Last beer Swansea Beer Festival

Bar manager Andrew Last holds up the final pint of Brains Dark that was drunk at the hugely successful Swansea Bay Beer Festival. Over 2200 customers enjoyed the beers over the weekend and one thing the organisers can agree on is that next year the Festival will have even more real ales and ciders available. A great time was had by all the staff and customers at this great CAMRA event. Off to plan the next beer Festival now.

Saturday night at Swansea Beer Festival

Okay promise this is my last post from the Festival but the Ska tribute band 2 Rude are well worth a mention. Their music is going down really well with the customers and staff at the 3rd Swansea Bay Beer Festival. Playing to a packed Brangwyn Hall, the mixture of Specials, Madness and other bands is a perfect way to end the evening. Oh and some Fullers Chiswick is still left, time for a few more beers methinks.

Saturday at the Swansea Beer Festival

It's the last day of the Swansea Bay Beer Festival and the beers and ciders are flowing well. We may have sold out of a few beers but there are still plenty of others to try, Dave's Hoppy Ale from Facer's for instance or the Robinson's Old Tom as an afternoon session beer. Well the afternoon band are about to play and we are looking forward to the Ska tribute band later tonight. Time for another beer, RCH Pitchfork methinks.

Friday night at Swansea Festival

Well the peace and quiet of earlier today is long over and the Swansea Bay Beer Festival is in full swing. The pints are flowing and the customers are happy at the second biggest CAMRA beer Festival in Wales. Brew Wales still has not decided on a favourite beer yet but Otley Columbo, Fullers ESB and Great Orme Cambria are all on the shortlist. Oh and the ciders from Gwatkin and Gwynt are also proving popular. Band starts soon, think an ESB may be in order.

The Wig, Swansea

Sometimes it is good to have a break from a beer festival and luckily just by the Brangwyn Hall is a Good Beer Guide Pub, the Wig. Serving 5 real ales, including Cottage HMS Ajax earlier this week and Timothy Taylor Landlord today, the Wig is well worth poping into for a pint or 2 or for something to eat. Outside veranda for those who wish to smoke as well. 2 pool tables inside and a spacious interior make this a pub with room for everyone, from the real ale drinker to the diner, to the chavs on a night out (thankfully relugated to a corner of the pub).

First on site

It's a bit wierd being the first staff member on site at the Swansea Bay Beer Festival, the Brangwyn Hall is strangely empty, the only sound coming from the steady chug chug chug of the coolers. The sun is shining through the windows of the hall , illuminating the bar and murals. I will be enjoying the peace and quiet whilst I can as the Festival opens today at 12.

Beer and murals

Setup at the Swansea Bay Beer, the beer has arrived in the surroundings of the Brangwyn Hall, famous for its murals. The murals were commissioned by Lord Iveagh who was a member of the Guinness family so the beer connection goes back at least 80 years. Festival opens on Thursday at 5, and all day friday and saturday.

Star Beer Festival

The Star Inn at Treos, near Bridgend will be hosting a beer, cider and music festival this bank holiday weekend.
The Star is famous, not just for having a thatched roof but as being the first pub ever owned by the former Crown Brewery; the United Clubs Brewery as was, in Pontyclun.
The Star, owned by brewers SA Brain nowadays will be featuring a wide selection of real ales from across the UK as well as a hog roast.

Details of how to find the pub are available from the SA Brain website here

beer list:
adnams - broadside
morrisey fox - blonde ale
copper dragon - golden pippin
mordue - workie ticket
roosters - Y.P.A
rudgate - viking
timothy taylor - landlord
york - centurions ghost
beartown - bearskinful
hawkshead - lakeland gold
hydes - jekylls gold
jennings - cocker hoop
moorhouse's - pendle witches brew
okell's - doctor okells IPA
brewsters - rutterkin
holdens - golden glow
springhead - roaring meg
oakham - bishops farewell
triple FFF - alton's pride
isle of purbeck - fossil fuel
otter - ale
princetown - jail ale
wickwar - station porter
shepherd neame - spitfire
wadworth - 6x

Star Inn

Treoes, Nr Bridgend,

CF35 5DL

Tel: 01656 658458

Hall of Shame - Allbright

Hall of Shame part 4
An occasional series devoted to the worst in the brewing world.

