New Brewery for Brains

The largest cask ale brewer in Wales, SA Brain and Co Ltd , today announced that it is to extend production facilities at the Cardiff Brewery by installing a new craft brewery.

The brewery will complement Brains’ existing plant and enable them to brew a diverse range of craft cask, keg and bottled beers.

Bill Dobson, Head Brewer at Brains, explains: “The beer market is always changing and there is a growing interest in more diverse beers and different beer styles.  We have seen this through the growing popularity of our seasonal ales and a demand for a wider choice on the bar, especially from the younger drinker.”

 Above: Bill Dobson in the existing brewery

“This new brewery means we will be able to meet these growing needs by brewing on a much smaller scale, at the same time developing our capability to innovate new products and to experiment with limited editions and one-offs.”

David Bonney, Commercial Director at Brains, added: “This investment demonstrates our commitment to the development of our cask and keg beers – a key element of our growth strategy – enabling us to remain at the forefront of new product development.”

Brains hopes to have the new plant up and running by the end of March 2012. The company will continue to brew its range permanent and seasonal beers – which includes the renowned SA, the award winning SA Gold and the legendary Dark – at the Cardiff brewery.  

Good news for Brains and beer drinkers - the existing plant was built in the 1970s by Bass and this new plant will allow Bill and his team to develop smaller brew lengths for experimental brews as well as use new hop varities, for instance the currrent brewery uses hop pellets and not every new hop is available in pellet form. So we can look forward to more great brews such as Milkwood, Summer Ale and Brains Strong Ale being available in 2012.