Great Welsh Beer & Cider Festival - Beer list

The Great Welsh Beer & Cider Festival 2013 is only a few weeks away, held in the Motorpoint Arena in Cardiff. Full details from the Festival website here


Provisional Beer list below:
Artisan Alt 5.0


Big Bog Swampy 4.7

Big Hand

Brains Dark 3.5

Brains SA Gold 4.7

Brains Rev James 4.5

Brains Craft Brewery Bragging Rights 5.0

Brains Craft Brewery Touch paws Engage

Brains Craft Brewery Terry's

Brains Craft Brewery Stars and Stripes

Brains Craft Brewery Low-Hanging Fruit

Brains Craft Brewery Farmer Walloon 4.5

Brains Craft Brewery Simon’s 1000th Beer

Brecon Three Beacons 3.0

Brecon Welsh Beacons 3.7

Brecon Red Beacons 5.0

Brecon Gold Beacons 4.2

Brecon Twilight Brecon 4.0

Brecon Orange Beacons 4.1

Brecon Prophet's Porter 5.6

Brecon Imperious Beacons 7.5

Breconshire Ramblers Ruin 5.0

Bryncelyn Buddy Marvellous 4.0

Bryncelyn Oh Boy 4.5

Bryncelyn Holly Hop 3.9

Bullmastiff Son of a Bitch 6.0

Bullmastiff Welsh Black 4.8

Castle Rock Harvest Pale Ale 3.8

Celt Experience Bleddyn 5.6

Celt Experience Dark Age 4.0

Celt Experience Golden 4.2

Celt Experience Native Storm 4.4

Celt Experience Danish Monster 6.2

Celt Experience Cat Scratched Celt 5.8

Celt Experience Silures 4.6

Cerddin Solar 4.1

Cerddin Cascade 4.8

Coniston Bluebird Bitter 3.6

Conwy Mulberry Mild 3.8

Conwy Shipwreaked 5.0

Cwrw Cader Red Bandit 4.1

Cwrw llyn Cochyn 4.5

Dark Star APA 4.7

Denbigh Black Denbeer 4.1

Evan Evans Warrior 4.6

Facer's Dave's Hoppy Beer 4.3

Facer's North Star 4.0

Gower Best Bitter 3.8

Gower Gold 4.5

Great Orme Celtica 4.5

Great Orme Welsh Black 4.0

Grey Trees Rechabites Bitter 4.0

Gwaun Valley Bitter Ale 4.0

Hafod Moel Famau 4.1

Hapax Ruby 4.2

Harveys Sussex Bitter 4.0

Heart of Wales High as a Kite 10.5

Heart of Wales Welsh Black 4.4

Henllan

Hobsons Mild 3.2

Hobsons Town Crier 4.5

Hopback Entire Stout 4.5

Jacobi Light Ale 3.8

Jacobi Red Squirrel 4.0

Kingstone 1503 4.8

Kingstone Stout 4.4

Kite Cwrw Haf 4.1

Kite Gold Wing 4.2

Kite Gorslas 4.0

Kite Thunderbird 4.5

Llangollen Llangollen Bitter 4.2

Llangollen Welsh Black Bitter 5.5

McGivern Porter 4.5

McGivern

Mighty Oak Oscar Wilde Mild 3.7

Monty's Midnight Stout 4.0

Monty's Mischief 5.0

Monty's Sunshine 4.2

Mumbles Gold 4.0

Nant Mwnci Nell 5.5

Neath Black 5.5

Neath Gold 5.0

Nethergate Umbel Magna 5.0

New Plassey Porter 4.5

Oakham JHB 3.8

Otley Croeso 4.2

Otley Motley Brew 7.5

Otley O9 4.8

Otley O1 4.0

Otley O3 Boss 4.4

Otley O4 Columbo 4.1

Otley Hop Angeles 4.8

Otley O6 Porter 6.6

Otley Odessa Stout 7.4

Otley O7 Weissen 5.0

Otley A.P.A.

