Donegal – a spectacular rugged county, home to Glenveagh National Park, Slieve League cliffs, Malin Head and Daniel O’Donnell.
As for local beer, you’ll find Donegal Brewing in Ballyshannon, Otterbank in Muff and of course Kinnegar in Letterkenny. However, there’s a newcomer to the list. Named after the county’s highest peak, Errigal Brewing started in 2022 behind the Caisleáin Óir Hotel, which sits slap bang on the Wild Atlantic Way at Annagry in the west of Donegal.
If you follow my socials or are a long time reader of my mumbling ramblings, you’ll know I love a motorbike and am known to head away for the night on said vehicle. So imagine my planning skill at incorporating an overnight motorbike jaunt and the Caisleáin Óir. I know, I often surprise myself.
My ride partner and I arrive mid afternoon and make a beeline towards the bar but I’m stopped in my tracks before I can even reach the bar entrance. Suddenly I’m like a kid in a sweetshop. A wall in the hotel foyer has over 50 beer bottles displayed – 7 styles by Errigal, with what seems like a Christmas Day bonus of a handful of Otterbank beers in the corner! Dear Santa, well done for visiting me in April.
We manage to make it into the bar and order one of the five Errigal beers on draught. A half pint of Óir – a fresh and light, easy going lager – seems the obvious starting point. A few minutes later, the brewer of this fine golden nectar comes over to our table. His name is Ben McDevitt and he has the most infectious smile in Donegal. If he doesn’t love his job, he’s a great actor. Ben thanks us for ordering Errigal beer before the conversation leads on to him telling us how the brewery started and how he got roped in by his brother, James, who owns the hotel. It’s been handed down through the family over four generations and was James’ idea to start a brewery when Ballybofey’s Finn Valley Brewery closed down during Covid.
They bought Finn Valley’s fermentation vessels and 1700 litre brew system in 2022, a few weeks before Lady Luck shone mercifully by having them cross paths with Declan Nixon at a local wedding. Beer nerds across Ireland will know Declan is the brewing wizard behind Otterbank in Donegal. An alchemist par excellence.
Declan took the Errigal boys under his wing and taught them how to make good, steady beer that would sell in the hotel. Nothing scary or wacky, which Declan loves to do – just simple, enjoyable beer that would appeal to tourists and locals.
Ben tells me he want to brew beer that’s easy drinking for the public and an easy sell for the bar, the likes of a straight forward lager, porter, pale ale and red ale. Non-offensive brews that don’t pull the drinker into too much of a thought process, he claims. However, and with a cheeky laugh, he says Declan is at the other end of the scale – waxing lyrical about his passion and knowledge being second to none and learning the brew process from him was – and still is – mind blowing before reminding me that every day’s a school day. I can only imagine.
The Errigal beers are all very enjoyable, my preference being Bán, a tasty Weissbier which had just the right level of banana and clove expected for the style. I think Ben’s line on that was “It’s great but a real bugger to make!” Fair play Ben, your hard work pays off.
If you’re ever up along the west coast of Donegal, it’s really worth your while to stop into the Caisleáin Óir hotel for a bite to eat and an Errigal brew, or even better, book a room and make a night of it. It’s a lovely, family run hotel where the team would appreciate your support and make you feel very welcome.
Sláinte!
