You have probably heard of the famous Belgian beer, ‘Duvel’, an 8.5% ABV strong golden ale. It enjoys none of the Godliness associated with the six Trappist breweries in Belgium or the Abbey beers with local saints smiling out from their labels. When a brewer at Brouwerij Moortgat in 1970 tasted this new beer, he exclaimed that ‘this is a Devil of a beer’. It was forever named ‘Devil’ or in Flemish, ‘Duvel’.
If Satan has enjoyed his fair share of involvement with the Belgian brewing industry, it seems he has now made his way to Ireland – to the small village of Carrickmore. If you are familiar with the style of play of the successful Gaelic football teams from this part of the world, you will know that there is no shortage of ‘badness’ in Co. Tyrone.
The story of Pokertree Brewing Company is part marketing gimmickry, part Irish story telling.
There is a tree on the edge of Carrickmore village under which the Devil is said to host poker games. Local children are told that on certain nights – when the air is very still and the moon is bright – Lucifer can be found sitting under the tree’s creaking branches shuffling his cards and getting ready to play. If you see him there you are perfectly within your rights to challenge him to a hand. Victory will ensure you are granted your wildest desires. Defeat and your soul will be lost forever. The stakes are high.
CURIOSITY QUENCHED THE THIRST
Darren Nugent grew up in Carrickmore village but began to travel after education. He worked in England for a while. He went to Australia. New Zealand. America too. He tried different kinds of food. And he tasted the local beers wherever he went.
He came back to Tyrone to discover none of the full flavours that had been available to him on his travels. He missed the choice that existed elsewhere. He wanted a local beer of which he could be proud. One with a bit of devilment. He couldn’t find it. So he decided to make it himself.
Pokertree Brewing Company was born in 2013 and launched its first brew at the beginning of this year.
INSPIRED BY BELGIUM
Darren has looked to other countries for inspiration in his brewing; places like America, Germany, Great Britain and of course, Belgium. “I don’t think any brewer would look past Belgium,” says Darren. “We would kind of see it as the spiritual home of beer. You’ve got the American craft beer revolution which happened in the 1970s; that is only an extension of a Belgian trend which started many years before. Look at New Belgium in America, Dogfish Head, Sierra Nevada. What are they doing? They’re producing highly flavoured beers – which is what the Belgians have been doing for generations.”
I don’t think any brewer would look past Belgium. We would kind of see it as the spiritual home of beer
Darren tries to be experimental with his choice of ingredients – from local malted barley to new world hops. All Pokertree Brewing Company beers are bottled by hand into 500ml and 700ml bottles. Pokertree brews small batches of beer which are all bottle conditioned, unfiltered, unpasteurised and naturally carbonated. Darren’s good friend, Elisabeth Goldbourne, helped design the labels and equip the microbrewery with a unique identity.
CORRUPTING IRISH DRINKERS: THE DEVIL’S JUICE
Pokertree Brewing Company is not alone in its mission to attack what Darren describes as the ‘soullessness’ of many commercial beers. Although the total number of craft breweries in Ireland still accounts for only a fraction of all beer consumed, the growth is unprecedented. “I think the Irish scene is only starting,” says Darren. “If I thought that the brewing scene in Ireland was going to stay the same as it is now, in terms of customers and their tastes and how much they’re going to consume craft beer, I wouldn’t have built the brewery.”
But is the situation such that Irish beer drinkers will try out new beer? “It’s definitely improving,” says Darren. “I’m not going to lie to you. It’s going to be hard work. There is a small group of people who are very passionate about it. That group will grow. We certainly need to appeal to a wider audience. But I think that will happen.”
Darren believes Irish people are becoming more open and adventurous. “We’re a more multicultural society than we ever were before,” he says. “We’re definitely more open. Irish people have travelled extensively. They’ve opened themselves up to new experiences. A lot of people have brought that home. There is a hunger there to try different things.”
THE POKERTREE BEERS
Is there an excitement that comes with joining the growing group of new breweries in Ireland? “We’re not tied down by tradition,” Darren says. “But we have a nod to it. We don’t have a brewing history in the sense that we haven’t had a brewery in every village and every town for the last hundred years, but in a way that means we can do our own thing.”
His range of beers firmly reflects the place he comes from and the village in which the brewery was born. He has golden, ruby and rye ales, a light-bodied stout and a smoked dark IPA, with references to Irish mythology, to local symbols and stories and to people with roots in the area. “You can resurrect historical recipes – they are there if you look for them,” says Darren. “Or you can do new things. I think that freedom can only benefit us in Ireland.”
WATCH OUT FOR THE DEVIL
“Wouldn’t it be great for people in America, Australia or New Zealand to go into their supermarkets and see beer proudly made in Ireland to rival the best in the world,” says Darren. “That’s what I’d like to see. If I can play a small part in Ireland’s evolution as a beer drinking nation from being really traditional, staid and boring, to one which engages on a journey of experimentation and in doing so help bring a bit of pride back to the brewing industry in Ireland, I’ll be happy.”
@belgiansmaak @KinnegarBrewing @DonegalBrewing @inishmacsaint How do you know 😉
— Íon Distillery (@IonDistillery) May 8, 2014
Starting up a micro-brewery in rural Tyrone at a time when small businesses are finding it difficult might seem like a bit of a risk. But maybe Darren Nugent has a good hand? One that he reckons can beat the Devil.