Otley Oxymoron Black IPA 5.5

Otley Thai Bo 4.6

Pixie Spring Deliverance APA 4.5

Pixie Spring Black Army Stout 4.3

Pixie Spring Golden Pixie 3.8

Pixie Spring Special/Seaonsal

Pixie Spring Special/Seaonsal

Pixie Spring Prince of Bengal IPA 5.5

Preseli Baggywrinkle 4.5

Preseli Rocky Bottom 4.5

Purple Moose Dark Side of the Moose 4.6

Purple Moose Glaslyn 4.2

Purple Moose Snowdonia 3.6

Purple Moose Cwrw Madog 3.7

Radnorshire Whimble Gold 3.8

RCH Pitchfork 4.3

Red Stone

Rhymney Dark 4.0

Rhymney Export 5.0

Rotters Whipping Tree 3.6

Sandstone Onyx 4.0

Sandstone Edge 3.8

Sarah Hughes Dark Ruby 6.0

Skinners Betty Stogs Bitter 4.0

Snowdonia Carmen Sutra 4.4

St Austell Proper Job 4.5

Swansea Deep Slade Dark 4.0

Thornbridge Jaipur IPA 5.9

Tiny Rebel Cwtch 4.6

Tiny Rebel Dirty Stop Out 5.0

Tiny Rebel Fubar 4.4

Tiny Rebel Full Nelson 4.8

Tiny Rebel Billabong 4.6

Tiny Rebel Hadouken IPA 7.4

Tiny Rebel Urban IPA 5.5

Tomos Watkin Cwrw Haf 4.2

Tomos Watkin Cwrw Braf 4.2

Tudor Blorenge Pale Ale 3.8

Untapped Tripple S Milk Stout 4.9

Untapped Crystal 6.0

Violet Cottage Shine On 4.0

Violet Cottage Zigzag 5.0

VoG Cwrw Dewi 5.0

VoG Summer Daze 4.2

Waen Blackberry Stout 3.8

Waen Chilli Plum Porter 6.1

Waen Festival Gold 4.2

Wickwar Station Porter 6.1

York Centurion's Ghost 5.4

Zero Degrees Wheat 4.2

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Vote for the best pub in Wales

Wales Online, publishers of the Western Mail and Echo have launched a compettion to find the best pub pub in Wales. You can vote for your favourite pub here or you can leave a comment below the article to add a pub to the list. It's a long list and I have been to most of the pubs over the years! All Welsh CAMRA branch pubs of the year for 2013 have been included in the list, together with a few old favourites so get voting!

The Pear Tree, Roath

The Pear Tree, Wellfield Road, Cardiff, CF24 3PE, Roath

Open all day from 0830

The Pear Tree is an unusual modern polygonal building on the corner of Albany and Wellfield Roads. The pub has gone under other names previously, once it was Bar Billabong – an Australian-themed pub and before that it was 42nd Street as this was the last film shown in the Globe Cinema which used to occupy part of the site that now forms the Pear Tree. The pub has been extensively refurbished both outside and inside since it’s incarnation as an Australian theme pub, today the Pear Tree Café Bar is much more like a traditional pub with bare wooden floors and stripped pine tables, wooden settles and couches. The dark red-brick of the old Bar Billabong has been rendered in an off-white covering to give it a lighter, more pleasant appearance.

A central feature is the spiral staircase that leads up to the first-floor level with views across to the road to the Victorian church opposite. The spiral staircase also leads down to the basement toilets or, alternatively there are disabled toilets on the ground floor. There is plenty of wood panelling and shelving in the pub which are used for books for customers to enjoy. Daily papers are also available for customers to read. Old and somewhat eccentric photographs are on the walls and there is free WiFi for customers to use throughout the pub.

The dark wooden bar is on the left-hand side of the pub features two gleaming chrome handpumps with Brains Bitter and a house beer ‘Grumpy Landlord’. Wales largest cask ale brewery SA Brain also use the Pear Tree to put their keg craft beers on so that the wheat beer Weiss Weiss Baby and the American IPA Barry Island IPA have been on tap here. SA and SA Gold are also available in bottles along with some of their bottled craft ales. All the beers are served in the new branded glassware from Brains Brewery. Alternatively there is an extensive wine list as well as a full range of coffee.

Food is served all day from 0830 to 2200 with extensive chalkboard menus with breakfasts, tapas and flat bread or sour dough sandwiches and burgers available.