Allbright, Welsh Brewers.
Dreadful keg beer which dominated the South Wales valleys for decades. Alllbright was weak, 1033 OG about 3.3% ABV and was a pasteurised version of the popular Hancocks PA (Pale Ale). First brewed in 1963, it came to dominate the Hancocks pubs and later when Bass bought them; together with Webbs Brewery to create the huge Welsh Brewers empire, their pubs.

“The most popular beer in Wales” went the slogans on advertising mirrors in countless bars across the region. The chimney stack of the old Hancock's Brewery in Cardiff had Allbright in large letters on it for years, until the brewery was bought by Brains and it was a good day for real ale when they put their name to the stack. Allbright was only ever sold in Wales, in England it was marketed as 'Toby'. In the late 1990s, whilst Bass still had a pub estate, sales dropped off and they were even overtaken by sales of Hancocks HB, the cask beer produced at the same brewery in Cardiff. Not sure if it is still made, Coors would no doubt own the brand nowadays but have not seen it on a bar for years.

Festival time at the Roast Ox

The Roast Ox Inn, Painscastle, Builth Wells will be holding their first beer and cider festival this weekend, the 22nd-23rd of August. The Roast Ox is a traditional country public house but with the added attraction of a restaurant seating 60 persons, 10 fully en-suite letting rooms and superb conference facilities with full audio-visual equipment.

Recently completely renovated and refurbished following a disastrous fire some years ago, the Inn is steeped in history and is known to have been in existence for at least 500 years.









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The Beers:

Adnams BB
Green King IPA
Doom Bar Betty Stogs
Highgate Dark Mild

Black Sheep BB
Dizzy Blonde Harvest Ale
Hancock's HB
Wickwar Bob

Bass
Pedigree Golden Find
Olde Trip
Ruddles County

Wadworth 6X
Golden Lance
Hook Norton BB
Hop Back Entire (cask conditioned Stout)

Dragons Blood Stout (cask conditioned Stout)
Hariestoun Schiehallion (cask conditioned Larger)

The Ciders:

THATCHER'S Dry, Medium, Heritage, Cheddar Valley

RALPH`S Dry, Medium, Sweet.

GWYNT DRAIG Dry, Medium. Sweet

WESTON'S Vintage Organic Old Rosie Traditional Scrumpy, 1st Quality, Bounds Brand, County Perry.
More Information:

The Roast Ox Inn
Painscastle
Builth Wells
Powys
LD2 3JL

Tel: 01497 851398

Daley Dozen part 5 - 12 closed pubs

Daley Dozen - an occaisional series devoted to a dozen things in the beer world
Part 5 - 12 closed pubs

Some of the pubs the Brew Wales editor has been in over the years that are no longer there.

