Brains bikes beer to Bala

Brains team cycle cask of beer 150 miles

A team of 13 from Welsh brewer and pub operator S.A Brain and Co Ltd are celebrating after cycling a cask of their current seasonal ale, Le Peloton, 150 miles from Cardiff to Bala.

The team, who cycled relay style, set off from the Cardiff Brewery at 1pm on Thursday 3rd July and finished 14 hours later on Friday 4th July (the day before the Tour de France) at the White Lion Royal Hotel in Bala – having carried the cask in the specially adapted baker’s-bike-turned-brewer’s-bike. 

Bill Dobson, head brewer at Brains and part of the cycling team, said: “We’re all keen cyclists but cycling 150 miles through some pretty hilly parts of Wales, weighed down with a cask of our seasonal beer – Le Peloton - was tough.

Le Peloton was developed to celebrate the summer of cycling, which this year started in Yorkshire. The beer is available now in pubs throughout the UK, as well as Tesco stores throughout Wales.

The Le Peloton bike ride also raised more than £1,000 for Wooden Spoon, a charity supporting disadvantaged children and young people across the UK. The charity organises fundraising initiatives, spending money raised where it is most needed.

Gloucester Food Festival Beerex

This weekend the Gloucester Food Festival is on in the Quays and as well as Gwatkin Cider being there, the local Gloucester Brewery will be holding a beer festival at their premises. The Food Festival is on for 3 days and looks a good one to attend.

Now and Then: Tredegar Arms, Pill, Newport

 

The Tredegar Arms used to stand on Church Street in Pill, Newport and was demolished around 1999, the large pub, formerly owned by Ansells Brewery had closed some years previously. A large section of the surrounding Victorian houses were also demolished to be replaced by modern flats and houses.

New pub for Newport

Last month a new pub opened in Newport, on the old town dock, the Blaina Wharf is on the corner of Usk Way and the Southern Distributor Road. Owned by Marston's Brewery the Blaina Wharf is not there first pub in the City as the brewers have sat on the empty and derelict Westgate Hotel for years, however, this new build is a welcome development in an area of the town where a lot of the old pubs have closed.
This modern pub features three real ales from the extensive Marston's stable, a beer from Jennings Brewery of Cumbria was one of the ones on tap on my visit as well as a carvery and full pub menu. Situated in what is becoming a new residential area, this pub is sure to be a goldmine for Marston's, the junction on two main roads and a large car park are also helpful!

In the right-hand side of the photograph above the burnt-out remains of the former maltings of the Phillips Brewery can be seen. The pub was quite busy when visited and it's good to see a Newport pub thriving when so many others in the City are not.

The Google Map supplied on the Marston's website is slightly inaccurate and the Streetview just shows an undeveloped plot of land.
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