McCracken’s Real Ale is a small family run microbrewery based in Portadown, County Armagh. Ryan’s love for brewing started out like many brewers, a gift from his wife of a beer making kit. What started out as a hobby quickly turned into a passion and then a dream to open his very own brewery.  Ryan learned all he could about micro-brewing before making the leap and setting up his own business.  He was also following on in a tradition started out by two McCracken brothers over 100 hundred years ago – Peter and Robert who started what is now one of the biggest-selling breweries in Australia.

He and his team craft, bottle and package all the ales by hand.  They use only four ingredients (water, barley, yeast and hops) and brew only in small batches resulting in quality, full-bodied ales. Their ales are all unfiltered and bottle conditioned which ensures the natural goodness and full flavours are all kept intact.  They do not use any artificial preservatives or any other chemicals in their products.

They believe in using natural fresh ingredients and source many of the ingredients locally to maintain the highest quality standards and to ensure they contribute back to the local economy.

The range started with only two ales and has now grown over the last year to a selection of four.