Wild Beers and Northern Lights — Launching Our Brewery’s Barrel Aged Beers

It takes a lot to impress me, but arranging for the Aurora Borealis to shine down from the heavens after a delicious and indulgent six course meal is a sure-fire way of ensuring my jaw hits the floor.

While this might sound like an exaggeration, this is exactly what happened on the night Our Brewery launched six stunning barrel aged beers at Sleepy Hollow, a restaurant in Newtownabbey, right at the edge of Belfast. On draining my last drops of Terra Nocturne – an incredible Bourbon barrel imperial stout I’ll tell you all about in due course – I rushed outside, phone in hand, marvelling at the vibrant greens and reds as they shimmed above the pale city lights along the horizon.

While awe-inspiring, the Northern Lights were just the icing on the cake of what was a very special night. The true highlight of the evening was the unveiling of six beers from Our Brewery, each of which had spent between 17 and 27 months slowly coming to maturation in barrels before being perfectly paired with an incredible dish. The latter being the careful work of Sleepy Hollow’s chef/patron Paul Dalrymple.

But before I tell you about this meal in detail, I want to go back to when I first heard about this project, why it came into being, and why it matters. In a post-craft, post-pandemic world it feels easier than ever to be cynical about where beer in the UK is at right now. But amidst the cracks are beams of light, shining on some of the most exciting brewing happening anywhere in the world. This might sound like something of an exaggeration, but I mean it. This is for real.

In July 2022 I flew over to Belfast to meet Johnny, Deborah and the team from Get ‘Er Brewed for the very first time. We’d been working together for a few months, but this was to be the start of something more meaningful as Our Brewery was to launch its first beers later that night at The Deer’s Head in central Belfast. Before we headed into town, Johnny took me across the yard and into the small warehouse that houses Our Brewery, its Brewiks brewing system, and a range of fermentation vessels of various sizes.

While Johnny seemed keen to talk about the range of clean beers he was launching that night, the tone of his voice shifted when he took me to the corner of the brewery and showed me several oak barrels – including three foeders of French origin, constructed of limousin oak. Within these ex-wine and spirit barrels were a range of wild, complex and sour beers that were steadily, slowly maturing. I tasted a not-quite-ready Flanders-style red ale and my eyes widened as I did so. Something special was happening here, and it was Johnny’s enthusiasm and desire to produce the best beers he and his team are capable of that was driving it.

Fast Forward to October 2024 and I’m sitting with dining companions around a table inside Sleepy Hollow restaurant with a house beer to whet my appetite before the first course arrives. After a short speech from Johnny, the first course arrives, a terrine of wild mushroom, nuts and truffle, paired with Razma, a keptinis-style ale inspired by Lithuanian farmhouse brewing tradition.

When I say inspired by, I mean it. This wort for this eventual beer was produced via an 18 hour brew day, using a traditional log fire to heat the mash and boil the beer. After this it spent a further 18 months in ex-rum barrels, adding depth, tannin and complexity to an already highly vinous beer. Dashes of cranberry and allspice came through, pairing perfectly with the richness of the mushroom. One beer in and already everyone in the room was wearing a massive grin.

Next we enjoyed a tartar of wild venison, with the rich, gamey meat pairing almost effortlessly with Our Brewery’s Flanders-style oud bruin – the aptly named Low Land. The style is perhaps best associated with breweries like Rodenbach and Duchesse de Bourgogne. Low Land has spent a good 17 months in barrels formerly used in the making of Bordeaux, giving it a similar wine-like depth as showcased earlier by Razma. What impressed me most about Low Land, however, was its restraint – the acid profile was gentle, the sourness kept to a minimum, a subtle redcurrant tartness providing perfect balance to the richness of the dish.

Although I enjoyed the entire meal immensely, for me the third course was the knockout blow. I love seafood, and I love Bretted lagers (keep an eye out for more in the future, they’re gonna be a thing, trust me.) With its fine, foamy mousse, a lively effervescence and just enough funk to take it away from a typical lager flavour profile it behaved not unlike a delicate, sparkling white wine when paired with lobster and crab. A subtle herbal note in the finish cleaned up the palate, not unlike the way that samphire was used in the dish itself. This beer, dish and resulting pairing left me near speechless (if you can believe it.) A perfect match.

Thinking we’d peaked, I was then immediately proved wrong. Along came an almighty hunk of smoked pork, paired with more pork, this time pulled and locked away in a brioche bun. Rich food like this needs cut and contrast to help you work through all that fat and smoke, something with depth and acidity, something like a totally wild fermented beer that’s been aged in oak for 27 months. Enter, Untamed. Perhaps the shining jewel in the Our Brewery barrel-aged range. This beer is a masterclass in patience, one that waited and waited for that perfect moment to take it from foeder to bottle. With delicate notes of fresh green apple and dry white wine it’s by no means overbearing (I’d happily polish off a bottle of this with or without food,) but it made magic when paired with the pork. The entire room was spellbound by this point.

I know exactly what you’re thinking right now: what you need after all this richness and indulgence is two puddings. There were two beers left to try, after all, so why not? First we enjoyed a mille feuille with caramelised white peach, apricot and grapefruit. There was no relenting from the chef in terms of the richness and complexity of flavour here, which speaks volumes for the beers themselves – to pair with food this good, you need seriously good beer, after all. Here Séasúr, a mixed fermentation saison aged in white Bordeaux barrels added freshness and contrast, with complementary notes of citrus and stone fruit giving everyone a little lift before the grand finale.

Terra Nocturne was to be that finale. An 11.4% beast of an imperial stout aged in Bourbon casks for 20 months, showcasing notes of molasses, vanilla, coconut, with a leathery scent. But it was not as intimidating as I initially thought, with a light acidity giving these flavours zip and buoyancy. This was, for me at least, sorely needed, lending me the necessary strength I needed as I struggled (oh the hardship!) to make room for a dessert of milk chocolate and caramelised white chocolate, packed with brandy soaked golden raisins.

It was, as you can imagine, spectacular. Sleepy Hollow’s Paul Dalrymple and his team did an incredible job in crafting dishes that highlighted the nuances and complexities of each beer so well. What impressed me most, however, was how each beer held its own against such a powerful blend of flavours. This speaks of their quality, yes, but it's difficult to convey on the page just how impressive these beers really are. For a brewery that is turning its hand to wild fermentation and barrel ageing for the first time, each beer showcases as much skill as it does diligence in terms of getting each recipe correct, selecting the best ingredients, and then giving each beer as much time as it needs to be ready.

More than this, I feel something special is happening in UK barrel aged beer at the moment, and these beers are further evidence of this. Our Brewery is one among several producers such as Balance in Manchester, Fyne Ales in Scotland, and Burning Sky in the south of England who are collectively defining what I consider is genre defining in British and Irish wild beer. Pay attention, because now is the time to start getting really excited about what’s still to come.

— Matthew Curtis