Black Ice Cream a New Taste of Northern Ireland

Black ice cream has been created by Northern Ireland's leading luxury ice cream company! Award winning Glastry Farm Ice Cream has created the new product using Belfast Black Dry Stout from Whitewater Brewing Company, Northern Ireland's most successful craft brewer.

The innovative ice cream has been launched by Glastry Farm, which is located on a dairy farm at Kircubbin in county Down, following extensive taste tests carried out by the artisan business which has a longstanding commitment to innovation.

The new product follows the company's outstanding success with Kilbeggan Irish Whiskey Ice Cream, a UK Great Taste award winning flavour launched in 2011. The ice cream is now even on sale in the Kilbeggan distillery in the Republic of Ireland.

Will Taylor, Glastry Farm's managing director, commenting on the new Belfast Black Stout Ice Cream, says: "The ice cream is a further development in our commitment to create products with a distinctive Irish identity using locally sourced ingredients.

'It was the amazing success of our Kilbeggan Ice Cream that encouraged us to explore the potential of using a traditional Irish stout. We taste tested several stouts before settling on Whitewater's Belfast Black, which is brewed here in county Down, not far from our dairy farm that supplies our milk.

"All those involved in the samplings found that Belfast Black offered the best flavour. We launched the new ice cream at a number of food events and received a tremendous response from consumers. We think we've found another winner."

Belfast Black is a 4.2%ABV stout that's crafted from roasted barley, rolled oats, chocolate and black malts to produce a traditional Irish stout with a gentle coffee aroma and rich hop flavours and using water from the Mourne Mountains, Northern Ireland's biggest mountain range.

Bernard Sloan, managing director of Whitewater Brewing Company, adds: "We are delighted that our stout has now been used to create another highly innovative product. We've also seen the stout used to create a richly flavoured traditional Irish wheaten bread."

Glastry Farm ice cream and low-fat sorbets are from a family farm on the lush pastures near Kircubbin in county Down's picturesque, clean and green Ards Peninsula.

The artisan company's products and its production processes have been endorsed as quality and safe by SALSA - Safe and Local Supplier Accreditation.

Formed in 2007 by Will Taylor, a longstanding dairy farmer and former President of the Ulster Farmers Union, Glastry Farm premium ice cream and creamy sorbets are handcrafted from milk from the farm's own pedigree Holstein-Friesian herd.

Glastry's farming operations have also been rigorously checked and accredited by the UK Red Tractor organisation.

The range currently features 20 ice creams and four low-fat sorbets. Other ice-cream flavours include Rhubarb and Custard, Heavenly Chocolate and Berry Blueberry.

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 beers, a lager in keg and bottled products including nine ales, two beers, two lagers and a traditional Irish stout. The company's products have also won UK Great Taste Awards, Irish Quality Food Awards and International Beer Challenge medals.