Bullhouse Brew Co, from Belfast, have been named overall champions at the inaugural Indie Beer Awards Northern Ireland with hazy IPA Merc Bro.
One of Northern Ireland’s only cask breweries, Rough Brothers Brewing, were also highly rated by judges. They took home a gold for their Oatmeal Stout and a silver for their Golden Ale.
Bullhouse’s Merc Bro won the IPA style category before going on to be judged overall champion beer. It’s a New England-style IPA, brewed with American Mosaic, Simcoe, and Citra hops for flavours of juicy tropical fruit and citrus.
“We are delighted that the judges enjoyed Merc Bro as much as we enjoy making it!” said William Mayne, of Bullhouse Brew Co. “Huge thanks to SIBA for helping to facilitate the first ever Indie Beer NI competition. Events like this are essential for showcasing the amazing beer being produced by the small but tenacious breweries in Northern Ireland to a wider audience.
“The guys at the brewery work really really hard … and so to take this award home and be able to say that they’ve achieved everything we could ever ask of them and more is just brilliant.”
The awards took place ahead of the Bullhouse Brew Co 10th Anniversary Beer Festival, which showcased independent breweries from across Northern Ireland. Winners from the inaugural awards will now go forwards to the UK finals in Liverpool early next year.
The other gold winners at the awards were: Boundary Brew Co, for session lager and pale ale; Orneau Brew Co for premium lager; Out of Office for Belgian and continental-style beer, and speciality and flavoured categories; Modest Beer for session pale; Mourne Mountains Brewery for sour and wild ale; and Beer Hut for the double, triple, and imperial IPA category.
