Brewing up a new royal Hillsborough pale ale is a nod to mid-19th century histroy

Teaming up with McCrackens Brewery, the new ale is a nod of celebration to the village being awarded ‘royal’ status by the Queen and an affectionate look back at The Plough’s history.

The Plough in the mid-19th century supplied local beers and ales to the Marquess’s of Downshire for their grand banquets which took place in Hillsborough Fort just behind the venue.

Chair of development committee, alderman Amanda Grehan, said: “What a brilliant idea. I am thrilled to celebrate the launch of the new Royal Hillsborough Pale Ale. It is great to see such innovation and collaboration to bring something new to market. Plus, the confidence to invest in the business and new product development. This new ale is a welcomed addition and one that will tantalise locals and visitors alike.”

William Patterson, co-owner of The Plough, explained: “Hillsborough achieving royal status last year was hugely significant and we felt it presented us with an opportunity to create a new ale that marked this new chapter. We have worked with Ryan and his team since 2018, so partnering with him on this project made sense. Micro brewing in NI is a growing market and customers today are willing and enthusiastic to try new products especially if it’s from a local source.

“We tried several samples of Ryan’s ales and we agreed to have an easy drinking light refreshing pale ale, not too strong in alcohol (4%) that would appeal to both male and female customers. It also needed to complement the great food we serve in The Plough and The Pheasant.”

Ryan McCracken, owner of McCrackens Brewery, continued: “William was one of our first clients when we started McCrackens Brewery back in 2018. He and his team have been great to work with over the last four years and our beers have always gone down very well with their customers. We were delighted when William approached us with his fantastic idea. After some product development and plenty of taste testing with William and his team, Royal Hillsborough Pale ale was born. At McCrackens we believe in using natural fresh ingredients. We source many of the ingredients locally to maintain the highest quality standards and ensure we contribute to our local economy.”

William added: “With NI starting to open up again after a horrendous two years of Covid restrictions on the hospitality sector, it seems a perfect time to launch this new Royal Hillsborough Pale ale. Tourists & visitors are starting to come back into the village, so it’s the perfect time to promote something local and it would be a welcome addition to the list of great attractions Royal Hillsborough has to offer.”

The Royal Hillsborough Pale Ale is available on draught in The Plough and also at The Pheasant, Annahilt. Both The Plough and The Pheasant are part of Lisburn & Castlereagh City Council’s latest tourism programme, entitled ‘Royal Hillsborough and Historic Moira’.

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this story on our website. While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you.

In order for us to continue to provide high quality and trusted local news on this free-to-read site, I am asking you to also please purchase a copy of our newspaper whenever you are able to do so.

Our journalists are highly trained and our content is independently regulated by IPSO to some of the most rigorous standards in the world. But being your eyes and ears comes at a price. So we need your support more than ever to buy our newspapers during this crisis.

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our local valued advertisers - and consequently the advertising that we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you helping us to provide you with news and information by buying a copy of our newspaper when you can safely.

You can also enjoy unlimited access to the best news from across Northern Ireland and the UK by subscribing to newsletter.co.uk

With a digital subscription, you can read more than five articles, see fewer ads, enjoy faster load times, and get access to exclusive newsletters and content. Visit https://www.newsletter.co.uk/subscriptions now to sign up.

Thank you