Best Breweries in Wales 2018

Once again this blog comes out of retirement for the annual look at the best and worst that breweries in Wales have to offer. For those of you interested, Brew Wales moved to a Facebook platform some years ago, the blog is now only used occasionally for items that need it such as the Now & Then series or lists like this.

According to the geosocial networking service Untappd, the best breweries in Wales are:

1. Crafty Devil Brewing Co   Unchanged since last year
2. Tiny Rebel Brewing Co   Unchanged since last year
3. Wild Horse Brewing Company   New Entry!
4. Hopcraft Brewing     Up from #4
5. Grey Trees Brewery   Up from #6
6. Lines Brew Co.   New Entry!
7. Tenby Brewing Company   Down from #3
8. Gwynt y Ddraig   Unchanged since last year
9. West By Three Brewing Co. New Entry!
10. Heavy Industry Brewing    Down from #9
11. Mad Dog Brewing Co  Down from #7
12. Otley    Down from #11
13. Purple Moose Brewery (Bragdy Mws Piws)   Down from #13
14. Glamorgan Brewing Co  Down from #14
15. Gower Brewery  Up from #16
16. Untapped Brewing Company   Down from #15
17. Mantle  Down from #14
18. Harbwr Brewery  New Entry!
19. Hallets Down from #12
20. Cwrw Llŷn   New Entry!
21. Cwrw Ial Community Brewing Company   Down from #18
22. Big Hand Brewing Co   Down from #19
23. Hafod Brewing Company  Down from #20
24. Mumbles Brewery  Down from #17
25. Bragdy Twt Lol  Down from #24
26. VOG Brewery     Down from #21
27. Kingstone Brewery   New Entry!
28. Great Orme Brewery     Down from #23
29. Tudor Brewery   Down from #28
30. Conwy Brewery      Unchanged since last year
31. Celt Brewing        Down from #27
32. Tomos Watkin and Sons Ltd.    Down from #26
33. Bluestone Brewing Co.    #Down from #22
34. Brains Craft Brewery    Down from #29
35. Boss Brewing Company    Down from #29
36. Brains      Down from #32
37. Facer's           Down from #36
38. Rhymney Brewery    Down from #33
39. Evan Evans      Down from #34
40. Monty's Brewery    #Down from 35
41. Brecon Brewing    #Down from #37
42. Felinfoel Brewery Co Ltd    Down from #38
43. Sandstone     New Entry!

According to Untappd "A brewery must have at least 1000 ratings and at least 5 different beers in their portfolio to qualify for this list. Their ratings explainer is here.

Once again, Evans Evans Brewery are near the bottom of the list, not that they care as they have a few other things to worry about at the moment.

The best beers in Wales according to Untappd are:

1. Tiny Rebel Brewing Co  Imperial Puft
2. Tiny Rebel Brewing Co Chocolate Stay Puft
3. Tiny Rebel Brewing Co Clwb Tropicana
4. Tiny Rebel Brewing Co Stay Puft
5. Celt Brewing Ogham Ash - the votes for this appear to be for beers brewed before the brand was ruined by Evan Evans Brewery
6. Tiny Rebel Brewing Co Captain Insano
7. Tiny Rebel Brewing Co Bonsai
8. Crafty Devil Brewing Co Tax Man
9. Tiny Rebel Brewing Co Hadouken
10. Crafty Devil Brewing Co Not So Safe As Milk
11. Tiny Rebel Brewing Co In & Around The Mouth
12. The Waen Brewery Snowball
13. Crafty Devil Brewing Co You Love Us
14. Purple Moose Brewery (Bragdy Mws Piws) Chocolate Moose
15. Crafty Devil Brewing Co Safe As Milk
16. Crafty Devil Brewing Co The Devil We Know
17. Tiny Rebel Brewing Co Sugar Rush
18. Tiny Rebel Brewing Co Peaches And Cream IPA
19. Tiny Rebel Brewing Co Bass Drop
20. Tiny Rebel Brewing Co Sonic Boom
21. Crafty Devil Brewing Co Fairy Tale Of Cardiff
22. Celt Brewing Seven Flowers (Shapeshifter Series) the votes for this appear to be for beers brewed before the brand was ruined by Evan Evans Brewery
23. Hopcraft Brewing Waen Snowball
24. Hopcraft Brewing Citraic
25. Tiny Rebel Brewing Co Beer Money Inc.
26. Mad Dog Brewing Co Petronius DIPA
27. Crafty Devil Brewing Co I Am the Resurrection
28. Wild Horse Brewing Company New England IPA Citra Mosaic
29. Mad Dog Brewing Co Granola Stout
30. Celt Brewing Ogham Willow the votes for this appear to be for beers brewed before the brand was ruined by Evan Evans Brewery
31. Crafty Devil Brewing Co Rock N' Roll Star
32. Tiny Rebel Brewing Co Dutty
33. The Waen Brewery Mousse Warning
34. Tiny Rebel Brewing Co Dirty Perle
35. The Vader Shuffle Tiny Rebel Brewing Co
36. Lines Brew Co. Double IPA Blend DIPA
37. The Waen Brewery Pamplemousse (late 2016 see Hopcraft Pamplemousse)
38. Tiny Rebel Brewing Co Cali American Pale Ale
39. Hopcraft Brewing Mate Spawn And Die
40. Wild Horse Brewing Company Breakfast Cookies Milk Stout
41. Hopcraft Brewing Citra Plus
42. Heavy Industry Brewing Nos Smoked Porter
43. Tiny Rebel Brewing Co XLPA
44. Tiny Rebel Brewing Co Lupulin Fiasco
45. The Waen Brewery Chilli Plum Porter (2016 late brewed at Hopcraft)
46. Hopcraft Brewing Sharks Against Surfers
47. Tiny Rebel Brewing Co Stupid Sexy Flanders
48. Crafty Devil Brewing Co Mikey Rayer All Dayer

