The Unlikely European Country Whose Beers Have Been Crowned Among The World's Best

Beer and Europe go hand in hand. Munich is one of the world's beer capitals — you don't even need to leave the airport to experience your first authentic German biergarten. People may travel to Bruges for its history and architecture, but ale enthusiasts stay for the beer. Denmark is known for popular lager brands including Carlsberg and Tuborg, as well as microbreweries like Mikkeller, which has branches throughout Europe and East Asia. Travel expert Rick Steves claims the Czech Republic is home to Europe's best — and most affordable — beers. Ireland is no slouch in the beer scene either, with Guinness and Harp being synonymous with the Emerald Isle. But head about 100 miles north of Dublin, across the border into Northern Ireland, and you'll find craft ales that have taken the international beer scene by storm. The beers come from the very Northern Irish-sounding Our Brewery, located in Randlastown, several miles northwest of Belfast. 

Our Brewery has cultivated a space in the saturated craft beer market by blending traditional and experimental techniques with modern equipment, aiming to bridge the gap between beer and wine. Its highly praised brews result from this meticulous process. Highlights include the Making Sense of it All American IPA, a zesty ale with notes of grapefruit and tropical fruits, the Terra Nocturne Imperial Stout, aged in bourbon barrels for 20 months, and the refreshingly floral Pressure to Pick Italian Pilsner.

Our Brewery won 12 medals at the 2025 World Beer Awards, seven of them gold. That recognition followed the 11 Great Taste Awards the brewery had earned just a few weeks earlier. Alongside the likes of Bushmills Distillery, Our Brewery has secured a spot in the pantheon of Northern Irish alcohol producers.

Craft beer has been one of the dominant forces in the global drinks market this century, and for the past decade, Northern Irish brewers have joined the movement. Dedicated craft beer bars in Belfast, including The Woodworkers — the city's first rotating tap room – and Northern Lights on the trendy Ormeau Road, have been at the bleeding edge of the craft beer boom. New breweries such as Bullhouse Brew Co. and Boundary Brewing are part of the rejuvenation projects that have swept across East Belfast. Meanwhile, Mourne Mountains Brewery in Warrenpoint, Walled City Brewery in Londonderry, and of course, Our Brewery show that craft beer's reach extends well beyond the capital. This growth comes despite strict and outdated licensing laws that have hampered innovation and are largely maligned by both pub owners and brewers. 

Our Brewery's rise from obscurity has been both meteoric and somewhat unexpected. The brewery only got its license in 2021 yet soon outperformed storied European breweries at the World Beer Awards. Its Seasur Mixed Ferm was awarded the world's best biére de garde/saison, a style of beer that can trace its roots to the farmhouses of 18th-century Wallonia. The brewery's Low Land Oud Bruin, a Flemish-style brown ale aged in a red Bordeaux barrel for 17 months, also won world's best in its category. Johnny Mitchell, one of the brewery's co-founders, was as surprised as anyone, describing the accolades, as reported in a company press release, as "beyond anything we imagined."

You can purchase Our Brewery's beers online through its partner distributor, Get 'Er Brewed. Gift sets and bundles are available, including packs of two cans that come with a branded pint glass, and a barrel-aged bottle set featuring some of the brewery's top-rated beers. There's also a hoppy bundle that includes several varieties of ale, such as the hoppy and aromatic Modern Love Pale Ale, a hazy, malty-sweet Hang Up Your Hang Ups IPA, and A Hymn We Used to Believe DIPA, a new brew on the roster with notes of biscuit and caramel and citrusy undertones.

You'll find Our Brewery beers in pubs including The Cloth Ear, The American Bar, The Errigle, The John Hewitt, and Northern Lights in Belfast, as well as the Holywood Wine Bar, Market Square Bushmills, and the Guildhall Taphouse in Derry City. Tesco supermarkets and various off-licences throughout Northern Ireland also stock the beers. And don't be surprised if they make an appearance at the annual Belfast Beer and Cider Festival, held in early November.