1. Cupid's Hill Inn, Grosmont. The legendary Cupid's Hill and equally legendary landlord and undertaker Joe take equal precedence for this once in a lifetime pub. For that I mean you only had to visit this place once for it to be etched into your mind. The pub was a timewarp with settles and table skittles and some really old bottles of an obscure Whitbread beer on the counter. But no one went there for the beer. Cupid's Hill Inn was a cider house with bottles of Westons and one year a wooden cask of perry on the bar, made with pears from the back garden and pressed by Denis Gwatkin. Another year some American tourists turned up at the Inn and asked to see the 'cockpit', Joe took them outside and showed them a hole in the ground, at which the Americans asked where the rest of the aircraft was! Obviously tourists are not familiar with some of the more traditional pub games played on the Monmouthshire/Herefordshire border. When the ancient locals, all sitting around the fireplace on a cold Saturday lunchtime, recanted this story to me, I pointed out that cockfighting had been illegal since the 1820s, “Nay we used to have it 'round 'ere up to the 1950s, in fact we tried the other night to get the cockerels to fight in the pub but they weren't having none of it!” The thought of the police and RSPCA raiding this pub in the early hours of the morning to find the cider-sodden regulars arranging an animal fight sprung to mind. What did close the Inn was the death of the landlord Joe and the former Inn is now a private house.
2. Purple Dragon, Bute Terrace. Cardiff. Having aged 10 years since running this establishment, along with 'Chopper' Charlie, the memory of this bar is still fresh. Decorated in 1970s colours and posters, the Purple Dragon even featured a smoke breathing dragon above the front door. 3 real ales were on – Brains SA, Fullers London Pride and a guest, all served in unique over-sized pint glasses. The Purple Dragon was a rare free house for the centre of Cardiff and featured occasional bands and barbecues. All the food served was guaranteed GM free – well it was all bought in from Iceland across the road! But what really made this pub stand out was that it was a pioneer for less strict licensing laws. It was not unusual to see customers leaving during daylight hours, having enjoyed the interesting guest beers throughout the night. The Brew Wales editor even left the pub early one morning, went to Cardiff airport to fly to Reykjavik for a day trip (sweet & sour haddock in the local Chinese is recommended) and was back behind the bar for 2230! Entertainment in the bar was provided by the sadly short-lived Live TV, broadcast from the Daily Mirror offices in Canary Wharf. With high-class programmes such as Topless Darts, the Weather in Norwegian and the unforgettable News Bunny, the Purple Dragon did manage to acquire a certain class of customer who now frequent the chav-palaces of central Cardiff. Some customers even fished in the Dock Feeder that ran alongside the pub, one staff member even barbecued an unfortunate fish caught in that watercourse and suffered the effects the next day. On the bright side, it is quicker to park and open the front door of a bubble car when driving around Cardiff with food poisoning than another car door! Anyway the Purple Dragon was sold together with the hotel above and Mr Malkovich and his partners did not like the idea of a pub and changed it to a hotel bar without the real ale. Recently the Big Sleep Hotel has even got rid of its ground floor bar. A sad loss to a short-lived but fun bar.
3. Rossetti, St John's Wood, London. One of the first places the Brew Wales editor tried Fullers beers, the Rossetti was primarily a restaurant but was owned by the London brewers. Seem to remember it was a bit of an odd design for a pub – sort of Frank Lloyd Wright meets a gastropub. The pub was very popular with members of North London CAMRA and the landlord, who was Italian, insisted on showing the branch members around the cellar after a Pub of the Year or similar award. The cellar was the cleanest and most immaculate I have ever seen, it was also large, the 1960s building had been built with a cellar fitted with a lift for casks and had plenty of headroom. The only complaint from the landlord was that Fullers had stopped supplying ESB in 36-gallon barrels! He had to do with 18-gallon kils instead and they made twice as much work. The Rossetti was sold for redevelopment and flats were built on the site.
4. Ale House, Newport. Steve 'Skinnner' Davidson, from the Hornblower, took over the Sovereign Bar in John Frost Square and changed it into the Alehouse installing real ales on gravity and handpump. Unfortunately the first manager put into the pub was not that good and the beer quality dropped off with a resulting loss in customers. Another manager and a replacement of the beer lines that the previous manager had been unable/unwilling to clean resulted in an improvement but the siting of the pub did not help, at the entrance to the Kingsway shopping centre. At one CAMRA meeting, held in the troglodytical basement of the pub, the attendees from across the UK had problems finding the Ale House as it was in a corner of John Frost Square, Tourist Information were unable to help as the teutonic teetoatal matriarch who ruled the Newport office refused to tell anyone where a pub was! Still the Alehouse had a good following of regulars and the downstairs bar (there was also an upstairs one) became popular due to the restrictions of the licensing laws. Unfortunately the Ale House shut shortly after Skinner was divorced and never reopened as a pub, converting to a retail unit, a DVD shop, before finally being demolished in the attempted redevelopment of Newport City Centre. At the time of writing the building plot is empty.