Over at Ratebeer the top 50 list is different again, dominated by Lines and Tiny Rebel

1. Lines Line ACD - Farmhouse IPA Sour/Wild Ale
2. Lines Line CD - Double Barrel Farm Blend (Burgundy / Pinot Barrels) 
3.  Tiny Rebel Imperial Puft Imperial Porter                  
4. Lines Line A - New Zealand New England Session IPA      5             
5. Lines Line AD - Double IPA Blend (Nelson, Citra, Chinook & Amarillo) Imperial IPA            
6. Tiny Rebel / Arbor Bonsai India Pale Ale (IPA)    
7. Lines Line A - Pale Oats on Delta Resin Session IPA                          
8. Lines Line A - Dry hopped IPA India Pale Ale (IPA)                            
9. Tiny Rebel Sugar Rush Imperial Stout     
10. Lines Line CA - Nelson Saison Saison       
11. Tiny Rebel Clwb Tropicana India Pale Ale (IPA)   
12. Tiny Rebel Captain Insano Imperial IPA 
13. Tiny Rebel Loki Lite Session IPA 24          
14. Tiny Rebel Hadouken India Pale Ale (IPA)                            
15. Tiny Rebel / Dark Star Rebel Alliance Saison                        
16. Lines Line FA - Primary Brett Imperial stout Imperial Stout                           
17. Crafty Devil You Love Us India Pale Ale (IPA)                      
18. Tiny Rebel Dirty Stop Out Stout 308                        
19. Tiny Rebel Tiny Batch In and Around the Mouth India Pale Ale (IPA)        
20. Hopcraft Sharks Against Surfers American Pale Ale                          
21. Tiny Rebel Cereal Killer Session IPA                         
22. Tiny Rebel The Vader Shuffle Porter                      
23. Tiny Rebel / Weird Beard Dirty Perle Stout                          
24. Otley Oxymoron Black IPA                          
25. Tiny Rebel Stay Puft Porter                         
26. Hopcraft A Good Rogering Black IPA                       
27. Otley mOtley Brew Imperial IPA                                         
28. Tiny Rebel Cali American Pale Ale            
29. Lines / Fyne Ales Green Lines Saison Saison                        
30. Hopcraft Devilfish Ink Black IPA 20          
31. Tiny Rebel Bass Drop Imperial Stout       
32. Hopcraft Citraic American Pale Ale                          
33. Hopcraft Graveyard Eyes (5.3%) Porter                 
34. Tiny Rebel / Dugges Pina Colada Pale Ale American Pale Ale                        
35. Tiny Rebel Urban IPA India Pale Ale (IPA)                             
36. Tiny Rebel Cwtch Amber Ale                      
37. Tiny Rebel Loki Black IPA                              
38. Tiny Rebel The Full Nelson American Pale Ale                    
39. Tiny Rebel Frambuzi Sour/Wild Ale                         
40. Hopcraft Citra Plus American Pale Ale                    
41. Tiny Rebel Beer Money Inc. India Pale Ale (IPA)                
42. Tiny Rebel Beat Box American Pale Ale 
43. Waen Snowball Sweet Stout                      
44. Tiny Rebel Sonic Boom India Pale Ale (IPA)                          
45. Tiny Rebel Gin & Juice Spice/Herb/Vegetable                    
46. Hopcraft Spanish Main Stout     
47. Hopcraft Mate Spawn and Die American Pale Ale                             
48. Heavy Industry 77 Amber Ale    
49. Crafty Devil / BrewDog Cardiff No Ifs, No Buts, Just Coconuts Stout         
50. Tiny Rebel Billabong American Pale Ale

