Whitewater Opens State-Of-The-Art Brewery
Whitewater Brewing Company, the leading Northern Ireland independent brewery, has began production at a new state-of-the-art brewery that the the company has developed to increase capacity for export growth.
The new 15,000 sq ft brewery is located at Castlewellan in county Down in the foothills of Northern Ireland’s iconic Mourne Mountains and also features an extensive visitors’ centre. It is Northern Ireland’s most modern independent brewery.
The new brewery, developed by owner Bernard Sloan, an engineer who is also the master brewer, has the capacity to produce around 40,000 litres a month and has scope for further expansion. Included is a complex of high volume fermented, designed by Mr Sloan and custom-made, with a keg filling and bottling systems.
“As well as a huge investment in the new brewery to expand capacity, we’ve developed R&D projects that will also increase our overall competitiveness,” he adds. “We have other beers in the pipeline over the next few months.
“Our strategic focus is on expanding our market share in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland and growing sales in Great Britain and further afield. We now have substantially increased volume capacity and scope to add further fermenters and other equipment to produce this up to two million litres a year. There’s also scope to expand the building for even greater growth.
“I believe there are significant opportunities outside Northern Ireland for our expertise in beers with outstanding taste and provenance,” he adds.
The brewery was originally formed in 1996 by Mr Sloan at Kilkeel in county Down, just a few miles from the new premises.
Whitewater Brewing has a portfolio of award-winning ales, lagers and stouts, several of which have won international acclaim including International Brewing Challenge medals and UK Great Taste Awards for products such as its Belfast Brew (ABV4.6%) and Germanic style Hoppelhammer (ABV6%).
Most of the products are on sale in holets, bars and off-licences in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. Additionally, Whitewater has won business in Europe and China. The family-owned company has also been approached to consider supplying its beers to the US.
The company produces bottle-conditioned beers and ales and also supplies products in kegs to customers throughout Ireland.
A recent launch, Maggie’s Leap, an IPA (ABV4.7%) is proving a major market success, attracting business from China. Mr Sloan describes the latest brew as “a hoppy beer packed with citrus flavours ideal for accompanying spiced foods”.
The brewery sources spring water from the Mourne Mountains which is blended with American, Australian and New Zealand hops to create best-selling beers.
“We are finding that people are interested in the provenance and stories associated with our products. Maggie’s Leap, for instance, is named after an almost mythical figure in the Mournes, a daughter of a renowned poacher. She was reputed to have had red flowing locks, an hourglass figure and an engaging smile, the stuff of legend and the sort of tale of interest to visitors. An area in the Mournes was named after her and is a popular visitors’ attraction. It gives our beer a distinctive character and personality.”
