Northbound Brewery 26 Pale Ale - Beer of the Month

ABOUT THE BREWER

David Rogers and his wife Martina decided to open up a craft brewery in Derry to fit in with rearing a young family.

After becoming interested in craft brewing while living in Australia, management consultant David did a Master Brewing Diploma. He’s originally from Scotland and his wife is from Fermanagh. Martina worked within the financial services sector where she gained sales and marketing skills.

They moved back to Northern Ireland with their three children in 2012. ‘We felt bound by the north-west of the country, hence the name,’ says Martina.

Production started at the Campsie site in a building that used to house a shirt factory. Using local ingredients where possible, including Irish malt, Derry water and Irish carrageen moss, the brewery launched with two beers: 08, a kolsch-style ale, and 26, a pale ale. The range has continued to expand to include an oak-smoked beer, a sticke alt beer, an Indian pale ale and a magnum IPA.

‘We’ve seen best practice in Japan and Australia and I want to take what we’ve learned to make a sustainable brewery in the north-west of Ireland, which hopefully will become a regional brewery.’

David’s knowledge has now been recognised by the Institute of Brewing and Distilling, having been awarded the prestigious Master Brewer qualification, a rare recognition only bestowed upon a dozen people globally each year.

Looking ahead, Northbound Brewery is continuing to trial natural new ingredients that celebrate the high quality of produce in the region, and are collaborating with local producers to bring out the best of the North West.

A successfully established local cheese maker, Julie Hickey of Tamnagh Foods, has washed a new cheese in her Dart Mountain Cheese range, Banagher Bold, with their 26 Pale Ale after being ‘aged for three months to give it the strength it deserves’. It was released in September 2015.

‘If you get it right you can create a great process and come up with consistently good beer. It’s also perfect to fit in with our family life,’ says David.

ABOUT THE BEER

As the Year of Food and Drink in Northern Ireland reaches its penultimate month, it’s a fitting time to review a beer from Derry.

The 26 Pale Ale was one of two flagship beers that the Northbound Brewery launched with in 2015 (the other being a kolsch-style ale). It pours a light golden orange with a thin white head. The aroma is bready, a little bit lemony and a tiny bit floral too, while the flavour has biscuity, fruity and spicy notes.

If you’re wondering what the number in the name of the beer means, it’s actually the beer’s IBU rating (a measurement of bitterness). At 26 it’s in the middle of the spectrum, similar to some pilsners or red ales, and is nicely balanced – this isn’t a beer that knocks you over the head with its bitterness or a high ABV (this one is a standard 5%).

Pale ales are really versatile when it comes to pairing them with food. Burgers, cold or grilled meats, creamy pasta sauces, roast beef or chicken, pâté, quiche and even Thai food are all perfectly good matches, as is a semi-soft, white rind cheese like Cooleeney or Wicklow Baun.

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Kristin Jensen is a freelance editor specialising in cookery and food books and has worked with many of Ireland's top food writers and chefs. She writes the Edible Ireland blog and is a co-founder of the Irish Food Bloggers Association and, together with Caroline Hennessy, is joint author of Slainte! The complete Guide To Irish Craft Beers and Ciders . Kristin is Secretary of the Irish Food Writers’ Guild.