Belfast brewery to open city’s first permanent taproom

A popular independent local brewery is on on the brink of opening Belfast’s first permanent taproom, creating six jobs in the process.

Bullhouse Brew Co is set to open the doors to Bullhouse East on the Newtownards Road on Monday, June 13.

As revealed in LCN in April, the latest project will include a beer garden and overlook CS Lewis Square.

Speaking about the conversion of a former menswear store into a taprooom boasting 12 or more draught lines serving a wide range of local beer, Bullhouse founder Willy Mayne, below, said: “We had secured change of use to operate the brewery from that unit, and we really wanted to be involved in the great work Eastside Partnership are doing in the area.

“This has been a project we’ve been working on for three and a half years, and we have faced a load of hurdles along the way.

“We’ve been leading the charge to change Northern Ireland’s outdated licensing laws and will continue to do so even after securing our own full license because we’re passionate about breaking the licensing monopoly.

“”Open seven days a week, we’ll be opening the space up for the community, hosting regular nights such as comedy, quizzes and DJ sets, as well as educational tasting evenings. Coffee will be available for anyone wanting to make use of the space in the afternoons to get a bit of work done.

“We also have an outdoor heated beer garden backing onto CS Lewis Square, which will house our wood fired pizza oven. Pizzas will only be available at the weekend, but we’ll have cheese and charcuterie boards to keep people going during the week.”

Bullhouse East will also be dog-friendly and family-friendly until 9pm and will also be offering a wide range of products for takeaway to create what Willy calls “the only independent off-sales in the whole of East Belfast”.