THE SSE Arena will rammed to rafters next weekend when hometown hero Carl Frampton rolls into town. The Jackal's rise and a glut of other talent from the city has set Belfast out as something of a boxing capital of the sports world.
But the city's pugilistic past stretches further back then Barnes, Conlan and co and Farmageddon have paid tribute to the that with their latest special release.
Sparred and Barred is a New England IPA which has been produced in collaboration with renowned Belfast bar Bittles. The Victoria Street hostelry is synonymous with the Belfast boxing scene, hence the name.
True the New England style, the beer pours as hazy as your vision would be after clocking a right hook from Carl Frampton. That wonderfully murky look comes under a joyously fluffy white head and throws off juicy aromas of grapefruit and lime.
It has slightly creamy mouthfeel and it's a real juice bomb as far as flavour goes. One big gulp and you get grapefruit, a bit of mango and pineapple, a sharp jab of citrus and a piney finish. It's quite sweet and there's a biscuity malt backbone to it all. It’s 5.7 per cent, so packs quite a, well, punch but it’s not as in your face as say Paddy Barnes. A delicious beer in its own right, let's hope Farmageddon don't ring the bell on this one too soon.
ANOTHER Belfast brewery in collaborative mood lately is Boundary. They have teamed up with Ulster Exiles – a group of brewers from the north who work at breweries across England – to produce a beery twist on a childhood favourite. The Ulster Exiles were the collective behind Mesca Uladh, a Veda bread barrel aged stout and, together with Boundary, summer-inspired ale called Screwball.
It’s an ode the summer time staple of the same name and is billed as a raspberry vanilla ice cream IPA. There’s certainly a lot of fruity flavour going on with a creamy mouthfeel – so exactly like a Screwball. It leans towards a sour of Berliner Weisse, with very little obvious hop presence. But it is wonderfully refreshing and original. It comes in at 6.1 per cent abv so a few on a nice sunny day (if we ever get another one) should have you reminiscing about those summers by the seaside.