Again no Welsh beers make the Beer Advocate UK & Ireland list

Once again, CAMRA, the Campaign for Real Ale, decided not to publish their Champion Beers of Wales 2017, either on their national website or on their festival website or even issue a press release of the winning beers but the winners for their 2017 competition are below:

1. Grey Trees Brewery Afghan Pale Ale
2. Boss Black
3. Untapped Ember

Best Breweries in Wales

According to the geosocial networking service Untappd, the following are the best breweries in Wales at the moment:

1. Crafty Devil Brewing Co

2. Tiny Rebel Brewing Co

3. Tenby Brewing Company

4. PIPES™

5. Hopcraft Brewing

6. Grey Trees Brewery

7. Mad Dog Brewing Co

8. Gwynt y Ddraig

9. Heavy Industry Brewing

10. Purple Moose Brewery (Bragdy Mws Piws)

11. Otley

12. Hallets

13. Glamorgan Brewing Co

14. Mantle

15. Untapped Brewing Company

16. Gower Brewery

17. Mumbles Brewery

18. Cwrw Ial Community Brewing Company

19. Big Hand Brewing Co

20. Hafod Brewing Company

21. VOG Brewery

22. Bluestone Brewing Co.

23. Great Orme Brewery

24. Bragdy Twt Lol

25. Boss Brewing Company

26. Tomos Watkin and Sons Ltd.

27. Celt Brewing

28. Tudor Brewery

29. Brains Craft Brewery

30. Conwy Brewery

31. Kite Brewery

32. Brains

33. Rhymney Brewery

34. Evan Evans

35. Monty's Brewery

36. Facer's

37. Brecon Brewing

38. Felinfoel Brewery Co Ltd

39. Plassey Brewery

According to Untappd, "A brewery must have at least 1,000 ratings and at least 5 beers in their portfolio to qualify for this list." Their ratings explainer is explained here.

Impressive that Evan Evans brewery, run by former gay nightclub boss Simon Buckley came in as only the sixth worst brewery in Wales, given the poor quality of their beers I would have thought they would have come in much lower!

Over at Ratebeer, the list is somewhat different with the top 50 beers being dominated by Tiny Rebel

