Mighty bitter from Northern Irish craft brewer
Farmageddon, the Northern Irish craft brewery co-operative, has launched a unique Double IPA with an 8.5 per cent ABV. The beer is Farmageddon's strongest to date. It also has an IBU of 118, which makes it the brewery's most bitter brew to date.
Based on a small farm at Comber in county Down, Farmageddon has used three hops in brewing the Double IPA - Zorach, Equinox and Galaxy. The hops are said to be incredibly rare and create a unique flavour
Eoin Wilson, one of the founders of the Farmageddon Brewing Co-operative, says: "We initially brewed this beer for ourselves but then decided to make it more readily available. It's going to be a challenge for some people but for those who like double IPA it really is something special.
"We've been working incredibly hard for the past six months to allow us to expand and to be able to make beers like the double IPA. It's a very exciting time for the Farmageddon Co-op."
The brewery, formed by Mr Wilson and six friends from the Belfast martial arts and punk rock scene, has already successfully launched three ales - a Gold Pale Ale, an India Pale Ale and an India Export
Porter - in the past two years.
For the Co-op members, home brewing is part of a mutual interest in growing fruit and vegetables, foraging, rearing pigs and chickens and a general love of self-sufficiency.
The brewery is situated on five acres of land where the group has
360 cider apple and Perry pear trees, rears 10 pigs, five chickens
and grows fruit and vegetables. A beehive is used to pollinate the
plants. The group is also planning a line of Farmageddon cider and
perry products.
"Part of our ethos is the promotion of small local businesses and,
as we develop, we would like to reduce our carbon footprint with theuse of solar power," Mr Wilson adds.
"Our beer doesn't use any preservatives or fish by-products and we
use natural sea moss from Strangford Lough as an alternative which also makes the ales suitable for vegans.
"We believe in craft beer not chemical engineering, so the beer is
unpasteurised and unfiltered as this can strip out flavour. To
reduce our brewing by-products, our spent grain feeds our pigs and
eventually the pigs feed us!"
Based on a small farm at Comber in county Down, Farmageddon has used three hops in brewing the Double IPA - Zorach, Equinox and Galaxy. The hops are said to be incredibly rare and create a unique flavour
Eoin Wilson, one of the founders of the Farmageddon Brewing Co-operative, says: "We initially brewed this beer for ourselves but then decided to make it more readily available. It's going to be a challenge for some people but for those who like double IPA it really is something special.
"We've been working incredibly hard for the past six months to allow us to expand and to be able to make beers like the double IPA. It's a very exciting time for the Farmageddon Co-op."
The brewery, formed by Mr Wilson and six friends from the Belfast martial arts and punk rock scene, has already successfully launched three ales - a Gold Pale Ale, an India Pale Ale and an India Export
Porter - in the past two years.
For the Co-op members, home brewing is part of a mutual interest in growing fruit and vegetables, foraging, rearing pigs and chickens and a general love of self-sufficiency.
The brewery is situated on five acres of land where the group has
360 cider apple and Perry pear trees, rears 10 pigs, five chickens
and grows fruit and vegetables. A beehive is used to pollinate the
plants. The group is also planning a line of Farmageddon cider and
perry products.
"Part of our ethos is the promotion of small local businesses and,
as we develop, we would like to reduce our carbon footprint with theuse of solar power," Mr Wilson adds.
"Our beer doesn't use any preservatives or fish by-products and we
use natural sea moss from Strangford Lough as an alternative which also makes the ales suitable for vegans.
"We believe in craft beer not chemical engineering, so the beer is
unpasteurised and unfiltered as this can strip out flavour. To
reduce our brewing by-products, our spent grain feeds our pigs and
eventually the pigs feed us!"