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

Vote for your favourite Welsh real ale

Although the Great Welsh Beer & Cider Festival is not until June next year (6th-8th June, Motorpoint Arena, Cardiff) the process for choosing the Champion Beer of Wales has begun and CAMRA Members have until the end of January 2013 to nominate their favourite beers.
In order to vote for your favourite Welsh ales go to here and log in with your membership number and use the same password that you use to login to the member's area of the CAMRA national web site.

The list of beers that appear on the site are the ones reported to CAMRA by the Brewery Liasion Officer for each individual brewery. Beers also have to conform to CAMRA rules etc etc to be in the running for the competition.

Rhymney Brews the Best Beer in Wales

Rhymney Brews the Best

A brewery from Merthyr Tydfil has today completed a clean sweep of awards at the Great Welsh Beer & Cider Festival. Rhymney Brewery, based in Dowlais, walked off with both the Silver and Gold Medals in the Champion Beer of Wales competition, organised by the South Wales branches of CAMRA, the Campaign for Real Ale. The Festival plays hosts to the competition every year and it is open to all 40 or so breweries in Wales, who between them brew over 350 different beers each year. The beers are tasted by CAMRA members throughout the year before an independent panel of beer experts sample the finalists on site at the Festival.

Rhymney Brewery was founded by father and son team Steve and Marc Evans in 2005 and have previously won Champion beer of Wales with their Dark.

According to Festival Organiser James “Arfur” Daley, “Congratulations to Rhymney Brewery on their success in the Champion Beer of Wales competition. Well done to Steve and his family for winning both awards, Rhymney Dark is a fantastic beer and it is so good to see an old brewery name resurrected and now being served from beer engines in pubs across the South Wales valleys.

Champion Beers of Wales 2011

Gold: Rhymney Dark

Silver: Rhymney Export

Bronze: Otley O8

Tasting Notes for Rhymney Dark, 4%

 

Rhymney Dark, is, as its name suggests, is a dark coloured beer with a deep reddish hue and pours with a beige head. A complex aroma of sweet and roast malts and blackberries leads to a bittersweet chocolate flavour and a slightly astringent finish with some vanilla overtones. A good mild beer, not too strong and easy to drink.

The Great Welsh Beer & Cider Festival is open until 2300hrs on Friday and 1100-2300hrs on Saturday 18^th June.

Festival Facts:

• Over 6000 thirsty drinkers are expected at the 3 day event.
  

• 24,000 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 4500 pints of cider and perry will be available.
  
• Over 270 different real ales, ciders, perries and foreign beers will be available at the Great Welsh.
  
• 1000 pints of German beer will be specially imported for the Great Welsh.
  
• Over 130 CAMRA members will be volunteering to work at the Festival.
  
• The bar is over 70 metres long! Making it the longest bar in Wales.
  
• The Great Welsh Beer & Cider Festival 2009 is the 11th annual Festival, the 4th at the CIA, the previous 7 having been held at Cardiff City Hall.
  
• Pub games, stalls and food will be available at the Festival

Great Welsh Beer & Cider Festival, Cardiff Motorpoint Arena (formerly Cardiff International Arena), Mary Ann Street, Cardiff CF10 2EQ

Open: Thursday 16^th June, Friday 17^th & Saturday 18^th June 11-11 all days

Entrance £6 (£5 for Under 26s and CAMRA members), includes souvenir glass and festival programme.

For more information: www.gwbcf.org.uk

Steve Evans, Rhymney Brewery, 01685 722253

www.rhymneybreweryltd.com

Festival Organiser:

Arfur Daley 0794 185 9902 info@gwbcf.org.uk

Champion Beer of Wales 2010

Today at the Great Welsh Beer & Cider Festival a panel of expert judges had the difficult task of choosing the best beer in Wales and the winner, announced by Jeff Cuthbert AM (Caerphilly) went to:

Gold - Otley Brewery O-Garden
Silver - Bragdy'r Nant Mwnci Nel
Bronze - Rhymney Export

Category winners:
Mild - Bryncelyn Buddy Marvelous
Bitter - Bryncelin Holly Hop
Best Bitter - Breconshire Cribyn
Strong Bitter - Rhymney Export
Golden Ale - Great Orme Celtica
Speciality - Otley O-Garden


So congratulations to Nick, Matt, Charlie and the rest of the team at Otley Brewery for winning Champion Beer of Wales again.

Beer Judge moves to Australia

One of the regular judges at the Champion Beer of Wales competition and the Champion Beer of Britain competition, Ian Boyd, is hanging up his white wig and gavel and moving to Australia. A member of South Bedfordshire CAMRA, Ian first came to the attention of the Brew Wales editor when he became the only lecturer to join the UCL real ale society, almost 20 years ago. After years of persistent nagging, he was invited along to be a judge at national competitions and has stayed on the list ever since. Ian has travelled the world, finding time to visit brewpubs in between the lecture circuit and one year even did an interview with Chinese Television at the Great British Beer Festival, after just flying in from China and visiting their brewpubs a few days earlier. A regular contributor to the CAMRA publication "Beer in Beds", we look forward to his reviews of the Melbourne brewery scene.

Above: Ian Boyd is pictured hard at work at Cardiff City Hall, judging the Champion Beer of Wales competition in 2007


Quote from Ian, "Having seen the Niagra Falls, the Grand Canyon, the Great Wall, the Pyramids, and the Giants Causeway, dived the Great Barrier Reef, and experienced the midnight sun in the Arctic Circle, there's still nothing like enjoying a good pint or three of tasty real ale, perfectly served in a lined-glass, either beside a roaring log fire in an unspoiled flag-floored hostelry, or in the sunny garden of a well-kept traditional thatched country pub, in good company, righting the wrongs of the world".

Ian Boyd will be moving to Australia to take up the position of Director at the Melbourne Centre for Nanofabrication. Does the Melbourne Brewery scene know what is going to hit it?

Champion Beer of Wales 2009

Pictured Above: Purple Moose brewer Laurence Washington celebrates winning the SIBA West award last year

The Purple Moose Brewery of Snowdonia has won the Champion Beer of Wales Competition with their 3.6% ale, Snowdonia. Pictured above is brewer Laurence Washington celebrating his win. Second place went the Otley Brewery with OG and third place also went to Otley Brewery with their Porter.

Otley Brewery Receive their Awards

Welsh Members of CAMRA, the Campaign for Real Ale, dished out the awards to the Otley Brewery the other day. After a few pints of O1 , or Thornbridge St Petersburg Stout for those a bit more thirsty, in the Otley Arms, Trefforest, a short journey was made to the site of the Otley Brewery in Cilfynydd, a few miles up the valley. Here we were rewarded with more of the excellent O1 before presenting the family with a collection of certificates from various competitions they had won, including, Champion Beer of Wales 08/09 for Otley O8.
After a few more pints of O1 it was time to head for one of their other pubs, the Bunch of Grapes in Pontypridd for a buffet and a quiz.
With all those certificate it looks like the Otley family will have to buy another pub just to have room to put them up on the walls.
For more information visit the Otley Brewery website

Champion Beer of Britain

Alton's Pride brewed by the Triple fff brewery in Hampshire has been chosen as the Champion Beer of Britain at the 2008 Great British Beer Festival. Mark Phillips spoke to Graham Trott, the head brewer moments after the winner was announced.

Whilst CNN covered the Festival as well.


As well as British Satellite News


And Steven Goodwin from the Beer Crate with his video podcast