1              Lines Line ACD - Farmhouse IPA India Pale Ale (IPA)       

2              Lines Line FA - Primary Brett Imperial stout Imperial Stout           

3              Lines Line CA - Nelson Saison Saison                       

4              Lines Line A - Dry hopped IPA India Pale Ale (IPA)                            

5              Tiny Rebel / Arbor Bonsai India Pale Ale (IPA)                    

6              Tiny Rebel Tiny Batch Baby’s Got a Temper Imperial IPA                               

7              Lines / Trois Dames Date Line Saison                      

8              Tiny Rebel Loki Lite Session IPA

9              Tiny Rebel Hadouken India Pale Ale (IPA)            

10           Tiny Rebel / Dark Star Rebel Alliance Saison                        

11           Lines / Fyne Ales Green Lines Saison Saison                        

12           Tiny Rebel XLPA Golden Ale/Blond Ale                  

13           Crafty Devil You Love Us India Pale Ale (IPA)                      

14           Tiny Rebel Clwb Tropicana India Pale Ale (IPA)   

15           Tiny Rebel Tiny Batch In and Around the Mouth India Pale Ale (IPA)        

16           Tiny Rebel Dirty Stop Out Stout 279        

17           Tiny Rebel Frambuzi Sour/Wild Ale         

18           Lines Line AE - Munich Table Beer Specialty Grain            

19           Hopcraft Sharks Against Surfers American Pale Ale          

20           Tiny Rebel The Vader Shuffle Porter                      

21           Hopcraft A Good Rogering Black IPA       

22           Otley mOtley Brew Imperial IPA               

23           Otley Oxymoron Black IPA                          

24           Hopcraft Devilfish Ink Black IPA                

25           Hopcraft Citraic American Pale Ale                          

26           Hopcraft Graveyard Eyes (5.3%) Porter  19          

27           Tiny Rebel / Weird Beard Dirty Perle StoutNew 

28           Tiny Rebel Stay Puft Stout           

29           Tiny Rebel / Dugges Pina Colada Pale Ale American Pale Ale        

30           Tiny Rebel Urban IPA India Pale Ale (IPA)             

31           Tiny Rebel Cereal Killer Session IPA                         

32           Tiny Rebel Cali American Pale Ale            

33           Tiny Rebel The Full Nelson American Pale Ale                    

34           Tiny Rebel Bass Drop Imperial Stout       

35           Tiny Rebel Loki Black IPA                              

36           Tiny Rebel Cwtch Amber Ale                      

37           Tiny Rebel Beat Box American Pale Ale                 

38           Tiny Rebel Sonic Boom India Pale Ale (IPA)                          

39           Hafod Dubbel Abbey Dubbel                     

40           Waen Snowball Sweet Stout      

41           Tiny Rebel Gin & Juice Spice/Herb/Vegetable    

42           Hopcraft Citra Plus American Pale Ale    

43           Heavy Industry 77 Amber Ale    

44           Tiny Rebel Grand Regal (Canadian Bourbon) Imperial Stout         

45           Tiny Rebel Billabong American Pale Ale                 

46           Hopcraft Mate Spawn and Die American Pale Ale             

47           Tiny Rebel Lupulin Fiasco Saison                               

48           Hopcraft Spanish Main Stout

49           Tiny Rebel Tiny Batch Hot Box Smoked
50           Hopcraft Oceanic American Pale Ale

Over at Beer Advocate, there is no separate section for Wales, merely a UK & Ireland section and no Welsh breweries make the top 100

Meanwhile CAMRA has not bothered to update their list of Champion Beers of Wales for last year but I found the results elsewhere:

Mild Brecon Brewing - Dark Beacons

Bitter Monty's - Old Jailhouse
Best Bitter Tiny Rebel - Cwtch
Strong Bitter Greytrees - Afghan IPA
Old Ale Heavy Industry - Collaborator
Barley Wines Monty's Magnitude
Speciality Purple Moose - Ysgawen
Porter Tudor - Black Rock
Stout Boss Black
Champion Beer of Wales 2016 Grand Champions
Gold - Tudor - Black Rock
Silver - Boss Black
Bronze - Monty's Old Jailhouse

Three lists of very different results!

Champion Beers of Wales 2015

Below is the full list of the Champion Beers of Wales 2015, nothing from the Llandeilo Village Idiot on it so expect another hissy fit from the Old Dear

Barry Brewery brews the best beer in Wales

Barry Brewery brews the best beer in Wales!

A brewery based in Cadoxton near Barry has been judged to brew the best beer in Wales at the Champion Beer of Wales Competition, held at the Great Welsh Beer & Cider Festival, Dumballs Road, Cardiff.
Dark Matter, a 4.4% porter brewed by the Vale of Glamorgan Brewery was judged against beers from across Wales and was found to be the best in a blind tasting by a panel of judges. Over 800 different ales are now brewed in Wales every year and CAMRA, The Campaign For Real Ale, have run a series of competitions throughout the year, with the final occurring in Cardiff today.
According to CAMRA spokesman, Arfur Daley, "Well done to Vale of Glamorgan Brewery, they faced strong competition this year to win this award, the brewery only changed hands earlier this year, with the previous owners staying on as consultants and to ensure consistency of the beers, so it's well done to both the old and new teams at the brewery".

Tasting Notes
Vale of Glamorgan Brewery Dark Matter is a 4.4% porter, pitch black in colour with a deep-red hue. Rich roast malts and blackcurrants are in the aroma with more blackcurrant and rich fruit in the taste. Bitter aftertaste with Autumn fruits dominating well into the finish.

The Great Welsh Beer & Cider Festival opened today and continues until Saturday.

Further information:
Great Welsh Beer & Cider Festival, Open 12-11 Thurday 5th ,11-11 Friday 6th and Saturday 7th November, The Depot, Dumballs Road, Cardiff, CF10 5FE
Admission £5, to include souvenir glass and Festival Programme
Festival Facts:

4000 thirsty drinkers are expected at the 3 day event
Over 20,000 pints of real ale, cider and perry will be consumed during the Great Welsh
Over 10 pints a minute will be served during the festival
Almost 2500 pints of cider and perry will be available
Over 180 different real ales, ciders, perries will be available at the Great Welsh
Over 140 CAMRA members and brewery staff will be volunteering to work at the festival
The Great Welsh Beer & Cider Festival 2013 is the 15th annual festival, the first at the Depot, previous venues have been the Millennium Stadium, Motorpoint Arena and Cardiff City Hall.