5. Green Meadow, Waterloo, Machen, Mid-Glamorgan. This was an historic building, the undisputed birthplace of Chartist, Doctor and cremation pioneer William Price. Naturally CADW, responsible for protecting historic buildings in Wales refused to list this 17^th Century former farmhouse and it was demolished. There were plenty of rumours as to why CADW refused to protect this part of Wales' heritage, one of them mentioned that Whitbread Property plc, who sold the pub to Discovery Inns, were by a remarkable coincidence sharing the same office building, Brunel House in Cardiff, as CADW! Allegations of rolled up trouser legs and funny handshakes in the lifts abounded as attempts to save this community pub continued, all to no avail in the end. There was nothing else in the community of Waterloo– no shops and when the village had been cut off from mains electricity during bad winters, the Green Meadow became the heart of the community as it was one of the few buildings with coal fires. The Green Meadow was demolished in an outstanding example of institutional vandalism and 13 homes were built on the site.

6.Railway Inn, Pontlottyn. Pontlottyn was built as a temperance town with no pubs in the village. However the teetotal local landowner did not own the land beneath the Rhymney Railway viaduct and an enterprising brewery in the 19^th Century built this unique pub underneath the arches. Unique as it was built out of corrugated iron and featured 3 bars, one underneath each arch, all linked by a long corridor. The pub was closed by the later-day inheritors of the Temperance Movement, Whitbread plc and today the arches stand empty.

7. Royal Albert, Newport. The Royal Albert was a large, 19^th Century pub on Commercial Street. Multiple bars stretched back into the back of this Grade II listed Berni Inn, owned by Bass. Naturally this town-centre watering hole with easy access for all and in the centre of the shopping area did not fit in with the world view of Bass and was closed and demolished. That's right a Grade II listed building was demolished with the full support of the labour-run Newport Council and of CADW. River Island Clothing now occupies the site.

8. Conti's, Newport. Another legendary pub in the centre of Newport was the freehouse owned by the Conti family and it was famous for the quality of the Bass it served. One brewery visit from the pub to Burton-upon-Trent involved two full coaches of fans, not many breweries could cope with that many visitors today. Conti's was primarily a restaurant and the pub license was not obtained until 1976, by the 1980s though it had the highest barrellage for Bass of any pub in South Wales. After the death of one of the family members, the rest of the family decided to sell up and the pub was demolished to make way for retail outlets. Pasty shop now occupies half the site.

9. Chartists, Newport. This place was a dump, but it was one of the dumps that every town and city needs in order to keep the low-life nutters out of every other pub. The Chartists had 2 handpumps, one dispensing 'Khan's Traditional Ale' and the other 'Khan's Traditional Cider', the owner of the establishment being a gentleman from the sub-continent who decided to put profit before his religion in the best Ferengi tradition. The first time I visited the pub was in pre-internet days with Fido from the Lone Voice when PC Plod and Sergeant Jobsworth had thrown us out of the Alehouse as it was Good Friday and the pubs had to shut at 3. Wandering around town, looking for somewhere else to drink, we were warmly waved into the Chartists by one of the inhabitants and presented with the choice of Khan's Ale or Cider. Brew Wales went for the cider and was then offered the choice of, “A pint for a pound or a stein for one pound twenty”and naturally went for a stein. Well this illegal Heineken stein came out with no Crown stamps on it (Trading Standards obviously never dared to come into this pub), filled with a cloudy liquid that tasted like and probably was Bulmers Traditional. The 'Khan's Traditional Ale' turned out to be Courage Best. The toilets were unforgettable; down a spiral staircase, walking through what you hoped was water in part of the cellar to a couple of doors at the end where once inside even the verdigris on the fittings had verdigris on them. Another person in our company later discovered, on his way back through the cellar, that the local inhabitants rarely got as far as the toilet and just used to urinate down the spiral staircase! Anyway PC Plod and Sergeant Jobsworth reappeared a few hours later and chucked us out of the pub for drinking on Good Friday. The Chartist was closed a few years later after a police raid and a Portuguese restaurant now occupies the building.

