When heading to Co Down, head to Kilkeel and Castlewellan to visit two of the region’s most interesting producers.
It’s just after midday when we arrive at Rooney Fish for a tour around their 6,000-square-metre facility, although some staff has already clocked off from 6am starts. At a conveyer belt, Millbay Oysters are sorted by staffers Asenka, Petya, Tsvetanka and Paula who hand-pick the heaviest, chunkiest ones that are ready for market. Those remaining are catalogued into mesh bags by weight, ready to go back to the farm on the north side of Carlingford Lough to grow bigger.
It would be rude not to sample the produce, and they are as sizeable as they are delicious. “A ‘special’ oyster needs to be 16 per cent meat and that’s a French standard,” explains Andrew. “Ninety per cent of our oysters are ‘special’ and average around 20 per cent meat.” There’s no ceremony as Andrew prises one open, drains the juice and flips it so the creamy part is to the top; plump, sweet and juicy with a distinct palette of cucumber and apple, it tastes like no other oyster any of us has tasted before.
Four years ago, Andrew began oyster farming so Rooney Fish, who export prawns, whelks and Irish brown crab, could have a reliable farmed product. Twenty minutes away at the lough, Millbay Oysters work with the tide, alongside their friendly neighbours Carlingford and Cooley Oysters. Andrew explains the kinship of the industry, “When I started the oysters I couldn’t believe how helpful people in the business are, they just want to help you.” In fact, he only began farming oysters after meeting oyster farmers Christophe Callewaert and Corinne Raguenel at a fair, who invited him to their Brittany farm. “It really is a lovely industry.”
Last year, Millbay Oysters won Blas na hÉireann, which came as something of a surprise. “I was doing a trade show in Spain and I was only home the day of the judging, so I said I’d just send my mam and dad to the awards [Rosemary and John, founders of Rooney Fish] because I didn’t think we’d get anything,” Andrew recalls. “I was delighted, and my parents were too. It is a massive accolade. Art [Clifford, chairperson and founder of the awards] knows my dad years and he says to him that oysters used to be a poor man’s food, so for an oyster to win is unbelievable.”
Andrew believes there are a number of things that makes Irish oysters special. “It’s probably the cleanliness of the water and the nutrients in it, but also everyone has a passion for what they do. Not just ourselves at Rooney Fish, but every family business in the north or the south of Ireland. We’ve a passion for what we do, we’re not companies run by accountants.”
About a 30-minute drive away are the folks of Whitewater Brewing Co, led by Bernard and Kerry Sloan, who founded the company 23 years ago. “When you say it’s almost a quarter of a century, it’s frightening,” laughs Bernard. The pair began brewing on his family farm in 1996 but have been at their purpose-built facility since 2017. Here, they can age 6,500 litres at a time with just nine staff members. They got started when Bernard’s employer Bass Brewery closed down, and he took some yeast with him, “I was able to get some of their lager yeast and some of their ale yeast; we took about 20 litres of each and used that to brew.”
Their energy and excitement for brewing is palpable. “We are passionate about it, we’re very particular about what we do,” Kerry says. “We could make our products about 20 or 30 per cent cheaper but we’ll never make that compromise. The beer has to be how we want it. Really, the amount of hops we put in is obscene, but we believe it has to be done.” The team need to experiment and to do things that give them a buzz. “If we made a standard lager or ale with no thought about it, I don’t think I would be running the brewery. It wouldn’t float my boat at all.”
Experiments are constantly happening. “Our imperial stout is a definite experiment. Is that ever going to be something we sell a lot of? Probably not. We’ve done things with blackberries and made thick, meaty beers that we couldn’t make long-term. But was it fun to do? Yes.” It’s not all wins though. “Having said that, we’ve made some dreadful experimental beers too. We made a beer with a hop called pilgrim. It was vile. It never left the brewery. That’s all part of the process, making your mistakes.”
There is one beer in particular Bernard is keen to make. “Last year when I was over in Japan, there’s a fruit there called yuzu and I loved the flavour so when we came back I thought I’d make a beer with it.” It wasn’t until he tried to buy yuzu extract, which is £80 per kilo, that he realised it might be a one-off for the brewery staff to drink. “My worst nightmare would be if it was absolutely gorgeous and I’ve to figure out how to scale it. Can you imagine me trying to convince publicans to part with £300 per keg? They’d say ‘you’re mad Sloan’.”
Right now, Whitewater have their sights on the US and Hong Kong. “I really want to get our beers more on the world stage. We are a small company based in the north of Ireland, but I get a kick out of having our beers in Russia and Japan. You always say your home market is your castle, but we really want to get ourselves into further and further places.” rooneyfish.com; whitewaterbrewery.com
PHOTOGRAPHY Al Higgins
ASSISTED BY Marcus Cassidy
PUBLISHED Image Interiors & Living magazine, May/June 2019