CAMRA Cider and Perry of the Year

CAMRA names the UK’s best Ciders and Perries

Cider
GOLD (joint) – White Jersey, Orgasmic Cider Company
GOLD (joint) – Janet’s Jungle Juice, West Croft
BRONZE – Medium, Three Cats

Perry
GOLD – Two Trees Perry, Gwynt y Ddraig
SILVER – Snowy Owl, Raglan Cider Mill
BRONZE – Perry, Snails Bank

CAMRA, the Campaign for Real Ale, has today announced the winners of its National Cider and Perry Championships.

The joint winners of the Cider Gold medal are White Jersey by Orgasmic and Janet’s Jungle Juice by West Croft. White Jersey was described by judges as being ‘fruity’ and ‘easy drinking’, with ‘a slight sweetness balanced by an excellent tang’, and having ‘balance without too much acidity’. Janet’s Jungle Juice was described as having a ‘mature and woody aroma’ with ‘an initial sweetness and a smooth finish’, and a ‘full mouthfeel with a resinous aroma’.

The winner of the Perry Gold medal is Two Trees Perry by Gwynt y Ddraig (meaning ‘dragon’s breath’ in Welsh) which the judges described as being ‘initially sweet with a refreshing, dry aftertaste’, ‘complex yet well balanced with a poached pear flavour and aroma’ with a ‘slowly developing finish’.

The final round of judging for CAMRA’s National Cider and Perry Championships 2015 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 awards were selected by a specially chosen panel of experienced judges, drinks writers and CAMRA members.

Steve Layton of Orgasmic Cider Company, had this to say on hearing his cider had taken the top spot,

“We’re very proud of this single blend [variety] cider - we grow the apples, we produce the cider, we do everything - so to me this is a great achievement, as it lets me know our cider is enjoyable to drink by everybody on this top judging panel. We're very proud to win and this is a massive achievement.

Andrea Briers, CAMRA National Cider and Perry Committee Chairman, had this to say on the quality and diversity of entries:

“The quality and variety of real cider and perry is increasing year-on-year, making our job as judges increasingly difficult. With a set of truly excellent drinks available this year at the festival, and a competition which was very tight right until the final judging we are confident these ciders and perries can truly be known as the best in Britain.”

Reading CAMRA Beer and Cider Festival serves over 550 beers available, plus 150 ciders and perries (from over 100 producers), plus a selection of foreign beers, English wines and mead.

Over the four days festival around 13,000 attendees will drink over 35,000 pints of beer and 11,000 pints of cider.

Best pubs in Wales

CAMRA, the Campaign for Real Ale, have announced their list of the best pubs in Wales.

North Wales

 

Abercolwyn Branch

Albion Ale House

Conwy 

Chester & South Clwyd  Branch

Bridge End

Ruabon

Gwynedd a Mon  Branch

Snowdonia Parc

Waenfawr

Vale of Clwyd  Branch

Blue Bell

Halkyn

West Wales

Bae Ceredigion

Y Talbot

Tregaron

Camathenshire

Royal Oak

Rhandirmwyn

Pembrokeshire

Cresselly Arms 

Cresswell Quay

South Wales

Brecknockshire 

Star Inn

Talybont-on-Usk

Cardiff (City)

Urban Tap House

Cardiff (Country)

Lansdowne

Canton

Gwent (City)

Lamb

Newport

Gwent (Country)

Clytha Arms

Abergavenny

Mid Glamorgan

Bunch of Grapes

Pontypridd

Neath Port Talbot

Pontardawe Inn

Pontardawe

Swansea 
No Sign Bar

Swansea

Vale of Glamorgan & Bridgend

Cross Inn

Cwmfelin

CAMRA's Best Pubs in Wales 2014

CAMRA, the Campaign for Real Ale, has announced their list of over 200 Local Pubs of the Year to help launch April’s Community Pubs Month and none of them smell of fish!
CAMRA’s branches, which consist of thousands of volunteers, judge all of the pubs in their area to find their Branch’s Local Pub of the Year. Pubs are judged on their decor, value for money, customer service, that they appeal to all different demographics and of course, the quality of its real ale. The local branch winners then go forward to battle it out in the regional heats in their quest to become National Pub of the Year, announced in early 2015. Colin Valentine, CAMRA Chairman said, “I would like to thank all of the volunteers that have judged pubs up and down the country. This can take a lot of dedication to find the best real ale pubs in the area. We like to announce the winners in Community Pubs Month to highlight the best pubs Britain has to offer to help raise the profile of pub-going.
New research shows 28 pubs close every week across Britain and 38% of British adults no longer visit pubs. Community Pubs Month has been launched to help raise the profile of the British pub and pub-going. Thousands of pubs across the Britain will be participating in this campaign by organising events and trying new marketing initiatives to attract more trade during April.
Mr Valentine continued, “There are literally thousands of wonderful pubs that need our support at this moment in time and I would urge everyone to visit their local pub in April and discuss with the licensee ways he or she could encourage you to visit more regularly.” Local winners in Wales are:
Wales Branches Pubs of the Year
Abercolwyn Albion Ale House Conwy
Chester & South Clwyd Bridge End Ruabon
Gwynedd a Mon Snowdonia Park Waenfawr
Vale of Clwyd Halcyon Quest Prestatyn
Brecknockshire Star Inn Talybont
Cardiff Landsdowne Canton, Cardiff
Gwent (Country) Clytha Arms Clytha, Raglan
Gwent (Town) Coach & Horses Chepstow
Mid Glamorgan Fagin's Ale & Chop House Glan-y-Lynn, Taffs Well
Neath-Port Talbot Pontadawe Inn Pontadawe
Swansea Pilot Mumbles
Vale of Glamorgan & Bridgend Red Fox Penllwyn