The Pear Tree regularly hosts live music and is also home to the Pear Tree Bake Off – a charity competition to find the best home baker in Roath. The Pear Tree markets itself as a café bar but appeals to a wide range of clientele as customers of all ages enjoy this pub.

Street view has the pub as it looked when Aussified:

View Larger Map

Brains brew ale for Marks & Sparks

The latest addition to Marks & Spencer’s beer range ‘Welsh Golden Ale’ has been brewed exclusively by Brains Brewery in Cardiff.
‘Welsh Golden Ale’ (£2.26, Alc 4.6% Vol) is now available in over 250 Marks & Spencer’s stores nationwide.

This hoppy, refreshing ale is brewed with Challenger hops to create a bitter beer balanced by a vibrant citrus from late-hopped Cascade and Styrian Goldings.

The design of ‘Welsh Golden Ale’ is in keeping with the Marks & Spencer range, and draws on the heritage of Brains, Cardiff’s most famous brewery, with the emblem of the sea horse which graces Cardiff’s coat of arms.
Paul Harvey, Head of Multiple Retail Groups said; “This is our first private label beer and we’re proud to be part of the Marks & Spencer range. In creating ‘Welsh Golden Ale’ we were able to use our 15 barrel craft brewery to conduct trial brews. This demonstrates the craft brewery’s importance in enabling us to trial new beers, which further highlights our brewing credentials and drives our awareness across the U.K.”
Jenny Rea, Marks & Spencer’s Beer Product Developer said: “We are delighted to add this new Welsh Golden Ale from Brains Brewery into our regional beer range”.
TASTING NOTES:
This hoppy, refreshing ale is made with Challenger hops to create a satisfying bitterness that’s perfectly balanced by vibrant citrus aromas and a delicious complexity from the late-hopping Cascade and Styrian Goldings varieties. Enjoy this golden ale with light dishes like white fish or a chicken salad. It also works really well with cheese.

SIBA Wales & West beer competition

The SIBA beer competition was held in Ludlow yesterday and there were some very good results for Welsh breweries, especially Celt Experience of Caerphilly who took both the Gold and the Silver of the overall competition. Full results below:

Overall Champion of the Competition
Gold Celt Experience Celt Golden 4.2

Silver Celt Experience Celt Dark Age 4.0
Bronze Cotswold Spring Brewery OSM 3.9
Standard Mild Ales
Sponsored by Clarke Dove (Insurance Brokers) Ltd
Gold Cotswold Spring Brewery OSM 3.9
Silver Hobsons Brewery Hobsons Mild 3.2
Bronze Prescott Ales Seasons Best Spring 3.8
Standard Bitters
Sponsored by Rankin Brothers & Sons
Gold Stonehouse Brewery Station Bitter 3.9
Silver Rowton Brewery Total Eclipse 3.8
Bronze Salopian Brewery Shropshire Gold 3.8
Best Bitters Sponsored by Charles Faram & Co Ltd
Gold Celt Experience Celt Golden 4.2
Silver Salopian Brewery Oracle 4.0
Bronze Tiny Rebel Brew Co. FUBAR 4.4
Premium Bitters
Sponsored by Warminster Maltings
Gold Tiny Rebel Brew Co. Billabong 4.6
Silver Tiny Rebel Brew Co. Cwtch 4.6
Bronze Cerddin Brewery Cascade 4.8
Strong Bitters
Sponsored by Jigsaw Bag in Box Ltd
Gold Salopian Brewery Golden Thread 5.0
Silver Cotswold Spring Brewery Trooper 5.2
Bronze Hobsons Brewery Hobsons Old Henry 5.2
Premium Strong BeersSponsored by Bush & Associates
Gold Salopian Brewery Automaton 7.0
Silver Otley Brewing Company Motley Brew 7.5
Bronze Cotswold Spring Brewery Walloonatic 8.5

