Bullhouse

When Bullhouse launched in March 2016, the original brewery was a converted cattle shed on the farm, 500 square feet, built on salvaged dairy equipment and a shoestring budget. Mayne brewed evenings and weekends for a year and a half while working full-time, which is either dedication or stubbornness depending on how you look at it. He named a beer P45 when he finally quit his day job in 2017.

The growth since then has been substantial. A Bounce Back Loan in 2020 funded a move to a 6,000-square-foot space in south Belfast, and the team has grown to 26 people. Bullhouse East, Belfast's first permanent brewery taproom, opened in June 2022 next to CS Lewis Square in east Belfast, serving 20 taps and woodfired pizza. SIBA named Bullhouse both UK Brewery Business of the Year and UK Best Craft Beer Bar (City) in 2025 — a double that underlines how far the operation has come from that converted shed.

The core beers are hop-forward and unapologetically so. Merc Bro and Rolling Papers are among the beers that built the reputation. Taps Aff is their 0.5% pale ale, brewed to carry the same character as their standard range: fruit-forward, stone fruit on the hop bill, light enough to be genuinely sessionable. It is vegan-friendly and gluten-free. The name is northern Irish slang for getting your shirt off in the sun — which tells you something about the intended drinking occasion.

Bullhouse distributes across Northern Ireland, Great Britain, the Republic of Ireland, and into mainland Europe. They are stocked at Asda and Sainsbury's as well as independent craft retailers.