Herefordshire cidermaker recognised by CAMRA

Herefordshire cidermaker Denis Gwatkin of Abbeydore was recently awarded a tankard by CAMRA, the Campaign for Real Ale, to celebrate twenty-five years of campaigning for cider and perry. One of only ten recipients of this award in the whole of the country, Denis has won numerous awards for his cider and perry over the years. It’s a double celebration for Denis as well, as he has just completed the installation of two giant wooden fermenting vats of over one thousand gallons each, purchased from another Hereford cidermaker, Ivor Dunkerton. The traditional oak vats are well over sixty years old and help give an oaky character to the cider, something that is appreciated by the more discerning cider drinker.

According to Denis Gwatkin, “It’s a great accolade from CAMRA coming after all the years of effort that all the staff at the farm have put in. And not just our farm, our neighbours across the valley often find themselves giving us a hand! It’s also great that these two wooden vats are going to be used for cidermaking for years to come; Ivor Dunkerton has made sure that these historic vats have gone to a good home and are going to be fermenting apple juice into cider well into the future.”

Denis Gwatkin produces over thirty different ciders and perries throughout the year at his farm and these are often seen at CAMRA beer festivals nationwide as well as in local pubs and off-licenses.

Gwatkin Cider is also sold from the farm shop at Moorhampton Park Farm in Abbey Dore, as well as at around one hundred shows around the country throughout the year. The family-run farm also plays host to a three-day music festival at the end of July.

Denis and his team - Mickey, Fluff and Adam

Brewer critical of CAMRA beer festival before it opens!

Welll it seems like the Llandeilo Village Idiot is up to spreading his usual lies again, although this time he picks on his local CAMRA Beer Festival via his company website  (screenshot above in case its removed after his meds kick in).

"Why do we let these amateurs call themselves brewers. I tasted some really poor beers at the festival. Badly made, badly constructed, and frankly some of them microbiologically unstable".

Well, in one way it's your own fault for drinking your own beers!

Okay, let's look at the facts, according to the Evan Evans webpage the above was posted on October 2nd, a day before the Festival even opened (Thursday the 3rd) and according to staff at the Festival, Simon Buckley did not even turn up at the Festival until Saturday 5th October. Hmm telling lies about CAMRA cellarmanship and the brewers of Wales before the Festival has even opened and before he has even tasted the beers? Looks like Buckley has lost the plot once again. Once again his lies and mistruthsare there to be exposed to all.

Links to the webpage were posted on Social Media earlier this week and here are what people said,

"I was volunteering at the festival all the open sessions and the statement is simply not true! Full marks for slagging off the event 3 day before they were there!"

"I know actual amateurs who brew much better than Evan Evans"

"Never buying any of his beers again!"

"That's shocking behaviour!"

"Outspoken brewers slagging off their competition!.... glad I don't know anyone like that!"

"He wants to be careful, coming from Llanelli and calling others "microbiologically unstable"

"I've had Evans Evans beer. Medicore would be about the best description of Cwrw!"

"Idiot!"

Well there you have it, a round up of what people think of the untrue comments of the Llandeilo Village Idiot, hardly surprising a few years ago a CAMRA beerfestival had to ban him for, amongst other things, "Threatening and violent behaviour". Oh dear, well maybe his behaviour will change when his meds kick in again?

UPDATE:
The post was removed from the Evan Evans website, only to re-appear a few days later with the date changed to the 7th October! Good job we have the screen shot above so everyone can see the bile and lies the Llandeilo Village Idiot spouts!

Milford Haven Beer Festival

For those of you wanting something to do this weekend, the first Haven Beer Festival is on at Cedar Court, Milford Haven, this weekend as part of the wider celebrations for Pembrokeshire Fish Week.