Above:Trekkers in the snow

10. Trekkers, The Narth. Trekkers was an unique building in Wales, a log-cabin pub set in the hills of Monmouthshire. A rare local outlet for beers from Felinfoel and Freeminer breweries, Trekkers soon gained popularity amongst CAMRA members for its good beer and good food. Unfortunately, when the pub had been built as pony-trekking centre in the 1970s the building standards were not up to scratch and the pub closed after insurance problems related to the wooden framed structure.

11. Brew House, Newport. In the 1990s, the Ross Brewery of Bristol decided to open a second brewery in Newport and took over the former South Wales Argus printing works in Market Street, so where once papers were printed. Pints were now being brewed and served. One of the first things they did was to sell beer at 85p a pint, the cheapest in the UK according to a CAMRA survey. This invoked the wrath of the Licensed Victuallers Association (LVA), the chair of which persuaded a uniformed police inspector to accompany him on a visit to the Brew House, where the chair told the owner that it was illegal to serve beer below a pound a pint in Newport. The owner asked the police officer which law was he breaking, to which the uniformed inspector turned around and walked out! It turned out there was no law being broken, the LVA just had a “Gentleman's Agreement” to keep the price of drinks artificially inflated. Basically they were operating as an illegal price-fixing cartel with the full support of the police. “I'm a Scotsman not a Gentleman”, was the reply given by one of the Ross brothers and the LVA chair left in a huff! The Brew House was also famous for producing the strongest beer in the world, Uncle Igor's Famous Falling Down Water which weighed in at around 23% ABV and was only available in 1/3 rd pint glasses. The Brew House was a marvellous innovation for Newport, before superpubs came in, unfortunately it was never a success and the brewery was sold to WARCOP on the Gwent levels. The building still stands and is a nightclub nowadays.

12. Westlakes Arms, Cwmavon, Torfaen. Originally known as the Railway, this pub changed its name to commemorate the former Westlakes Brewery, the buildings of which still stand in the base of the valley near the pub. The Westlakes Arms was an early winner of the Regional CAMRA Pub of the Year Award and had a good reputation for food and beer. Unfortunately the small size of the car park meant that they could not expand further and the beer range dwindled, along with the choice and variety available, with only HB on in the later years. The former pub is now private accommodation.

Above:The former Westlakes Brewery

Sink a few beers at the 19th Hole

Llandrindod Wells Golf club will be hosting their first ever beer festival between the Monday the 24th and Sunday 30th August.

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The following beers will be available:
Otley O1
Purple Moose Snowdonia
Wye Valley HPA
Breconshire Cribyn
Montys Sunshine
Spinning Dog Celtic Gold
Mutts Nutts
SA Brains The Rev James
SA Gold
Waen Brewery tbc

Gwynt y Ddraig Two Trees Perry
Farmhouse Scrumpy

Award-winning local foods from Williams Butchers and The Welsh Sausage Company will be available during the week.
The Festival will finish with a BBQ for the annual firework display at Llandrindod Lake on the Sunday.

Swansea Bay Beer Festival

It's coming up to the August Bank Holiday weekend again and that means the second biggest CAMRA beer festival in Wales is coming up, the Swansea Bay Beer Festival, held at the Brangwyn Hall, Swansea Guildhall.

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The Swansea Bay Beer Festival opens on Thursday 27th August at 5pm and closes at 11pm. Friday and Saturday 28th and 29th August the Festival is open from 12-11.
Admission £5 non members, £3 Camra members, which includes a festival glass and programme.

There will be over 100 real ales plus a wide selection of ciders and perries plus food and the Camra stall.
Bands playing at the event are:

Photo from the Friday night band last year

Thursday 9pm Best Supporting Actors. A band playing rock favourites such as The Sterophonics, The Killers, Pearl Jam, U2 etc.

Friday 9pm Ted Crook and The Blues Highway

Saturday 2.30pm Buttonsville

Saturday 9pm 2 Rude - Ska Tribute band!





