2015 was a year when Clarkson, Hammond and May left the BBC, the Ashers gay cake row was in full swing and a co-operative brewery called Boundary set up in Belfast. Fast forward ten years and, in what seems like a couple of blinks, we’re all that little bit older and Boundary is one of the Daddies of the Irish brewing scene.
A mammoth figure of over 350 different beers have been released from the east Belfast site in that decade, including many collaboration brews with the Premier League of British and Irish breweries. Anyone who knows anything about Irish beer knows of Boundary.
There was meant to be festival celebrating its 5th birthday back in 2020 but a little known thing called COVID-19 happened. You may have forgotten about it already – Google it, it was quite the ball ache.
Another five years on in 2025, a lack of worldwide pandemic meant the head bods at Boundary were now able to have a birthday party and Jubilate was go. Sited just across the way from the brewery, a massive indoor space was opened up at Portview Trade Centre, allowing almost twenty top class breweries to pour everything from well known classics to special one-time-only brews. Are you a no frills red ale kind of person? They got you. Prefer something a bit more…lambic? They got you. Wanna take it easy with a sessionable little micro IPA or maybe jump feet first into a barrel aged double digit ABV imperial stout? They got you.
Ticket bought, 60 stairs climbed(!) and you’re through the doors to be greeted by a clutch of retro arcade games waiting to be played for free! I did succumb to temptation by giving Pac-man a blast – those damned ghosts seem to move faster now than they did in the 80s. Thanks to Base Arcade for supplying the joystick waggling memories!
Now the reason we’re all here, some top quality beer. Oh yes. Where to begin? A free Boundary token upon entry meant first in the glass was Don’t Trust the Way It Moves, a 6% ABV New England IPA. It’s what Boundary do well so I’m on safe ground while I chat with friends then take a walk around the brewery stalls. I’m all out of sync here as I usually like to plan ahead what I’m drinking on the day of a festival. It saves thinking time y’see. I’m here for a good time, not a long time. However, there was no beer list published before doors opened so I’m deciding on the hoof.
The hoof decided next on Sigaro, a 5.6% ABV nitro stout collaboration involving Galway Bay and Italy’s Hilltop Brewery. Brewed with tobacco leaves and cacao nibs, I didn’t get as much smoke as I wanted but it certainly ticked the ‘creamy nitro’ box.
I could blether on about every beer I had but I’ll save you the boredom and instead call my beer of the day as Heaney’s Hazy Caprese – a 5% ABV Strata-hopped pale ale brewed with basil. “Good with pizza” said the Heaney menu but I disagree. Ditch the pizza and just have this. Obvious idiot warning alert: don’t drink this if you don’t like basil. Speaking of which, a mention too for the excellent food available on the day. Pies, tapas, cheese, poutine. Something for everyone.
From a customer’s point of view, Jubilate was a great success. A birthday festival, organised by one of Northern Ireland’s most respected breweries, which gave us a broad ranging selection of great beers from some of the best brewers Britain and Ireland has to offer. Add in plenty of welcome seating, a dash of retro gaming, a handful of mouth-watering grub and a massive dollop of Friday night craic to create an event that’ll live long in the memory. (Next time, maybe investigate having toilets closer than what seemed like four miles away 😉)
Here’s to Jubilate 2026?
