Devilishly good

It’s now a year since Darren Nugent added his fledgling microbrewery in County Tyrone to the province’s tiny portfolio of traditional ale manufactories. And now the first batch of product is ready to be sampled…

Darren Nugent’s 2000-litre plant at Carrickmore in Co. Tyrone is a welcome addition to the tiny range of cask beers currently produced in Northern Ireland. Under the distinctive brand name, Pokertree, he produces a golden Irish ale called Ghrain (sun) at 4.5% ABV and a dark, malty alternative called Red Earl ruby ale (3.5%) which is ideal for pairing with dishes such as beef.

With a background in PR and marketing, Darren and his wife, Emma, travelled the world before settling in in Carrickmore and he says that the idea of brewing his own ale occurred to him after he realised just how few indigenous craft beers there were in Northern Ireland.

“When I came back, I couldn’t believe how poor the range of choice was here,” he tells LCN. “Every bar and restaurant had the same choices everywhere I went. So that’s why I decided to develop the idea of a brewery in Co. Tyrone.”

The Carrickmore plant – the first microbrewery in the county – went into production at the start of 2013 but Darren says that he had originally planned something much less grand:

“We had a much smaller plant in mind at the outset and we started to put that together, but then we made the decision half-way through to go for a bigger brewery,” he explains. “From talking to other brewers, I discovered that if the beer did work out successfully, then converting to a bigger facility at that point could be very disruptive. So we went for the bigger build at that early stage.”

The Pokertree brand name is based on an old folk legend from the Carrickmore area which suggests that on certain nights, when the air is very still and the moon is bright, the devil can be found sitting under the creaking branches of an old oak tree in the vicinity playing cards. The story goes that those who see him there are able to challenge him to a hand of cards. If they win, they are granted a wish. If they lose, then the devil gets their soul.

Now that the first batch of the province’s newest craft brew is ready to be drunk, Darren is keen to start recouping his investment. He has signed-up County Down distributor, Prohibition Ltd., to handle sales and the beer will shortly go into a number of on-trade outlets in Belfast, including Bittles Bar and of course, The John Hewitt, as well as a selection of other venues around the province. It will also be available through the off-trade.

And that’s not the end of the story – Darren already has two other beers that are almost ready for sale – Seven Sisters – intriguingly described as a treacle, oatmeal stout – and a rye pale ale named Tain after a central work in the Ulster Cycle, a series of classical medieval Irish legends.  Seven Sisters is to be launched for St. Patrick’s Day and the pale ale should be available by the summer.

Caption: Darren Nugent in the Pokertree brewery.