Provisional Beer list follows:
NB - The organisers cannot guarantee to have every beer on all the time.
Beer Style Guidlines:
Bitter B
Strong Bitter SB
Golden Ale G
Mild M
Porter/Stout PS
Barley Wine BW
Speciality S


ADNAMS, Southwold, Suffolk.

Bitter 3.7% B

Dry and refreshing, with a distinctive lingering hoppiness. Appetising and delicious.

Explorer 4.2% G

A blonde beer fused with the aromas of a grapefruit grove.

Broadside 4.7% SB

Rich fruitcake aromas wonderful balance of malt and hop flavours.

BRAINS, Cardiff.

Bitter 3.7% B

Rich amber coloured, well balanced and refreshing.

Bread of Heaven 4.0% B

A distinctive reddish hue and a rich hop aroma, finely balanced by a more-ish fruit finish.

Dark 3.5% M

Treacle-coloured, brewed using Chocolate malt with hints of liquorice and fresh ground coffee.

Reverend James 4.5% B

Full-bodied and warming. Rich in palate, spicy and aromatic with a deeply satisfying finish.

SA 4.2% B

Copper coloured with a nutty richness, balanced with a satisfying dryness.

SA Gold 4.7% G

A full-flavoured, hoppy and refreshing golden ale with complex and refreshing citrus aromas and flavours.

BRECONSHIRE, Brecon, Powys.

Brecon County Ale 3.7% B

Well hopped, providing a refreshing beer, with a distinct hoppy bitterness.

Golden Valley 4.2% G

A deep, golden coloured beer with floral notes and a gentle but pervasive bitterness.

Ramblers Ruin 5.0% SB

Dark amber, malty and well hopped.

Red Dragon 4.7% SB

An unusually red coloured beer, with biscuity malt characteristics.

BRYN CEYLN, Ystradgynlais.

Buddy Marvelous 4.0% M

A dark ruby mild ale, with a smokey roast taste.

Oh Boy 4.5% G

An enticing golden colour with a taste full of hops and fruit.

BULLMASTIFF, Cardiff.

Son of a Bitch 6.0% SB

A complex warming amber ale with a tasty blend of hops, malt and fruit flavours, with increasing bitterness

Welsh Black 4.8% PS

Double black stout, brimming with blackcurrant.

CELT EXPERIENCE, Caerphilly.

Bronze 4.5% B

A delightful rich bronze colour, distinguished by a full bodied character with crystal maltiness.

Golden 4.2% G

A rich full-bodied texture accompanied by a unique blend of traditional and fruity hops.

CLEARWATER, Devon.

Cavalier 4.0% B

Malty brown ale with complex nutty flavours and a bitter finish.

Oliver’s Nectar 5.2% SB

A malty, nut brown, bitter.

Village Pride 3.7% B

Mid-brown session ale.

COLES, Llanddarog.

Amber Ale 4.0% B

Dewi Sant 4.4% B

CONWY, Conwy.

Castle Bitter 3.8% B

A session ale, malty rather than hoppy.

Special 4.5% B

Rich, fruity and smooth dark bitter.

CWMBRAN, Cwmbran, Gwent.

Crow Valley Bitter 4.2% B

Crisp, clean mix of malt, hop and fruit flavours. Moderate bitterness, leaving a lasting finish

Full Malty 4.8% SB

Aptly named and full bodied

DARE, Aberdare.

Elwyn Samuel’s Beer 4.8% SB

Well balanced malt and hop flavours.

Old Dare Devil 7.9% BW

A very dark and strong traditional winter ale.

DARK STAR, Ansty, Sussex.

Best Bitter 4.0% B

Silky with hints of fruit, smooth and enticing on the palette.

Hophead 3.8% G

Pale gold coloured ale with a strong floral aroma and elderflower notes.

Festival 5.0% SB

A chestnut bronze coloured bitter with a smooth mouth feel and freshness

EVAN EVANS, Llandeilo.

