Northern Irish brewer is buzzing in Britain

Whitewater Brewing Company, Northern Ireland's biggest artisan brewer, is aiming to make a buzz in Britain with a unique honey and ginger ale.

Buoyed by its successes as a medal winner in the International Beer Challenge and being named the top lager in the recent Irish Quality Food and Drink Awards, Whitewater has launched Bee's Endeavour, a 4.8% ABV ale, a recipe which combines malted barley, hops with locally-sourced honey and a touch of ginger.

Bee's Endeavour is now part of a portfolio of six other award-winning beers, ales and stout including Belfast Lager. The lager which was chosen by a panel of expert judges as the best lager in the first Irish Quality Food and Drink Awards.

The new honey ale was successfully trialled last month at the Irish Craft Beer and Cider Festival in Dublin and proved popular, selling out at the event

Bernard Sloan, Whitewater Brewing's managing director, says: "Bee's Endeavour is a golden, smooth and sweeter than our other products, with a subtle ginger after taste. We've found it to be a winner with young people, especially women, seeking a traditional hand crafted ale with a slightly sweeter taste. We believe that the new honey ale will open up a new market segment for us and are seeking to extend distribution in Britain."

Bee's Endeavour has being developed at the company's recently extended brewery located at Kilkeel, county Down in the picturesque foothills of the Mourne Mountain range. The products are sold by major retailers throughout Ireland and by Ocado in Britain.

The company has also won awards recently for 'Hoppelhammer' (ABV6%), an Indian Pale Ale with a distinct hop flavour, the company's strongest ale. Hoppelhammer is described by Sloan as "a luscious beer especially enjoyed with spicy foods, which compliment the rich and strong flavoured beer".

"Offering different segments of the market increased choice is helping our growth and brand awareness," he adds. The company has increased production and overall flexibility for such an approach by extensive investment in production equipment and chilled storage facilities.

Established in 1996 Whitewater is Northern Ireland's largest microbrewery. The company brews quality handcrafted beers made from the finest ingredients, with no additives.

Whitewater Brewing currently produces an extensive range of cask, keg and bottled ales and lagers, including the popular Belfast Black stout

It also provides advice on brewing and has been commissioned to develop micro breweries in the Republic of Ireland.