Northern Irish craft brewery has TV's 'Derry Girls' on tap
A craft brewer in Northern Ireland is toasting the remarkable success of TV comedy Derry Girls in real style.
Walled City Brewery, one of Derry's leading craft brewers, has created small batch beers from different ingredients and has invited followers to name the unique brews after characters in the comedy, which is set in Derry city during the nineties.
The small brewery is named after the 17th century stone walls circling the city centre.
Derry Girls, a Channel 4 comedy, follows the adventures of a group of schoolgirls growing up in the historic city. The first series, filmed in the city, has just ended and a second season is already being planned. The show attracted over two million viewers every week.
James Huey, the master brewer who established Walled City Brewery in 2015, says: "Derry Girls has proved such a resounding success and has become extremely popular with people in the city and from further afield. So, we decided to develop small batch beers and invite our followers to name them after the characters. One of the beers, for instance, was named Sexy Priest after one of the main characters. It's all a bit of fun and a great way to engage with beer enthusiasts who love what has become the most popular TV series from Derry.
"People can then sample the beers in our own restaurant and pub. The show, furthermore, looks likely to become a tourism attraction on a par with Game of Thrones. Our keg beers enable both locals and visitors to taste the success of the unique Derry Girls," he adds.
Walled City Brewery has also extended its engagement with beer enthusiasts by creating a successful Homebrew Academy with an extensive programme of courses for aspiring home brewers.
The brewery was among the pioneers of the sector in Northern Ireland and now has a successful portfolio of craft beers and ales.
Walled City was the first brewery in Derry for over a century and now operates an award winning restaurant on the site, which is in Ebrington Square, a major regeneration project and also the location of The Quiet Man Irish Whiskey, the first craft distillery in Derry for almost 100 years. Derry was once one of the biggest centres of distilling and brewing on the island of Ireland.
The craft brewery was established by Mr Huey and wife Louise and has won awards for the quality and outstanding taste of its beers reflecting the city's colourful history. It recently developed a beer based on a recipe from the 17th century, the period of the city's historic siege. In addition, it has won an Irish Restaurant Award for quality and service.
Mr Huey, commenting on the academy initiative, says: "We decided to set up the academy in response to requests from local people who enjoyed our beers and were keen to know more about the whole brewing process.
"So, we decided to set up a structured programme of courses to enable participants gain essential knowledge and the necessary skills to brew great beer at home."
The brewery has created full day and half day packages for aspiring brewers - gold, silver and bronze - enabling participants to develop home brewing skills and create their own beers. It has also developed gift vouchers for the courses which began last month.
The class sizes are strictly limited to 14 to ensure each student gains the necessary skills and achieves certification as a homebrewer. Almost 200 people have taken the courses.
