Great Welsh Beer & Cider Festival 2012 - Storify

Trying to embed Storify - its not looking too good on the preview but I'll give it a go anyway. Alternatively have a look at the link here

Champion Beers of Wales - full results

Yes this should have gone out last Friday but the Internet went down in the office and I only just checked it did not go online. Needed a few days off after Festival business all last week!

Supreme Champion Beer of Wales



Gold: Heart of Wales High as a Kite
Silver: Heart of Wales Welsh Black Stout
Bronze: Rhymney Hobby Horse


Category Winners:
Mild Category:

Winner: Great Orme Welsh Black
Runner up: Brains Dark

Bitter Category:
Winner: Rhymney Hobby Horse
Runner up: Purple Moose Snowdonia

Best Bitter
Winner: Bryncelyn Oh Boy
Runner up: Purple Moose Glaslyn

Strong Bitter
Winner Rhymney Export
Runner up: Celt Bleddyn

Golden Ale
Winner: Otley Croeso
Runner up: Otley Columbo

Speciality
Winner Conwy Cwrw Mel
Runner up: Otley O Garden

Stout
Winner: Heart of Wales Welsh Black
Runner up: Monty’s Midnight Stout
Old Ale
Winner: Bragdy’r Nant Mwnci Nel
Runner up: Brecon Wandering Beacon

Barley Wine
Winner: Heart of Wales High as a Kite

Tiny Rebel at the Great Welsh

Been a bit busy the last week with the great Welsh Beer & Cider Festival so enjoy this video from Simon Martin which features me drinking the excellent Tiny Rebel beers at the Festival

What I'm looking forward to at the Great Welsh Beer & Cider Festival this year

Part 1, the beers
By Arfur, Festival Organiser

Although only open to the public for three days, the Great Welsh Beer & Cider Festival is culmination of months of meetings, emails and phone calls as well as our staff being on site days in advance of the Festival opening. When we open its always a hard choice to choose what to have to drink so this is a personal look at what I'm looking forward to drinking at Wales' biggest pub.

The full list of beers is available here

I've already had a sneak preview at Brains Brewery of the two new beers from their Craft Brewery and I'm well impressed with both of them, pale hoppy IPAs which are sure to go down well with our customers. I'm also glad to see the return of British Summer – this was one of the favourite beers for me at the Festival last year and I was disappointed that it sold out so fast in their pubs as I never had the chance to try any after the Festival! Have waited a whole year for this beer to return!

Next up on my list to try will be beers from the Tiny Rebel Brewery of Newport, having only sampled a few of their beers before it will be good to see the full range on and I can't wait to try the Urban IPA served via their Hop Rocket, a dry hop chamber attached to the handpump that infuses even more hop flavour into the beer.

As you might gather from this, I'm someone who does like his hops! I'm not a fan of beers where the brewer believes in the homoeopathic method of brewing by just waving a few cones at the copper! But with all these beers and the various styles to choose from I suppose I'll have to move on from IPAs to a black IPA! Yes the Otley Brewery will be at the Festival again with their stunning beers including the Oxymoron Black IPA – a delicious dark chocolatey hoppy ale.

Okay enough of the IPAs, what about a bitter, light in ABV and yet full-bodied and packed with flavour? The 3.8% Hobby Horse from Rhymney Brewery is one such beer and one I always drink in  one of their pubs.

For something a lot different, one beer I must try is the Chilli Plum Porter from the Waen Brewery, at 6.1% this may be one beer to finish the night on! Another beer which is making a very rare appearance this far South is Mwnci Nell from Conway Brewery, a beer that went down well with the Editor of Croatian Playboy Magazine at the GWBCF a couple of years back!

Every year we choose a region of the UK to source our non-Welsh beers from and this year the beers will be from Yorkshire. One of my favourite breweries will be at the Festival, the Acorn Brewery of Barnsley who, as well as producing one of UK's greatest bitters, Barnsley Bitter, also brew Gorlovka Imperial Stout, a simply stunning stout but at 6.1% another one to try later in the day rather than start off on.

Another stunning Yorkshire beer is Pale Rider from Kelham Island Brewery and we have the old favourite Landlord from Tim Taylor's Brewery as well as a very rare appearance for their Dark Mild.

There are beers there for everyone's taste and if Wales or Yorkshire are not to your liking then why not try our foreign beers from the Czech Republic?