Porters, Stouts, Old Ales and Strong Milds
Sponsored by Brewery Plastics
Gold Celt Experience Celt Dark Age 4.0
Silver Stonehouse Brewery Off The Rails 4.8
Bronze Bespoke Brewing Co Ltd Money for Old Rope 4.8
Speciality Beers
Sponsored by freerbutler graphic design
Gold Salopian Brewery Lemon Dream 4.5
Silver Purple Moose Brewery Ltd Ysgawen 4.0
Bronze The Six Bells Brewery Cloud Nine 4.2
Bottled Beers
Sponsored by Label Apeel
Gold Celt Experience Celt Bleddyn 5.6
Silver Salopian Brewery Oracle 4.0
Bronze Bird’s Brewery Apocalypse 4.8
Bottled Bitter (up to 4.9%)
Sponsored by Murphy & Son Ltd 
Gold Bird’s Brewery Apocalypse 4.8
Silver Cotswold Spring Brewery Codger 4.2
Bronze Bespoke Brewing Co Ltd Saved by the Bell 3.8
Bottled Bitters (over 5%)
Sponsored by Muntons Plc
Gold Celt Experience Celt Bleddyn 5.6
Silver Cotswold Spring Brewery Trooper 5.2
Bronze Celt Experience Celt Ogham Willow Imperial IPA 8.8
Bottled Gold Beers
Sponsored by Croxsons
Gold Salopian Brewery Oracle 4.0
Silver Stonehouse Brewery Sunlander 3.7
Bronze Ludlow Brewing Co Ltd Gold 4.2
Bottled Speciality Beers
Sponsored by VIGO Limited
Gold Purple Moose Brewery Ltd Ysgawen 4.0
Silver Stroud Brewery Teasel 4.2
Bronze The Waen Brewery Chilli Plum Porter 6.1

Bottled Porters, Milds, Old Ales & Stouts
Sponsored by Bollington Insurance Brokers Limited
Gold Gloucester Brewery Dockside Dark 5.4
Silver Cotswold Spring Brewery Guv’nor 4.6
Bronze The Waen Brewery Blackberry Stout 3.8

Best ciders and perries 2013

CAMRA names the UK’s
best Ciders and Perries
Cider
GOLD – Springfield Wobbly Munk,
Monmouthshire
SILVER – C.J.’s Surprise, Gwent
BRONZE – West Milton, Dorset
Perry
GOLD – Dunkertons, Herefordshire
SILVER – Gwynt Y Ddraig Two Trees,
Glamorgan
BRONZE – Raglan Cider Mill Snowy Owl,
Monmouthshire
CAMRA, the Campaign for Real Ale, has
today announced the winners of its National
Cider and Perry Championships.
The winner of the Cider Gold medal is
Springfield Wobbly Munk which the judges
described as having ‘fantastic balance with
a pleasantly sharp aftertaste of apple and
bitter lemon’ .
The winner of the Perry Gold medal is
Dunkertons Perry which the judges
described as ‘initially sweet but develops
into a dry, complex, white wine-like
character with a lasting aftertaste’ .
The final round of judging for CAMRA’s
National Cider and Perry Championships
2013 took place at the popular Reading Beer
and Cider festival today. The competition
featured ciders and perries from across the
UK, with each cider and perry judged on its
individual taste, aroma, flavour, after-taste
and overall appeal. The top prizes were
awarded by a specially chosen panel of
judges including publicans, drinks writers
and CAMRA members.
Alan Wordsworth, owner of Springfield Cider,
had this to say on hearing Wobbly Munk
had taken the top spot,
“I’m absolutely delighted, if anything a little
surprised because we thought the Wobbly
Munk we made the previous year was even
better – but it’s gratifying to know it still
pleases people!”
Andrea Briers, CAMRA National Cider and
Perry Committee Chairman, had this to say
on the quality and diversity of entries
“This year it was impressive to see the
sheer range of flavour within what was a
very accomplished field of entries. The
quality of ciders and perries was genuinely
outstanding in 2013, but the diversity is
what really impresses and which makes
these beautiful beverages something we
think everybody should give a try.”

Weekend beer festivals

First off is the Artisan Brewery, Kings Road, Pontcanna who have rebranded as 'Pipes' after a tiff with a well-known soft drinks company.
Open from midday Saturday
Beers:
*Bohemian Pilsner
*Bavarian Wheat
*Vienna Red Lager
*Smoked Lager
*Chocolate Wheat
(They will also have a very special house cider to introduce, wine and soft-drinks for the non-beer drinkers too-boot).