The venue for this Festival, appears to house the library as well but is only a few minutes walk away from the train station

View Larger Map

Traveline Cymru appear to have got rid of their useful embed feature so if you want to go to Milford Haven this weekend you have to visit their site here.


Beer list (subject to availability etc)
Brains SA Gold 4.3 Cardiff South Glamorgan

Brains Touch Pause Engage 4.0 Cardiff South
Brecon Orange Beacons 4.3 Brecon Powys
Brecon Twighlight Beacons 4.0 Brecon Powys
Caffle Caffle Bitter 4.5 Llanwhaden Pembrokeshire
Caffle Pale Ale 5.2 Llanwhaden Pembrokeshire
Caffle Summer Ale 4.3 Llanwhaden Pembrokeshire
Cerddin Cascade 4.8 Maesteg Mid Glamorgan
Conwy Honey Fayre / Crww Mel 4.5 Conwy
Cych Valley Festival Ale 4.4 Abercych
Cych Valley Pembrokeshire Pale 4.2 Abercych
Gower Gower Power 5.5 Llanrhidian
Gwaun Valley Pembrokeshire Best 4.5 Pontfaen
Heart of Wales Noble Eden 4.6 Llanwrtyd Wells
Kite Thunderbird 4.5 Pontyclun Rhondda Cynon Taff
Montys Mischief 5.0 Montgomery Powys
Neath Firebrick 4.2 Neath West Glamorgan
Otley O6 Porter 6.6 Pontypridd Mid Glamorgan
Preseli Baggywrinkle 4.5 Tenby Pembrokeshire
Preseil Powder Monkey 4.2 Tenby Pembrokeshire
Purple Moose Snowdonia 3.6 Porthmadog Gwynedd
Seren Bluestone IPA 4.2 Rosebush Pembrokeshire
Seren Summer Wheat 5.2 Rosebush Pembrokeshire
Swansea Bishops Wood 4.5 Bishopston Swansea
Tiny Rebel Urban IPA 5.5 Newport Gwent
Tomos Watkin Cwrw Haf 4.5 Swansea
Waen First of Summer Waen 3.9 Penstrowed Powys

Plus 3 More TBC

Traditional Ciders
Gwynt-y-Ddraig Black Dragon 7.2 Llantwit Fardre
Gwynt-y-Ddraig Two Trees Perry 4.5 Llantwit Fardre
Gwynt-y-Ddraig Welsh Warior 6.5 Llantwit Fardre
Gethins Hapus / Medium 6.5 Haverfordwest
Gethins Melys / Sweet 6.0 Haverfordwest
Gethins Sych / Dry 7.0 Haverfordwest
Pontmeddyg Doctors Orders / Dry 6.3 Dinas Cross
Pontmeddyg Shipmans Revenge / Medium 6.3
Dinas Cross Pembrokeshire

Country Wines:
Celtic Country Apple & Elderflower 12.0 Llandysul
Celtic Country Blackberry 12.0 Llandysul Ceredigion
Celtic Country Elderberry 12.0 Llandysul Ceredigion
Celtic Country Ginger 12.0 Llandysul Ceredigion
Celtic Country Gooseberry 12.0 Llandysul
Celtic Country Raspberry 12.0 Llandysul Ceredigion

Best Pubs in Wales

CAMRA, the Campaign for Real Ale, have today announced the best pubs in Wales, as judged by local members of the organisation. All this for a start of a new campaign, Community Pubs Month, which celebrates the diversity of our local pubs.

In Wales, over 360 pubs have signed up to take part in Community Pubs Month. As the first ever year for this new campaign, Community Pubs Month has been organised to promote pubs as invaluable community assets, and outlets which vast numbers of local people across the UK rely upon so heavily during their daily lives.

In a bid to showcase the diversity and innovation of Britain’s locals at the start of Community Pubs Month, CAMRA has also released a roll call of its local pubs of the year for the first time. Voted for by members of CAMRA’s 200+ local branches, these winners will now go on to compete in regional rounds, with one pub eventually going on to be crowned CAMRA's National Pub of the Year early next year. The local winners are arranged by CAMRA branch areas and are:

Abercolwyn- Pen-y-Bryn, Colwyn Bay   

Chester & South Clwyd- Bridge End Inn, Ruabon  

            

Vale of Clwyd- Oak, Hendre       

Gwynedd a Mon- Snowdonia Park, Waenfawr  

Ceredigion - Y Talbot, Tregaron

Carmarthenshire - Plash, Llanfallteg

Brecknockshire - Star Inn, Talybont

Cardiff - City Arms, Cardiff

Gwent-

- Country POTY - Star Inn, Llanfihangel Tor-y-Mynydd

- Town POTY - Coach & Horses, Chepstow

Mid Glamorgan - Red Cow, Aberdare

Neath & Port Talbot- Ancient Briton, Pen-y-Cae

Swansea - Village Inn, Killay

Vale of Glamorgan- Vale of Glamorgan, Cowbridge

To coincide with the beginning of Community Pubs Month and to show the vital importance of pubs to society, CAMRA has released new research revealing just under 9 in 10 (89%) young pub going UK adults (aged 18-24 years old) visit their local pub to meet friends and socialise.

