For full article visit: https://www.newsletter.co.uk/business/award-winning-portadown-craft-brewer-set-for-faster-growth-with-top-retailer-4831603
By Sam Butler
Published 21st Oct 2024, 15:00 GMT
The business with Northern Ireland’s top grocer marks a significant milestone in the Co Armagh brewery’s growth and its ongoing commitment to providing premium craft beers to a wider audience.
Ryan McCracken, the founding managing director of the business, says: “We’re thrilled to have our IPA, Premium Pilsner, and Black Irish Stout available recently in Tesco Northern Ireland.
“This is an exciting development for us as we continue to expand our reach and bring our craft beers to more people. It’s a tremendous platform for growth with in both short and long-term”
“We’ve always focused on creating distinctive, high-quality brews, and this opportunity allows us to share that with a larger audience.”
Founded in 2018, McCracken’ Brewery has grown steadily over the past six years, gaining a reputation for producing quality craft beer that celebrates Northern Ireland’s rich brewing heritage.
The new partnership with Tesco Northern Ireland will make McCracken’s flagship brews more accessible to customers across the region.
Each beer in McCrackens core range offers a unique taste experience:
IPA: A hop-forward, aromatic IPA with a balanced malt profile and a refreshing bitterness;
Premium Pilsner: A crisp, clean lager with subtle floral notes and a smooth finish; and
Black Irish Stout: A rich, dark stout with roasted malt, chocolate flavours and a creamy mouthfeel.
These beers are now available in selected Tesco stores across Northern Ireland, reinforcing McCrackens’ position as one of the region’s most exciting craft breweries.
Tesco Ireland is a leading supporter of locally produced food and drink. Ireland’s leading grocer, Tesco is a major supporter of local brewers in more than 60 stores.
Ryan continues: “We are incredibly grateful to our loyal customers, local suppliers, and partners like Tesco for supporting our journey. This is just the beginning of the next chapter for McCracken’s Brewery, and we can’t wait to continue sharing our passion for great beer with even more people. Tesco stores is an important springboard for us as we seek to expand our business.”
McCracken’s Brewery and Distillery is a family-owned craft brewery based in Armagh. The brewery is dedicated to producing high-quality beers with a focus on flavour, tradition, and innovation. With a growing portfolio of award-winning brews, McCracken’s, a Food NI member business, is proud to be part of Northern Ireland’s thriving craft beer and spirits scene, he continues.
Ryan, originally an IT manager, set up the brewery in a specially converted building at the home he shares with wife Nicola a two children. He began brewing as a hobby in 2014 when he was given a home brew kit by his Nicola as a Christmas present.
“I enjoyed beer and caught the home brewing bug,” he remembers. “I kept adding equipment and experimenting with different beers which family and friends enjoyed.”
He has invested extensively in the brewery to increase capacity and his range of real ales.
McCrackens Brewery & Distillery has created a broad range of bottled-conditioned ales and also supplies ale in cask and keg form. The pale ales, Irish pale ale and chocolate and vanilla Irish stout are all hand crafted in the brewery in Portadown by Ryan and his four-strong team.
Ryan, in addition to a successful range of beers, has launched a premium gin that’s likely to be the first in a series of spirits that he’s been planning over the past few years. The small brewery is the first here to diversity into distilling spirits.
He sees the expansion into distilling premium spirits as a logical extension for the locally-owned and managed business. Focused on growth, Ryan invested in new distilling kit more than a year ago and also added a second canning line to existing
machinery at his expanded, state-of-the-art operation at the Co Armagh market town.
He’s installed a 1,000 litre column distillery that has the capacity to produce 1,500 bottles of gin and other spirits daily.
“We’re proud of our grain-to-glass approach at McCracken’s that enables us to manage the entire distilling process in-house – from grain to beer and spirit,” he says. “This not only ensures the highest quality but also embodies our commitment to innovation, attention to detail, traceability and excellence in everything we do,” he adds.
Ryan’s unique local gin recipe features 11 original botanicals including local heather he’s harvested with other family members from the vast mountain trails and parks around Craigavon.
