Conwy brews best Pale Ale in Wales

Conwy Brewery Win Welsh Pale Ale Competition Hosted by The Beer Academy

Above: Beer Academy sommeliers leading a panel of Judges in the ‘Welsh Pale Ale Competition

Conwy ‘Honey Pale’ has won best Welsh Pale Ale at a new festival competition held in Caerphilly RFC hosted Jointly by The Association of Welsh Independent Brewers (AWIB), The Beer Academy and The Celt Experience Brewery.

The beer style was brewed by 15 Welsh breweries and was put together by AWIB to typify a drink consumed historically and today within the country of Wales. Beer writer Melissa Cole also assisted AWIB during the category preparation.”It’s always exciting and inspiring to see brewers grasp the roots of their local brewing history and I very much look forward to seeing and tasting the different interpretations that will be available within the guidelines. Some people think defining styles is like putting handcuffs on brewers but, in my experience, it can bring out the both the scientist and the alchemist in them to produce something truly lip-smacking”

Breweries such as Brains, Welsh CAMRA Champions ‘Heart of Wales’, North Wales’ Purple Moose and many more were involved in the event. But the overall winner, judged by a Beer Academy led panel of experienced judges was Conwy ‘Honey Pale’. The runner-up was local brewery and joint hosts The Celt Experience with their Welsh Pale Ale.

The festival also featured a number of other exciting beers from around Wales including new breweries Tiny Rebel and Pixie Spring, who both excited people with their high gravity and IBU beers.

Local Brewer, Beer Sommelier and one of AWIB directors Tom Newman commented “The event proved a great success with promotion of both Welsh beers and unity as a beer loving nation. We hope to make this an annual occasion. Profits from the event will be shared between AWIB and Macmillan Cancer charity”.

AWIB Chairman Buster Grant also added “It has happened now and we have set a benchmark for an annual event. Hopefully as a brewing nation we can also gain some recognition for a genuine beer style’”

The Saturday afternoon featured Beer and cheese tying by three Beer Academy Sommeliers Tom, Beer Academy director Nigel Sadler and Ric Brown of Dean Swift in London.

Ric Brown said, “As sommeliers it is part of our job to enthuse and educate people in the ways beer can be drank with diffeent food, and this was what today was about”

The venue for next years event is likely to remain at Caerphilly RFC and will probably be the same weekend in August.

Marks & Spencer Gathers the Honey Ale

Cowny Brewer Brings Real Ale Drinking To The Masses

Conwy based beer brewer Gwynne Thomas is introducing real ale to the mainstream with his popular Welsh Honey Bitter, produced exclusively for Marks & Spencer.

A keen brewer since his days as a chemistry student at Newcastle University, Gwynne, 40, opened the Conwy Brewery in 2003 brewing a range of real ales using fresh, locally sourced ingredients.

Welsh Honey Bitter is made using 100 per cent Welsh honey sourced from Ceredigion, South Wales, creating a delicate beer with sweet honey aromas and a clean, dry finish.The unique blend of pale malts used to brew this particular bitter gives the brew a smooth texture with a light, fresh taste - perfect for those who may be taking their first steps into real ale drinking.

Research shows that whilst there are around seven million regular real ale drinkers in the UK, a huge 85 per cent of these are men with 63 per cent aged over 45.

Gwynne thinks this is set to change due to the growing popularity of real ale drinking amongst women and younger markets in recent years.

He said: "With the help of organised beer festivals and sampling opportunities across the UK, more and more people are getting the opportunity to try real ales and are enjoying the many varieties available. The fact that retailers like M&S are selling a selection of real ales from across the UK has also helped introduce the drink to different markets.

Gwynne continues, "The feedback we've received regarding the Welsh Honey Bitter is that this is an easy to drink real ale which is perfect with BBQ's or just a lazy day in the garden due to its crisp and refreshing taste."

As many rural areas in Wales are completely unspoilt and untouched by artificial fertilisers, the honey produced and then used during the brewing process at Conwy Brewery makes for a distinctive and truly natural flavour which differs slightly between seasons.

Gwynne continues: "Welsh Honey Bitter will taste subtly different depending on the time of year it is brewed. For example, it has a more floral influences earlier in the season as a result of the summer flowers, compared to later in the year when the heather gives the bitter more of a woody and rich flavour."

Marks & Spencer (real ale) specialist Sue Daniels said: "Welsh Honey Bitter is ideal for first time real ale drinkers as, unlike some beers, it doesn't have a particularly bitter taste which those dipping their toe into real ale drinking can be particularly sensitive to.

"Our locally sourced real ale range is very popular and we worked closely with Gwynne in producing a top quality honey beer for our customers to enjoy. Following a year long trial of the Welsh Honey Bitter in selected stores, we are now rolling it out to more than 200 stores across the UK."

Welsh Honey Bitter can be found at Marks & Spencer's food halls across the UK.

Brew Wales reviewed the beer some weeks ago for his newspaper column and reprints the review below:

Conwy Brewery Welsh Honey Bitter, 4.5% ABV, £1.99 500ml/bottle Marks & Spencer

Conwy Brewery first started brewing in 2003 and produces a range of real ales, both on draught and in bottles. All the beers are brewed with water from Snowdonia.

Honey Bitter is a golden ale, which on pouring into a glass, produces a large, rich, foamy head, so make sure you use an oversized glass to drink it out of! The aroma is of fruit, caused by the Challenger and Fuggles hops and of course the Welsh Honey used to brew this beer. There is a bitter, refreshing, almost biscuity flavour, followed by a sweetness in the aftertaste that leads to a satisfying, thirst-quenching finish. The flavour comes from the a combination of the Maris Otter malt, together with the hops and of course the honey. This produces a very drinkable, pleasant and refreshing beer. Altogether, Conwy Honey Bitter is a well-rounded beer, with the honey imparting an unique flavour to this beer which manages to encompass all the flavours of a long, hot Welsh Summer. The beer will match with food very well, for instance at a barbecue.