Beer in Northern Ireland has been influenced by immigration into Ulster, especially from Scotland, and the drinking habits in Ireland until the partition of Ireland. WhiskeyOxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed.: "In modern trade usage, Scotch whisky and Irish whiskey are thus distinguished in spelling; whisky is the usual spelling in Britain and whiskey that in the U.S." drinking was always a tradition with Guinness from Dublin being a strong influence in the style of beer drunk in the 19th and 20th centuries. Brewing traditions almost ceased to exist as smaller breweries closed, or were taken over, and then the large breweries in turn closed down their facilities. The Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) was founded in 1971; however, it was 10 years before the first new brewery, Hilden Brewing, opened its doors.
Most microbreweries in Northern Ireland find it difficult to sell beer in draught form due to the local tied-pubs issues, where most pubs are owned by Diageo (Guinness), C&C Group (Tennent's) or Molson Coors Brewing Company.
History
The Celtic tradition of brewing beer almost certainly existed in Ireland from before 1,000 BC using barley. The Roman Emperor Julian the Apostate, in a 1,600-year-old poem, described Celtic beer as smelling “like a billy goat.” Historically Ireland produced ale without the use of hops, as the plant is not native to Ireland, which led in the 18th century to importing quantities of hops from England.
During the 18th century, the Irish Parliament used taxation to encourage brewing at the expense of distilling, reasoning that beer was less harmful than whiskey. In the 1760s about 600,000 barrels of beer were brewed annually in Ireland. In the 1760s, the Royal Dublin Society offered prizes to brewers who used the most Irish hops and those that produced the most Porter.Ireland Industrial and Agricultural, 1902, p. 454
During the interwar period in Northern Ireland, "many drinkers preferred whiskey to beer."
The Caffrey's Ulster Brewery, established in Belfast in 1897 and taken over by Bass in 1974, closed in 2004, so ending big company brewing in Northern Ireland. Stout is the most preferred beer in Northern Ireland, with lager second and bitter beer as a distant third preference. Guinness, brewed at St James's Gate Brewery in Dublin, is still a popular stout beer in Northern Ireland.
Until its closure in 2025, Hilden Brewing Company claimed to be Ireland's oldest microbrewery, founded in 1981.
In 2007, Clotworthy Dobbin, produced by Whitewater Brewing Company, was judged one of the best 50 beers in the world.
The number of microbreweries in Northern Ireland has significantly increased in recent years, from five in 2012 to a peak of thirty in 2018.
For many years Northern Ireland's craft breweries called for a change in the law, which prevented them selling their produce directly to the customer on site or online. This also incurred additional costs using a third party for sales. In 2023, an Amendment to the 2021 Licensing and Registration of Clubs Act (Northern Ireland) created a new category of license for local producers, allowing them to sell directly to the public. While this was celebrated as a positive step forward, craft brewers still view licensing laws as outdated and restrictive to growth. Breweries such as Bullhouse, Boundary, and Modest Beer, among others continue to campaign for changes that would allow for laws to be more aligned with the rest of the UK. An example of some of the restrictions was highlighted in 2026 when the supermarket Lidl opened a pub in order to benefit from alcohol sales when its Belfast store was denied an off-sales licence under the surrender principle.
List of Northern Ireland breweries
+ Brewers in Northern Ireland Brewery Town County SinceContract Brewed? Beer Hut Kilkeel County Down 2017 Bell's Belfast County Antrim 2022 Boundary Belfast County Antrim 2015 Bubble (formerly Norn Iron Brew Co) Derriaghy County Antrim 2023 Bullhouse Belfast County Antrim 2016 Dopey Dick Derry County Londonderry2016Rough Brothers Farmageddon 2013Brand owned by and brewed at Fermanagh Beer Co. since 2023 Fermanagh Beer Company (Inishmacsaint) Derrygonnelly County Fermanagh 2010 Heaney Farmhouse Bellaghy County Londonderry2016 Hercules (Yardsman) Belfast County Antrim 2014 Knockout Belfast County Antrim 2015 Lacada Portrush County Antrim 2015 MashDown Banbridge County Down 2018Whitewater McCracken's Portadown County Armagh 2018Modest BeerRandalstownCounty Antrim2023Owned and brewed by Modest Beer Mourne Mountains Warrenpoint County Down 2015 Northbound Derry County Londonderry 2015 Ormeau Belfast County Antrim 2022 Our Brewery Randalstown County Antrim 2022 Out of Office Belfast County Antrim 2022 Rough Brothers Derry County Londonderry2019 Tilt & Pour Belfast County Antrim 2023Cuckoo brewery based at Heaney Walled City Brewery Derry County Londonderry 2015 Whisht (formerly Sheelin) Bellanaleck County Fermanagh 2023 Whitewater Brewery Castlewellan County Down 1996
See also
Beer and breweries by region Beer in the United Kingdom Beer in England Beer in Scotland Beer in Wales Beer in Ireland List of breweries in Ireland
References
External links Society of Independent Brewers Campaign for Real Ale Northern Ireland NI Breweries - Quare Swally NI NI Breweries - Tilt n Pour Craft Beer in Belfast, Northern Ireland - Rebel Atlas