IF YOU want to find out how a brewery got started or what their journey has been, you can often check out their website and read a short blurb which they probably wrote about two or three years ago and then never updated because, hey, they’ve been busy making great beer.
That’s fair enough and, given the tight budgets these folks are working to, they’re not exactly rushing to employ a huge PR team to keep everyone updated.
Sometimes, to follow the story of a brewery, you just have to follow the beer. Bullhouse brewery in Newtownards post regular blogs to tell you what they’re up to, but some of their recent output gives you a good indication of their journey.
Bullhouse brewer William Mayne has been to all arts and parts learning the brewery game and perfecting his skills and one such recent trip down south inspired the name of one of the best beers I’ve had in a long time.
Merc Bro is a New England IPA which clocks in 6.5 per cent but that, of course, doesn’t tell the full story. For a start the name is an intriguing one and refers to the car owned by William’s mate Mick which felt the considerable strain of a road trip to Kerry, broke down and had to be rescued by its owner.
But there’s a different kind of ‘murk’ going on here too as you’ll discover when you decant the beer from the beautifully designed 440ml can (Thomas Bannon is the talented illustrator in question) into a glass. It’s practically opaque under the white head and fires off sticky and sweet tropical aromas.
Get your laughing gear around it and there is a flood of fruity flavours – peach, mango, lychee with a little orange peel and even a delicate hint of spice. Even with the odd sharp, citrus hit this beer is quite smooth and goes down frighteningly easy.
Talking of easy, drinking another recent Bullhouse offering seemed a much more straightforward prospect than the other activity the label suggests. Lawnmower Beer is 4 per cent witbier, an under represented style, in my opinion.
I don’t know if this owes much to the power of suggestion, but I got some grassy aromas and there was a definite earthy freshness to it. It is very refreshing too, with a zesty, cirtrusy feel. Definitely preferable to cutting the grass.
