Derry Brewery Guide: Walled City Brewery Beers and Tours

A brewery, a kitchen and a taproom in one building

Walled City Brewery opened in May 2015, and the local food network describes it as Derry-Londonderry's first craft brewery in a century and the first in the country to have a working brewery and restaurant under one roof. It sits in Ebrington Square, a short walk over the Peace Bridge from the city centre, which makes it an easy add-on to a day inside the walls. The building holds a restaurant, a brewing kit and a taproom that is now given over to private functions and weddings.

Treat it as three things you book separately: a table in the restaurant, a space in the taproom for a private event, and a tasting experience. If you only want a drink with a meal, the restaurant booking covers you. If you are coming for the brewery side, look at the experiences page before you travel, because the hands-on sessions are not drop-in.

For an evening that stays in the city centre afterwards, the best pubs in Derry cluster within the walls and along Waterloo Street, so a pint at the brewery then a walk back over the bridge works well. If your interest is the older end of the city's drinking history, the oldest pub in Derry is a separate stop rather than something you combine with Ebrington Square.

Who brews the beer and who runs the kitchen

James Huey is head brewer, having spent twelve years brewing with Guinness before setting up here with Louise Huey; the brewery is a family company, with James's sister Yvonne as architect and interior designer. Head Chef Chris “Tufty” Moran leads the kitchen, and the brewery describes him as Michelin-star-trained — that is a statement about his training, not a star held by the restaurant. The menu is built as seasonal, locally sourced dishes designed to pair with the small-batch beers.

The kitchen's sourcing is specific rather than decorative: Lough Foyle Irish Flat Oyster, Whiteoaks organic vegetables and Grants pulled pork all appear in the brewery's food story. The oyster shells are reused to make Foyster oyster stout, which is the clearest example of the kitchen and brewery working as one operation. That is worth knowing if you are choosing between a starter and a main built around the beer list.

The brewery claims 31-plus awards across the business and calls itself multi-award-winning; treat that as the house's own count rather than a list of named accolades. For a fuller comparison of kitchen-led pubs nearby, our guide to pub food in Derry covers the wider choice. If you are eating on a Sunday, the Sunday lunch options in the city run alongside the brewery's own Sunday service.

The beers to try first, and what the names mean

The beers the brewery is known for are named for the city rather than for hop varieties. Boom is a pale ale nodding to the seventeenth-century Siege of Derry, Stitch celebrates the shirt factories that once dominated local employment, and Berexit is a sour whose name plays on a certain referendum. Sister Michael stout honours the Derry Girls comedy, which makes it the easiest order to explain to a table of mixed knowledge.

There is no multinational beer on the bar, and the cocktails are made with craft spirits, which the brewery presents as a deliberate and slightly stubborn choice. That is good news for anyone willing to try a sour or a stout, and a real constraint for a group with lager-only drinkers — so it pays to decide in advance whether the party is up for it. The beers are brewed fresh and unfiltered in small batches on site, grain to glass.

For a starter order, take a pale ale alongside the oysters and see how the pair sits, then move to the stout with anything smoked or slow-cooked. The brewery also runs an Earhart Gin School for anyone in the group who would rather distil than drink beer, and it is a private booking rather than a walk-in.

Kitchen hours and when to book

The brewery publishes kitchen hours for April to October: Monday to Thursday 4.30pm to 8pm, Friday and Saturday split into 1pm to 3pm and 5pm to 9pm, and Sunday 1pm to 5pm. Those hours decide the shape of your day — a Friday or Saturday lunch is possible, but a Monday visit means an evening meal only. Winter hours are not covered by the April to October listing, so check the brewery's own site or ring 028 7134 3336 before travelling outside that season.

On price, a reviewer on Tripadvisor reported two courses for £30 a head before 6.30pm, which is a diner's account of an early sitting rather than the brewery's current pricing. Use it as a rough signal for the early evening menu and confirm the real figure when you book, since menus change with the seasons here. Booking ahead is sensible for Friday and Saturday evenings and for Sunday, when the service window is short.

Tours, tastings and the private-bookings catch

Three experiences sit behind the bar: a Tour & Tasting that goes behind the scenes and samples fresh pours, a Beer Masterclass covering beer history and styles where you build a mini beer, and the Earhart Gin School. The Tour & Tasting is the one to pick if you want to understand the brewery itself; the masterclass suits a group who want a guided comparison rather than a walk-through.

The catch is that the Beer Masterclass and the Gin School are private bookings only, and the masterclass carries an award-winning label from the brewery itself. Do not plan to turn up and join a session; book the experience alongside your table so the timings line up. If you are organising for a group, the taproom can be hired outright with optional tasting flights and beer-led menus from the kitchen.

Getting there and making a day of it

Ebrington Square is on the Waterside bank, reached by walking the Peace Bridge from the city centre — a short, level crossing that puts the brewery within easy reach of the walls. Arrive on foot and you can move between the brewery and the city centre without thinking about parking. Allow for a proper walk back after an evening sitting, since the kitchen closes at 8pm Monday to Thursday and 9pm on Friday and Saturday.

A neat day runs: walls and the centre in the afternoon, the bridge and a brewery meal in the early evening, then back across for a pint in town. If the weather is kind, a beer garden in Derry is a fair alternative for the later drink, though the brewery's own outdoor space is not something it advertises. The Oldest Pub in Derry is the obvious historic counterpoint if you want one old room and one new brewery in the same trip.

Should you build your Derry evening around the brewery?

Yes, if you want beer brewed on the premises with a kitchen that takes local produce seriously, and you are willing to book rather than drift in. The trade-offs are real: no multinational lagers on the bar, short Sunday hours, and tasting sessions that need arranging in advance. Check the kitchen hours for the season you are visiting and book the table and any experience together.

If your group wants a straightforward city-centre pub crawl instead, start with the best pubs in Derry and keep the brewery for the evening you want something brewed on site.