Bullhouse East

Willy Mayne began homebrewing on his family's farm outside Belfast in 2011, after a trip to California's Green Flash Brewery changed how he thought about beer. He spent four years perfecting recipes before converting an old cattle shed on the farm, the bullhouse that gave the brewery its name, into a 500-square-foot operation built partly from salvaged equipment, including a mash tun made from a converted catering fridge. Bullhouse launched commercially in 2016 and now employs 26 people. Its taproom, Bullhouse East, opened on Newtownards Road in east Belfast in 2022, pouring around 20 of its own beers alongside guest pours, with wood-fired pizza and coffee from Nook Coffee served alongside. The bar was named Best Craft Beer Bar in the UK in 2023 and 2025.