Next to Rhondda-Cynon-Taff where the Brynfynnon at Llanwonno are holding their annual 3-day Festival
http://www.brynffynonhotel.com/

Finally on Sunday, Neath Ales are holding their Festival at Neath Cricket Club, which is located in the centre of town, behind the rugby club.

Neath Cricket Club
Dyfed Road, Neath, West Glamorgan
SA11 3AW
Open 1100-2300

Firebrick 4.2% best bitter
Witchunter 4.2% fruity ruby
Black 5.5% stout porter
The Biz 4.0% pale (topaz)
Warbow 4.5% pale (wilamette)
Hophazard 6.8% pale (chinook)
ABT 4.2 % fruity amber session (goldings)
Dewi Sant 4.8% pale (cluster)
Some guest breweries:
Cerddin (Maesteg)
Gower
Rhymney

No Green Bullet beer :-(  but I'm sure Hophazard will make up for it!

Brains expands craft brewery

Brains invests further in its Craft Brewery
Wales' largest real ale brewer, SA Brain and Co Ltd, announced that it is to invest further in its craft brewery infrastructure to meet the unprecedented demand in the first year of its operation.

The brewer will increase capacity of its craft brewery with the addition of another fermentation vessel and extra cold storage tanks which will enable the business to increase capacity.

Ian Beattie, Brand Manager at Brains, explains: “Since we launched the craft brewery last year we have been struggling to meet demand and have been overwhelmed by the positive consumer reaction for our craft brewery beers. Our brand is connecting with the target consumer and it is fundamental that we remain at the forefront of the emerging craft beer market in the UK. In order to achieve this we need more capacity and the investment will ensure that we are able to meet the increased demand.

Since the craft brewery commenced production we have brewed 22 new beers. Some have sold out in less than 40 minutes and two - Barry Island IPA and Boilermaker - have gained national distribution with Morrisons and Tesco.”

Last year Brains Craft Brewery ran ‘The Ultimate IPA Challenge’ with beer writers and bloggers, which was won by Boilermaker, a collaboration beer with Tom Sandham and Ben McFarland of Thinking Drinkers. This year ‘The Ultimate Continental Beer Challenge’ will see Pete Brown, Robyn Black, Sophie Atherton, Adrian Tierney-Jones, Des De Moor and Glenn Payne battle it out to be crowned the brewer of the ‘Ultimate Continental Beer’ in December 2013.

Bill Dobson, Head Brewer at Brains, added: “Since we opened the craft brewery last year we have concentrated on adding variety to our portfolio and engaging with consumers who are demanding quality beer from a brand they know and trust. Look out for a number of new beers that we will be taking to the Great Welsh Beer and Cider Festival in June and the Great British Beer Festival in August. ”

A couple of beer festivals this weekend

Sorry for the lack of blog updates recently but as some of my readers already know I'm currently on crutches due to knee and ankle injuries. If that as not bad enough my right arm is now in a sling so typing is a bit difficult!

First beer festival is at the Pen & Wig, Newport, where Jacko is hosting one last festival before he leaves the pub. A range of beers on including a selection from Portobelo Brewery in London and one from Liverpool Organic. Festival starts today (Friday) at 5pm and is open all day Saturday when there will be live music on.

The other festival is at the Mid-Glamorgan CAMRA Pub of the Year, the Boars Head, Tyla Garw, Pontyclun. The pub is only a short walk from Pontyclun railway station and is well-worth visiting.

Golden Beers to feature at the Bunch

The award-winning Bunch of Grapes pub in Pontypridd will be holding a Golden Ale Festival this Friday and Saturday with beers from Dark Star, Burton Bridge, Bristol Beer Factory, Monty’s, Red Squirrel, Hopback, Cerddin and of course, Otley Brewing Company.


