Why we love Christmas gifts that are a real experience ‘We brew more than 200 beers ... it’s about taking pride in the city and giving tourists a taste they can’t get anywhere else’
Instead of simple material gifts, there’s a rising trend for buying presents that offer something very different. Stephanie Bell talks to three NI food and drink creatives who offer adventures that everyone will love
If you are stuck for an idea for a Christmas present for the special man in your life then James Huey of Walled City Brewery may have the perfect gift.
And while it tends to be largely men who enjoy learning to brew their own beer at his Walled City Brewery in Londonderry, the courses do attract their fair share of females.
James (42), who runs the business with his wife, Louise (42), trained as a brewer with Guinness for 12 years before returning home to his native Derry to open his own beer-making plant.
Based in Ebrington Square, the Walled City Brewery is a multi-award-winning restaurant, as well as a brew house.
The ethos behind the business is to provide both locals and tourists with a “taste of the North West” through crafting local, authentic, premium, flavoursome beer and food.
James has also developed the business to offer the public a chance to immerse themselves in a beer masterclass or enrol on the Homebrew Academy, a daylong course on the art of home beer making.
Derry features heavily in the beers James crafts and new flavours named after some famous people and events in the city are constantly on offer. One is named Stitch, in tribute to the city’s shirt-making history, and another is named after the hit TV series, Derry Girls.
“We brew more than 200 different beers and have 10 taps with our own craft beers,” he says. “For me, it is all about the provenance and keeping the city at the forefront. It’s about taking pride in the city and also it allows tourists to taste beers they can’t get anywhere else.”
James, who is father to Lola (6) and Alfie (4), wanted to open his brewery for the enjoyment of others and introduced his now very popular courses. The Homebrew Academy is a day-long course which teaches everything you need to know to make your own beer at home.
You get to brew a new flavour or one of the company’s craft beers and take home a gallon of what you make at the end of the day. This popular gift is available in three packages, costing £70, £80 and £130.
The beer masterclass, an hourlong experience which costs £20, takes people through the ancient history of beer making and allows them to sample beer as it
❝ The Academy is aimed at people interested in making drinks... the class offers a bite-sized chunk
would have tasted down through the ages.
The samples are accompanied by snacks that have all been made up from produce which comes from within just a couple of miles of the city.
“The Homebrew Academy is aimed at people who are really interested in making their own beer and the masterclass offers a bite-sized chunk and is very popular,” James explains.
“Both make a great wee present, especially for guys who are difficult to buy for. For us, it was important to provide an experience and if you have an experience, it creates a memory which lasts.”