Northern Irish craft brewer launches new milk stout

Northern Irish craft brewer Bullhouse Brew Company, which recently successfully completed a £10,000 crowdfunding round, has launched a new milk stout.

The small brewery, based on a family farm at Newtownards in county Down, raised funding to support its growth plans which included the installation of a canning line.

The new Bullhouse brewery's Milk Stout is a 10 per cent Imperial Stout with added lactose.

William Mayne, the founder of Bullhouse Brew Company, explains: "The lactose is unfermentable for yeast which leaves a residual sweetness to it. It's a very complex stout that I've aged in Irish whiskey barrels.

"The stout is bottle conditioned and is a limited edition beer. It will age for 10/20 years, like a fine wine! The stout is being produced in 330ml bottles at a recommended retail price of £3.75 per bottle.

"It's a really exciting project for the brewery and demonstrates our versatility," he adds

While the small craft brewery in Northern Ireland is focused on developing its portfolio of canned beers, Mayne also produces limited editions, such as the milk stout, in bottles.

Mayne began brewing beer in 2016 and subsequently left his post in marketing to concentrate on the brewery business.

In addition to a core range of lager and pale ales, he has developed a series of 'specials', including a potato saison, a maple and bacon porter, a lemon and strawberry Berliner weisse and a toasted coconut porter.

He has also upgraded the brewery, housed in a former bull shed on his grandparent's farm, to a custom built 1000 litre brewhouse, with current fermentation capacity at 25,000 litres per year.