Do you know how many gazillions of pints of that well known Irish stout are consumed across Ireland on Saint Patrick’s Day? I’ll tell you, it’s a multitudenumberlessgazillion. That’s many gazillions.
Ahead of our national drinking day saint’s day, I thought I’d highlight a few stouts from microbreweries across Northern Ireland which you should seek out and enjoy. In no particular order…
BULLHOUSE – BIG FISH SMALL POND
Such is the domination of Guinness-owned Diageo in pubs across Northern Ireland, it’s almost impossible to find a locally brewed nitro stout on draught. However, if a brewery OWNS the pub then it can sell pretty much whatever it wants, right? That’s the case with Bullhouse Brewery which owns Bullhouse East in East Belfast. Their nitro, Big Fish Small Pond (sometimes simply referred to as Big Fish on the beer board), is only available at this venue and it’s everything you’d want and expect from a nitro – creamy and smooth with a big bite of stout roastiness.
BOUNDARY – ARTIE
We’ll stay with the “available only at this venue” topic for another nitro, pouring at the Boundary taproom and The John Hewitt pub in Belfast. OK yes, that’s two venues but both owned/rented by Boundary Brewing. It’s no coincidence Artie and Big Fish have both the same ABV as Guinness – 4.2%. I’d imagine “Make it the same strength but give it more flavour” was the brewing objective and they’ve nailed it. Think creamy chestnuts for this one.
WALLED CITY BREWERY – FOYSTER
Walled City Brewery told me this is on tap nearly all the time but I’m embarrassed to confess that I haven’t supped in Derry/Londonderry for quite a while – I need to change my position on that very soon. Foyster utilises Irish flat oyster shells from Lough Foyle and that brings salt, brine and a minerality to a delicious creamy stout.
LACADA – SHAMROCK PINNACLE
There’s no hiding the marketing potential of this new one from Portrush’s Lacada Brewery. It’s St. Patrick’s Day so I’d imagine it’s unwritten law that you have to grab a stout with the word “shamrock” on the can? As for the beer itself, this is much hoppier than your standard stout. I’d go so far as to say it’s well into Black IPA territory, so if that’s your bag – and it should be – then you’ll need to buy more than one can.
HEANEY – IRISH STOUT
Of all the beers in this list, this is about as traditional a Dry Irish Stout as it gets. Bellaghy brewery Heaney makes some consistently quality beers and while it also dabbles in the usual array of hazy IPAs and double digit imperial stouts, this is where the Heaney magic lies. If you want tradition, here be tradition. I picked up tones of dark chocolate and dry roasted nuts from this but you might prefer to describe it as “stout done properly”. A real Door into the Dark.
ORMEAU – RAVEN
This could be a very difficult one to get hold of if you’re not close to the brewery. Ormeau Brewing is an incredibly small unit that’s gaining a big reputation by making tasty beer. It’s likely you’ll need to visit the off licences and pubs on the actual Ormeau Road in Belfast for your best chance of grabbing some cans or even a sneaky draught pint. Raven is an appealing stout with plenty of chocolate malt qualities.
McCRACKENS – BLACK
One of the best beers from Portadown-based McCrackens is Black. It’s a roasty, ever-so-slightly bitter stout with the merest edge of black pepper. Owner and brewer Ryan McCracken has just built a bigger brewhouse so you should see more of this in the future and that extra brew space has allowed him to now expand the brand into the spirits market.
MODEST BEER – IRISH STOUT
Modest started off in Holywood, County Down before moving to the same site as brewing ingredient distribution centre Get ‘er Brewed and its brewery, Our Brewery, near Randalstown. I’m loving the tagline “Just Like Nana Used to Drink” and there’s a great wee story about the lady on the back of the can. I’ll describe this stout as the liquid version of comedian Harry Hill – deliciously dry and a little bit nutty. I’m sure Nana would agree.
WHITEWATER – BELFAST BLACK
Thankfully, this stout isn’t as limited as others on this list. You’ve probably come across Castlewellan-based Whitewater – one of Northern Ireland’s biggest breweries – on the shelves of your local Tesco or Sainsbury’s. First brewed around 2009/2010, Belfast Black is the oldest beer on this list and its recipe has improved greatly over the past year or two. Expect a medium bodied, roasty stout at supermarket prices.
O’HARAS – IRISH NITRO STOUT
Finally, I’ll throw this into the list. It may be from County Carlow but there are so few Irish breweries with nitro cans available in our off licences it would be exceptionally rude of me not to include it. O’Hara’s has been around since the mid ’90s and that’s plenty of time to perfect the nitro widget. I one-part poured this (as it should be – the Guinness two-part pour is marketing B.S. by the way. Ohhhh contentious!) resulting in a deliciously creamy head with a welcome backdrop of roasted Brazil nuts. Grab a few cans if you see them on sale.
There you go, some local stouts which are worthy of your time and coinage. Others you can also look out for include Our Brewery‘s Once in a Lifetime, Hilden‘s Irish Stout, Rough Brothers Oatmeal Stout, Out of Office‘s Dark Mode and Bell‘s Black Bull. There’s a lot of different Irish Stout out there – more than you realised? Probably.
The hardest part now is deciding which ones to choose? Have a great St. Patrick’s weekend – sláinte! ☘️
