

The food menu seems reasonably priced with big portions, though having already eaten the sampling of the edible delights will have to await a future trip. There's a further two floors that play host to DJ sessions and live bands at various times, but the ground floor bar is the main attraction. Its great to see a healthy mix of young and old, male and female, singles and couples.

I like the fact that they're trying something different and it certainly seems to be working. The Hudson isn't going to remain hidden for long.

In other news I finally visited the Garrick as recommended by a number of bloggers, turns out it was right next to Boojum (my usual burrito destination) all along. D'oh!

The start of another beery month.

GK IPA "action shot"

 Yesterday I made the convoluted journey to Belfast to attend the Royal Society of Chemistry Christmas Lecture "Mines a Pint" given by Professor Jack Pearce, Emeritus Professor of Food Science at Queens University, Belfast. Not having had a chance to meet fellow Northern Ireland chemists, I went along not really sure what to expect. What we got was an entry level talk on brewing and tasting beers with a few tantalising anecdotes and chemistry titbits thrown in.

Jack's first voyage into the world of home-brewing was when he spotted a sign for "brew your own, ha'penny a pint". Fed up with being stung for Belfast beer prices (3/-6!) he opted to give it a try and never looked back. The selection of beers chosen are widely available in supermarkets and in a range of styles, though all from "regional" brewers. Aside from a mishap with beer selection (Old Golden Hen rather than Old Speckled Hen being provided!) the talk went well and the audience seemed appreciative of their new found beery knowledge. 

The beers tasted were Greene King Moorland Old Golden Hen, Shepherds Neame Spitfire & Bishop's Finger, GK IPA, Newcastle Brown and Theakston's Old Peculier. We were given a bit of history about each style and then allowed to taste. Innis & Gunn were mentioned for their use of oak and Brewdog also got a mention, though professedly too hoppy for the Professor! The remaining beer was then shared around and a few cheeses enjoyed.  A fun night but seemed far too brief! Thank you to Dr Dermot Hanna for organising the evening and Professor Jack Pearce for hosting.

18 Empty bottles and a plateful of cheese

I found it interesting to compare Spitfire and Bishop's finger side by side as I always assumed they were the variants on a theme, but noticed that Spitfire was much hoppier and did not really enjoy Bishop's finger at all. I declined the Old Golden Hen as I have recently tried a bottle and the GK IPA was as bland as I remember. I do enjoy Old Peculier however.

Post-lecture we headed along the Ormeau Road to the Vineyard off-licence where I was delighted to see that both Kernel and Buxton beers were in stock, as well as some Sam Smith's beers I had not yet had a chance to sample. I was also on hand to advise my friend Julie on some good winter warmers for Christmas.

Not so Christmassy

We finished off the evening with a pint in the Bridge Bar - Box Steam Christmas Blonde, which is one of those beers that starts off promising but becomes a bit meh by the end of the glass. In fact the whole "Christmas" beer selection for Wetherspoon this time around is fairly dull. To send me to bed with a good taste in my mouth I couldn't resist tucking into my S.C.G.A.NS from The Kernel. It poured hazy pale amber with a good thick head and gentle carbonation. Delicious aroma of mango, lychees and lime zest. Quite a pithy bitterness with resin following on swiftly afterwards. Long finish which saw me all the way back to the hostel. I did not enjoy the early start to get back to Cookstown however!

Whilst I was in Belfast a much bigger beer event was alo happening, the British Guild of Beer writers Annual Awards ceremony. The winners list reads as a whos-who in the beer writing world, and its interesting how all winners are also users of Twitter, suggesting that those who embrace new media and social networking are most likely to get ahead. Rather than list the winners here I'll direct you to someone who was there.

Click to see this properly!

December is shaping up to be another beerful month, what with my planned Fullers Vintage Ale tasting at home next weekend, the 12 stouts from Bristol beer factory and plenty of other beery goodness awaiting me in the run up to Christmas here in Cookstown (and indeed at home in Yeovil) I shall be needing a detox month in January!