BB 3.8% B

Light and refreshing with a full flavour. Rich and malty with a distinct fruity palette.

Warrior 4.6% B

A distinctive premium bitter, with a malty fruity & distinctive floral hop palette.

FACERS, Flintshire.

Dave's Hoppy Beer 4.3% G

Ideal for those who like their beers really hoppy!

Northern Country 3.8% B

FELINFOEL, Llanelli.

Blonde Bombshell ? G

Double Dragon 4.2% B

Malty and subtly hopped with a rich colour and smooth balanced character

FREEMINER, Gloucestershire.

Bitter 4.0% B

Hops abound and blend perfectly with a balanced malt character.

Speculation 4.8% SB Plenty of hops in the nose, and loads of rich malt flavours in the mouth.

FULLERS, Chiswick, London

Chiswick 3.5% B

Refreshing, highly drinkable flavour, with well developed hop characteristics

London Pride 4.1% B

Well-balanced ,with bitter orange notes, blending with malt characteristics.

ESB 5.5% SB

An ample, grainy-nutty aroma and a broad, authoritative flavour, with lashings of dry marmalade-like bitters'

GREAT ORME, Colwyn Bay.

Three Feathers 5.0% SB

Its strength is well disguised by the perfectly balanced hop bitterness and sweet malt.

Welsh Mountain IPA 3.8% B

A full hop flavour and dry finish.

HALL & WOODHOUSE, Dorset. Badger First Gold 4.0% G

A classic country ale using a single English hop.

King & Barnes Sussex 3.5% B

Clean tasting & hoppy without being over bitter.

Tanglefoot 4.9% SB

Noticeable floral dry hop aroma balanced with biscuity and fruity notes.

HOBSONS, Worcestershire.

Best Bitter 3.8% B

Medium bodied beer with strong hop character throughout.

Mild 3.2% M

Chocolate malt gives of flavour and aroma which belies its strength

Town Crier 4.5% B

The hint of sweetness is complemented by subtle hop flavours, leading to a dry finish.

HOOK NORTON, Oxfordshire.

Hooky Bitter 3.6% B

Hoppy to the nose, malty on the palate - the classic session beer.

Hooky Gold 4.1% G

A very pale, crisp beer, with a fruity aroma and a pleasant, light taste.

Old Hooky 4.6% B A beautifully balanced beer, fruity by nature, and well-rounded.

HOPBACK, Salisbury.

Crop Circle 4.2% G

Very clean, with wonderful thirst-quenching properties, which is delicately fruity.

Entire Stout 4.5% PS

A rich dark stout with a strong roasted malt flavour and a long, smooth aftertaste.

Summer Lightning 5.0% G

The original Summer ale. Straw coloured beer with a terrific fresh, hoppy aroma.

JACOBI, Pumsaint.

Dark Ale 5.0% SB

Original 4.5% B

MONTY’S,

Desert Rats 3.8% B

Summer seasonal session bitter. Blonde, dry and citrus

Mojo 3.8% G

Golden/amber colour with hints of toast and marmalade

Moonrise 4.0% B

Copper, Traditional, Malty

Sunshine 4.2% G

Golden, Hoppy, Floral ale

OTLEY, Pontypridd.

O1 4.0% G

Straw coloured pale ale
heavy with Celeia aroma hops.

O8 8.0% BW

A very pale and very strong ale, deceptively smooth and friendly.

OBB 4.5% B

Tawny red coloured

OG 5.4% G

Extremely smooth, steeped in progress and brambling Cross hops.

PURPLE MOOSE, Porthmadog.

Glaslyn Ale 4.2% G

A golden coloured fruity best bitter with a well balanced hoppy finish.

Madog’s Ale 3.7% B

Full-bodied session bitter.

RCH, West Hewish, Somerset.

East Street Cream 5.0% SB

Chestnut coloured ale, with flavours of roast malt and a bittersweet finish.

Old Slug 4.5% PS

A delicious traditional porter with a full bodied taste of chocolate, and coffee.

Pitchfork 4.3% G

A golden bitter with a floral hop aroma.