LIVE MUSIC Friday 12th – 8.30pm

The Garth Mountain Boys
A 5/6 piece band consisting of a typical Bluegrass set up of guitar, banjo, mandolin and double bass with the addition of harmonica and dobro.
The music they play is an eclectic mix of traditional bluegrass songs and instrumentals, old and new Country, self – penned new songs and a selection of pop favourites – all arranged in a ‘Bluegrass’ style.
LIVE MUSIC Saturday 13th April – 8.30pm
Bethan Louise Horton
South Wales solo singer/songwriter playing Country and Pop Covers in her own style. Extremely talented young artist playing a relaxed, acoustic set in the bar

Now and Then - Former Salutation, Newport

The Salutation was at 200 Commercial Road, Newport and was first mentioned in 1812. Owned by Hancock's Brewery, the roof of which can be seen in the old picture, to the right of the building.
Have previously covered the former Hancock's Brewery, Newport here.
The Salutation was demolished in 1963 to create the traffic island known as 'Gilligan's Island' that we see today. This was needed as part of the interchange for George Street Bridge.
There were plenty of other pubs nearby - immediately behind the photographer was the King William IV and the Prince of Wales is to the photographer's right with the Alma on the left of the photo and a couple of others Golden Hart and General Picton also nearby.

Weekend beer festivals

For those of you not heading down to Swansea Bay Beer & Cider Festival, first, why ever not? Its the second biggest beer and cider festival in Wales and the beer and cider list are online, added to that the grandeur of the Brangwyn Hall is well worth seeing.

There are a few other festivals around South Wales this weekend:

First up, the Hollybush in Draethen near Machen is holding a festival starting today (Friday) at 5pm and continuing on until Sunday. More details on their Facebook event page here. The pub is situated between Newport and Machen and the Number 50 Newport-Caerphilly-Bargoed bus stops in Lower Machen, at the top of the lane to the hamlet.
The Hollybush

Draethen
Lower Machen
Newport,  NP10 8GB

Google Map:

View Larger Map

Next up in Cardiff

Artisan Brewery are back to holding their monthly open days at their brewery in Pontcanna.
ARTISAN BREWERY
183A KINGS RD
CARDIFF
CF119DF
According to Simon the brewer the following will be available:
*Bohemian Pilsner

*Bavarian Wheat
*Smoked Lager
*ALTbeer
*Midnight IPA

(we'll also have our house blended vintage cider, wine and soft-drinks for the non-beer drinkers).

We'll have some hot food - for cold fingers.

Upping the anti on last months mysterious Jaffle Sadwitches, we're going back for some toasted focaccia/panini style hot grub - all gourmet - as we do, with vegetarians considered also.

Our new - non ‘BARE NAKED’ brand is out there. We're a tad behind on the website and other bits and bobs (bare with us). But, we're sure you'll recognise the beer and the new PIPES brand in and around Cardiff as being the same tasty - all natural pint you've been enjoying these past 4 years.

As usual our BAR OPEN event is FREE to all.

Further East in Tintern, Meadow Farm, the home of Kingstone Brewery will be playing host to live music from 1830 hrs with band Western Skyline.
Meadow Farm

Tintern,
Chepstow,
Monmouthshire
NP16 7NX

And a bit of advanced notice if you fancy some beer and sausages on Wednesday 10th April in Cardiff, Gwdihw, that unusual little venue at the rear of Motorpoint Arena is holding a Beer & Sausage-Fest in association with the Bottle Shop from Roath. Should be an interesting evening!
Gwdihŵ Café Bar

6 Guildford Crescent
Off Churchill Way
Cardiff
CF10 2HJ

Try a selection of artisan beers including Brewers & Union Beast of the Deep, Goose Island IPA, Purple Moose Glaslyn and more, alongside a specially selected flavour-complementary sausage.

Chinese Take-away for Swansea Brewery!

Swansea-based Tomos Watkin Brewery - are shipping their bottles to China and their beers will soon be available in Shanghai.

It’s another first for the Swansea based Hurns Brewing Company which now exports its award winning range of beers, lager and cider to Australia, USA, Dubai, Singapore and Hong Kong.

This latest deal was clinched after exhibiting on the Welsh Government stand at the Food and Hotel China 2012 trade show in Shanghai last November when the Tomos Watkin range went down a treat.

CEO Connie Parry said:"There was a huge amount of interest at the event and I am confident this is the start of a great relationship with our importers in China and the first of many orders. We are also following up leads from other interested parties we met out there. China was one of our target markets and has great potential so we are delighted to have secured our first order so soon after the trade mission. The exhibitions are proving to be invaluable for us and have literally opened doors to enable us to trade with countries from around the world. Without that support we simply would not have won this business".

