‘Save water, drink beer.’
It’s one of those whacky slogans you’ll see splashed across a cheap tee-shirt, usually indicating the wearer either enjoys a good time or has failed spectacularly to grasp one of the core ingredients of beer.
However, the inclination to preserve can be a strong motivating factor for some. Sadly, though drinking more beer has not managed to come to the rescue of north Down brewery Farmageddon.
One of the trailblazers of the local scene, Farmageddon have been forced to call it a day this week, bringing the curtain down on 10 years of brewing some fantastic and innovative beers.
Their demise is a stark reminder of the fragility of the brewing industry here. All businesses have gone through an unprecedented struggle in recent years, but independent operations have felt the pinch more acutely.
In the local brewing scene, some of the relatively bigger players have been able to scale up and survive.
Farmageddon, though, may act as a cautionary tale to others.
Many brewing operations have come (and some have gone) in the decade since Farmageddon started brewing, but they appeared to be one of the mainstays of the local scene.
When I heard of their closure, I immediately tried to think of some of my favourite of their beers. It was no surprise that the Mosaic IPA came straight to mind.
It is one of the most dependable core beers around.
It was a beer than enjoyed many iterations through the years, but was consistently good – a satisfying mix of tropical and stone fruit flavours, skillfully disguising the fact that it clocked in at a hefty 6.3 per cent.
Farmageddon were also apologetically experimental – brewing an IPA with gorse resulting in an eclectic mix of flavours such gooseberry and orange marmalade.
They weren’t afraid to get into the dark stuff either. In their early days, they brewed an excellent export porter, which was smooth and chocolatey while their Baltic Porter was a beast of a beer, going down well in the winter months.
Unfortunately, rising costs and a volatile market have led them to take the decision to close their doors. Hopefully, all that brewing expertise doesn’t go to waste and their interesting and innovative approach can be used elsewhere.
Their closure highlights the precarious state that some local producers find themselves in and how important it is to support local and independent, even it if means an extra quid or two for a top quality beer.
‘Save breweries, drink beer.’