RHYMNEY, Merthyr Tydfil

Rhymney Best 3.7% B

Chestnut, hoppy session best bitter.

Rhymney Bitter 4.5% B

A bold, refreshing bitter.

RINGWOOD, Hampshire.

Best Bitter 3.8% B

Delicious, easy drinking slightly tart pale bitter.

Fortyniner 4.9% SB

Golden full-bodied malted beer

Old Thumper 5.6% SB

Warm, rounded yet surprisingly strong beer.

ROBINSONS, Stockport.

Unicorn 4.2% B

Superb mouth-feel of rich malt and hops, long dry finish with citric fruit notes.

Double Hop 5.0% SB

Richly flavoured with an interesting balance of both hop flavour and hop bitterness.

Old Tom 8.5% BW

Dark, rich and warming superior strong ale.

SHEPARD NEAME, Favesham.

Kent's Best Invicta 4.3% B

Merging the biscuity sweetness of malt with the fruity, floral bitterness of kent hops.

Spitfire 4.5% B

An underlying depth of maltiness, tinged with a subtle hint of toffee.

Bishops Finger 5.0% SB

A full-bodied, nut-brown, nourishing ale with a lingering hoppy finish.

ST AUSTELL, St Austell, Cornwall.

HSD 5.0% SB

Full-bodied, strong and Cornish, brimming with a kaleidoscope of flavours.

Tinners 3.7% B

A light refreshing flavour with only a hint of bitterness.

Tribute 4.2% B

Bronze coloured with a rich aroma of biscuity malt and citrus.

SWANSEA, Bishopston, Swansea.

Bishopswood Bitter 4.3% B

A delicate aroma, balanced taste, with bitterness growing in the finish.

Deep Slade Dark 4.0% B

Dark bitter, with a roasted chocolate flavour.

Original Wood 5.2% SB

Full-bodied, with complex flavours with and a firm bitter ending.

Three Cliffs Gold 4.7% G

Golden beer, with a hoppy, fruity taste and quenching bitterness.

THORNBRIDGE, Derbyshire.

Wild Swan 3.5% G

Aromas of light bitter lemon with species.

Lord Marples 4.0% B

Tastes of honey and caramel, with a long bitter finish.

Jaipur IPA 5.9% SB

A wonderfully hoppy, full flavoured IPA.

ULEY, Gloucestershire.

Hogshead IPA 3.5% B

A pale coloured, hoppy session bitter.

Old Ric 4.5% B

Copper in colour, hoppy palate with some underlying fruit.

Old Spot 5.0% SB

A distinctive, full-bodied ruby coloured ale with a fruity aroma.

WILLIAMS, Alloa, Scotland.

Fraoch Heather Ale 4.1% S

A floral peaty aroma, full malt character, with a spicy herbal flavour.

TOMOS WATKIN (Hurns), Llansamlet, Swansea.

BB (Brewery Bitter) 4.0% B

Pale brown with a moderate bitterness and rounded flavour of hops, malt and fruit.

Cwrw Braf 4.5% B

A clean-drinking, amber-coloured ale with a light bitterness and gentle hop aroma.

Cwrw Haf 4.2% G

A refreshing citrus palate with a fruity aromatic hop.

OSB (Old Style Bitter) 4.5% B

Deep amber, full-bodied with good bitterness and a clean, lasting finish.

WOOD, Wistanstow, Shropshire.

Parrish Bitter 4.0% B

A light-coloured beer, hopped in the cask for a hoppy, refreshing flavour.

Wonderful 4.8% SB

A dark and powerful ruby brew with a flavour that you can enjoy from the first to the last.

WYE VALLEY, Herefordshire.

Dorothy Goodbody Stout 4.6%PS

A classic stout with intense roasted barley flavours and a dry bitter finish.

Brew 69 6.0% SB

Deceptively strong, with target hops and malt in the finish.

A range of ciders and perries will also be available.

For further information contact festivaldeb@hotmail.com or phone 07970680616.