Novel maple bacon and coffee beer from Northern Irish brewer

Bullhouse Brewing Company, the award-winning craft brewer in Northern Ireland, has launched the region's first 440ml can with a unique Maple Bacon and Coffee Porter beer.

The new beer, Notorious PIG (5% ABV) is a collaboration with other Northern Irish artisans Ispini Charcuterie from Augnacloy in county Tyrone and Haptik Coffe in Newtownards, county Down.

Willy Mayne, Bullhouse's founder and master brewer, commenting on the new beer, says: "The key is to brew an excellent base porter, and then complement the flavours with the maple syrup, coffee and bacon additions.

"It's a very difficult beer to brew, but we are risk-takers and one of our core aims is to bring to market beers we have enjoyed on our travels around the world and offer them to our customers in the UK and Ireland," he adds.

"We trialled various coffees and finally settled on Haptik's current house roast, Guatemalan El Culpan, supplied by Bailies, a coffee roaster in Belfast. The caramel and chocolate notes really complement the maple and base porter," adds Willy, who founded Bullhouse Brewing on a family farm in Newtownards, county Down in March 2016.

"it's great to work with other local, innovative businesses to bring something unique to the Northern Irish market," Willy says.

Johnny McBride, part of the husband and wife team behind Haptik, adds:. "We have done various events with Ispini Charcuterie, so I asked Jonny Cuddy to cure some bacon especially for this beer and he produced a great flavoured product."

Highly regarded in the local brewing community, Bullhouse won Champion Beer of Belfast 2017 with its core IPA, The Dankness. The small batch brewer is known for its and quirky modern approach, taking inspiration from more developed markets around the world.

Referring to his decision to concentrate on cans, Mr Mayne explains: "Moving to cans was a no-brainer for us. They are better for the quality of the beer, increasing the shelf life. They are more eco-friendly and are great for bars and retailers as they stack easily and look great on the shelf."

Bullhouse Brewing Company funded its expansion plans by raising £10,000 in a successful crowdfunding campaign. The brewery has has grown capacity by 500 per cent since being launched as a part time venture by Mr Mayne March 2016. He has since moved to full-time production and has been developing its distribution network throughout Northern Ireland.

If you would like more information about this topic, please call William on 07562702825 or email william@bullhousebeer.co.uk.