On Friday, 30th May 2014 I attended the Hilden Brewery in Lisburn. As part of my birthday celebrations it was arranged for me to take the tour of the Brewery and have dinner in the Tap Room Restaurant. So we will take these as two separate entities
We arrived at Hilden with a few minutes to spare having taken a left when we should have taken a right, and we were greeted by a very friendly bar tender in the Tap House who explained there would be another couple coming with us through the tour, I'm sorry but I didn't get the staff members names, but again like in the Vineyard in Belfast the staff at the Tap Room are a fantastic asset to the overall experience. A short time later we were taken to the Brewery itself, I wasn't sure exactly what to expect, I've read how beer is made, and I've had a few home brews, so I know the stages in beer production but I wasn't sure what the scale would be. The tour guide was very knowledgeable, and he explained how the malt is made, how it is prepared into Wort and the different stages between Wort and a pint of beer in the bar. The only thing we didn't get to see was a bottling plant. The whole brewery fits within one out building, about the size of a small barn or brewery. I found this staggering, I wasn't expecting a brewery on the scale of Anheuser-Busch, but for me Hilden brands are amongst the most exposed in the Craft Beer scene in Northern Ireland. All good bars stock Hilden products, all the Off Licences that cover craft beer stock it as well and yet all their production comes from the 5 small Fermentation Vessels. I say small, but do not start thinking about your own home brew FV's as they are massive in comparison to that.
this is the only photo of inside the brewery I can find on Google Images.
The guide did conceded that they are operating at their maximum capacity and struggling to keep up with demand, hoping to extend production later this year. Lets hope this level of demand is maintained.
The Brewery is contained within this building.
What surprised me was a question asked of the tour group near the start of the tour and has had me thinking ever since. Think about all the Macro Brewery's you know, the big international brands, the adverts you see for these beers not one of them mentions the most important aspect of a product meant for human consumption, the taste. The spend all that money on advertising a way of life, usually glamorous and the consumer makes the connection in their head if i drink this beer then I too will be glamorous and successful. Not once is the taste of these products mentioned. The cynic in me can offer a suggestion as to why but ill leave that to your own imagination. Everything the tour guide said regarding Hilden, involved flavour and taste, right up to his closing gambit. To me this is why more and more people are drawn away from the big brands to the Craft Beer scene, appealing flavours and variety and brewers who are passionate about their products and what they offer to the market place.
We were then sat at our table when the waitress brought down a selection of the Hilden Beers, 4 "small" sampling glasses each ranging from their Blonde Beer through to their Irish Stout. I say small, but thank goodness I wasn't driving, my partner was so I drank hers too (result). We had pre-ordered our food so it arrived very promptly. I ordered Belly of Pork and I'm not a food critic but I've never had Pork Belly cooked properly, the fat is either under cooked and slimey texture or over coked and a hammer required to help cut it. This was perfection, a normal table knife was all I required to cut through it. I had a side of Belfast Blonde onion rings. All lovely stuff.
I will certainly be back in August for the Hilden Festival which runs on the weekend of 23rd-25th August in the courtyard of the property. The train station is a short walk from the brewery which is handy as my local train station is an even shorter walk from my front door. See you all there hopefully!
Until next time.
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