To further reinforce the community importance of local pubs, other findings found how over 1 in 3 UK adults (36%) say their local community uses their pub for events such as weddings, christenings and funerals. CAMRA even polled currently married couples – who visit pubs regularly – and found 1 in 4 (25%) first met their partner/spouse down the pub!

Commenting on the new research on the opening day of Community Pubs Month, Mike Benner, CAMRA Chief Executive, said:

‘Pubs are the beating hearts of countless communities across the land, and without their existence, society would be a lot worse off.

 ‘With the launch of Community Pubs Month, CAMRA is urging local communities this April to back their local licensees and give them the support they need during these difficult economic times. Pubs are the original social networking sites, and will continue to provide an invaluable community service as long as they are used by the local people that surround them.’

Best pub in Britain is Welsh

For the first time ever a Welsh pub wins CAMRA’s National Pub of the Year!

-Revived village local, Bridge End Inn, Ruabon, scoops CAMRA national title 
-Pubs from Bedfordshire, Cornwall and Lancashire make up other finalists

WINNER: Bridge End Inn, 5 Bridge Street, Ruabon, Wrexham, LL14 6DA, 01978 810881
PRESENTATION (AT THE VENUE): Friday February 10^th 2012, 1pm

A small community pub in north Wales transformed by a local family has today been announced as the best pub in Britain by CAMRA, the Campaign for Real Ale.

The Bridge End Inn, Ruabon, not only enters CAMRA’s history books as the first ever Welsh pub to win its National Pub of the Year competition, but having only been re-opened by its current owners in March 2009, becomes one of the most remarkable success stories in the competition’s history.

CAMRA’s National Pub of the Year competition recognises all the criteria that make a great pub, including atmosphere, decor, welcome, service, value for money, customer mix, but most importantly, the quality of the beer.

The Bridge End Inn was taken over and subsequently revitalised by the McGivern family in 2009, with the pub earmarked as the ideal premises for the family microbrewery – McGivern Ales - overseen by son Matthew. Having reopened the pub 5 weeks after taking it on, the McGivern family were praised by CAMRA members for restoring the pub’s interior, and for introducing an extensive real ale and cider range.

Now serving 7 real ales and a selection of local ciders at any one time, the pub has stocked real ales from over 100 breweries since opening, with a particular emphasis on local produce. As well as acting as the brewery tap for McGivern Ales, other breweries from north Wales, Cheshire and Shropshire feature prominently at the bar.

Peter McGivern, Bridge End Inn licensee, said:

‘We are a family business, and the pub has been a real labour of love. What we strived to do was create a pub not focused on food that we would enjoy visiting, putting the product first and offering a wide range of traditional beer styles. As a result we’ve built up a mixed trade of locals and beer lovers from all over Britain.

‘We are delighted with this national award, particularly as we were told when first taking on the pub that there was little demand for real ale in the area. Through a lot of passion and hard work for what we do, we’ve enjoyed great success in a short space of time, which couldn’t have been achieved without the support of family, close friends, staff and customers.’

Hailing the success of the pub, Julian Hough, CAMRA Pubs Director, said:

‘The pub is an unbelievable success story, and is a perfect case study of a local outlet playing a pivotal role at the heart of a small community. By investing time into providing a quality beer range full of choice, the pub in a short space of time has become revered across Britain by many beer lovers. I offer my personal congratulations to the Bridge End Inn for such rapid progression in taking CAMRA’s national pub title.’

The presentation of the National Pub of the Year competition will take place at the Bridge End Inn on Friday February 10^th 2012, at 1pm. 

The Bridge End Inn beat 3 other finalists this year to claim the crown. These pubs are-

Engineers Arms, 68 High Street, Henlow, Bedfordshire, SG16 6AA
Tel. 01462 812284, 

Front, Custom House Quay, Falmouth, Cornwall, TR11 3JT
Tel. 01326 212168

Swan with Two Necks, Main Street, Pendleton, Lancashire, BB7 1PT
Tel. 01200 423112,