Economy Minister Edwina Hart said, "The Welsh Government is supporting an extensive programme of trade missions and exhibitions worldwide to help and support businesses in Wales access new markets. I am delighted to hear of businesses like the Hurns Brewing Company benefiting from these events and winning orders and exporting to new countries. A consignment of Llanllyr SOURCE, a premium quality bottled water that comes from sources beneath certified organic fields near Lampeter, is also en route to Shanghai following a recommendation from Connie. Our new trading partners asked me to recommend a high quality supplier and as I have been on trade missions with Llanllyr Water I know the integrity of their products and had no hesitation in recommending them".

Best pubs in Wales 2013

It's Community Pubs Month and as such CAMRA, the Campaign for Real Ale, have released a list of the top pubs in Wales, selected by local branches and based on customer service, value for money, decor, customer mix, atmosphere and, of course, the quality of the beer!

Albion Ale House, Conwy, LL32 8FA.
Abercolwyn Branch
Druid Inn, Goginan, SY23 3NT
Bae Ceredigion

The Star, Talybont on Usk, LD3 7YX
Brecknockshire Branch

Gwaelod Y Garth Inn, South Glamorgan, CF15 9HH
Cardiff Branch
The Queens Hotel, Carmarthen, SA31 1JR
Carmarthenshire Branch

Coach and Horses, Chepstow, NP16 LN (Urban)
Gwent Branch
Star Inn, LLanfihangel Tor-y Mynydd, NP15 1DT (Rural)
Gwent Branch
 *BEER FESTIVAL THIS FRIDAY 5th April*

Snowdonia Parc Brewpub, Waunfawr, LL55 4AQ
Gwynedd A Mon Branch

Boar's Head, Tyla Garw, Pontyclun, CF72 9EZ
Mid Glamorgan Branch

The Sportsman, Newtown, SY16 2AQ
Montgomeryshire Branch

Taberna Inn, Herbrandston, SA73 3TD
Pembroke Branch
The Fox, Ysceifiog, CH8 8NJ
Vale of Clwyd Branch

The Cross Inn, Cwmfelin, CF349LB
Vale of Glamorgan, Branch

The majority of these winning pubs will now move forward to CAMRA’s Regional Pub of the Year competition (announced in September) with the winner of that award standing a chance of winning CAMRA’s National Pub of the Year (announced in February 2014).
“Community Pubs Month is a month long celebration of the Great British Pub and its importance to the surrounding community. These winning pubs have been voted the best in their local areas by the local CAMRA members and are examples of the kind of well run and valued community pubs we hope to see more of throughout the UK.” Mike Benner, CAMRA Chief Executive.
Community Pubs Month encourages pubs to organise events that will encourage more of the community to use them throughout April. The national campaign also encourages pubs to try different marketing ideas that they may have not tried before. CAMRA hopes the positive outcomes will help pubs in the future.
6,000 pubs across the UK have been sent a promotional packs and are involved in Community Pubs Month. A list of events that have been fed back to CAMRA and happening across Britain can be found here.

Continental Beer Challenge launched by Brains

After the success of the IPA series of beers last year, Wales' biggest real ale brewer SA Brain, launch their 2013 challenge for 2013 with Continental beers.
The Challenge will see esteemed figures from the brewing industry come to the Brains Craft Brewery to brew their favourite continental style kegged beer.
The first in the series was brewed with the author Pete Brown. Pete came to the Brains Craft Brewery last week to brew a Belgian dubbel, a style of beer traditionally brewed by Trappist monks.
Other collaborators in the Continental Keg Challenge are Sophie Atherton, journalist and beer sommelier; Adrian Tierney-Jones, beer writer and journalist; Robyn Black, drinks editor of the Publican Morning Advertiser; Des de Moor, author of the CAMRA Guide to London’s Best Beer, Pubs & Bars and Glenn Payne, brewing maven.

The Continental Keg Challenge beers will be independently judged at the end of the year and the winning beer will become part of Brains’ beer festival programme.
Each limited edition beer will be available in Brains outlets. A full list of stockists is available here.
The first Annual Challenge held in 2012 was the Ultimate IPA which was won by Boilermaker. Boilermaker was brewed by Ben and Tom from Thinking Drinkers and will soon be available nationwide in Morrisons.