MAKING beer is relatively simple. There are just four main ingredients – malt, water, hops and yeast – and all you really need to know is when and how much of each gets added at the relevant stage.
Selling beer is quite another conundrum altogether. I've previously covered the hoops local producers often have to jump through just to bring their beers to market and if they want to sell said beer on their own premises, it's quite another story indeed.
I first met William Mayne at a beer festival in Newry in April 2016. Even with the local beer scene still very much in its infancy, William's Bullhouse Brewhouse were showcasing a bold imperial stout called El Capitan as well as the by-now well-known session ale Small Axe.
Bullhouse has ballooned into one of the major forces on the local scene and took another major stride last week with the opening of Bullhouse East on Belfast's Newtownards Road.
Having already moved the brewing operation from the small outhouse on a Newtownards farm which gave the brewery its name to a new facility on the Boucher Road in Belfast, Bullhouse East is a bar which will be selling fresh beer directly to thirsty punters.
The bar itself consists of 20 identical taps with the names of the beers currently being poured on a chalkboard above.
It's an egalitarian approach which puts the choice in the hands of the punter by not trying to push one brew over another. The beer menu is largely Bullhouse beer (of which there is a startling amount) but there are also guest beers from other produces and an extensive off sales service.
There will also be wood-fired pizzas courtesy of Boxed Hare and various nibbles available.
I started with a familiar number in Merc Bro, a sweet and juicy NE IPA before moving onto two new ones on me. Dry Your Ryes is a 4.6 per cent rye pale ale. It pours a pale amber colour with white head. There's a slight biscuity malt flavour before a floral, earthy vibe and a delicate spicy finish.
Big Fish was a 4.2 per cent dry Irish nitro stout. It had a lovely roasty profile with hints of sweet chocolate and espresso.