I'll cover the ciders and perries in another post later this week.

Brains Craft Brewery beers to be launched this week

Wales' largest real ale ale brewery, SA Brain, who celebrate their 130th anniversary this year, have just built a smaller 'craft' brewery that can utilise different ingredients than its larger neighbouring brewery. Fresh hop flowers can be used in this new 15 barrel brewery, rather than hop pellets which have to be used in the 1970s plant, originally built by Bass. As certain hop varieties are not available in pelletised form until they can be grown in suitable quantities and there is enough demand for them, this new 'Craft Brewery' is able to brew beers with hops varieties not normally available to larger brewers.
The beers from the Brains Craft Brewery will be launched at the Great Welsh Beer & Cider Festival this week and will be in selected Brains pubs in the coming weeks. These selected pubs will include favourites such as the City Arms, the Goat Major and the Coach & Horses in Chepstow.

Brains Craft Brewery All At Sea 5.2% ABV

All At Sea was the first brew on this new 15 barrel plant and it is a deep golden-coloured IPA or Indian Pale Ale with a fresh blackcurrant and cherry aroma caused by the Bramling Cross hops in this beer. Admiral hops are also used in this beer, together with Pale Ale Malt. There is a smooth, bitter and fruity taste that leads to a dry, slightly astringent aftertaste. A very easy drinking beer, despite the 5.2% ABV.

Barry Island IPA 6%

Brewed by Simon Martin, the real ale reviewer on You Tube, this is a golden IPA with a hefty aroma of citrus flavours, especially grapefruit. Brewed with a trio of American hops – Zeus, Summit and Cascade, an initial smooth flavour leads to the huge citrus flavour of the hops kicking in towards the end, with oranges and a dry finish becoming apparent.

Biggest pub in Wales returns to Cardiff next week

The Great Welsh Beer & Cider Festival will be returning to Cardiff Motorpoint Arena this June for the fifth consecutive year next week, transforming the interior of the arena into Wales' biggest pub for three days. Organised by CAMRA, the Campaign for Real Ale, the Great Welsh Beer & Cider Festival will feature the largest selection of real ales, ciders and perries under one roof in the country, together with a range of specially imported beers from the Czech Republic.

Real Ales from across Britain will feature in this three-day event, with a focus on Welsh-brewed beers and award-winning beers from Yorkshire, as well as ciders and perries from Wales and even as far as Cumbria.

According to Festival Organiser, Arfur Daley, “After the sell-out success of last year we have made this festival the biggest ever, not just by increasing the beer and cider range but by also increasing the amount of individual beers and ciders ordered so that favourite casks should not run out too soon. We also have more Welsh breweries than ever before bringing their own bars to the event with old favourites such as Brains lining up alongside new breweries such as Tiny Rebel of Newport”.

The best breweries in Wales will be battling it out on the Friday at the Festival for the title of Champion Beer of Wales, with the winners announced at 3pm.

Live music will be at the festival on Friday and Saturday nights and hot and cold food will be available at all times.

Festival Facts:
 Over 6000 thirsty drinkers are expected at the 3 day event.

• 25,000 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 240 different real ales, ciders, perries and foreign beers will be available at the Great Welsh.
•  Over 150 CAMRA members will be volunteering to work at the Festival.
•  The bar is over 80 metres long! Making it the longest bar in Wales.
•  The Great Welsh Beer & Cider Festival 2012 is the 12th annual Festival, the 5th 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 7th June, Friday 8th & Saturday 9th June 11-11 all days

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

Beer List:
All subject to availability
Abbeydale Absolution 5.3

Abbeydale Moonshine 4.3

Acorn Barnsley Bitter 3.8

Acorn Gorlovka Imperial Stout 6.0
Acorn IPA 5.0

Big Bog Swampy 4.7

Brains Craft Brewery All at Sea 5.2

Brains British Summer 4.1
Brains Dark 3.5
Brains SA 4.2
Brains SA Gold 4.7
Brains Strong Ale 6.5
Brains Craft Brewery Barry Island IPA 6.0
Brains Jack Black 4.3
Brains Organ Morgan 4.0

Brecon Beacons to the sea 4.1

Brecon Bright Beacons 4.5
Brecon Bronze Beacons 3.9
Brecon Diamond Beacons 4.3
Brecon Genesis 1.ii The Prophet's Porter 5.6
Brecon Gold Beacons 4.2
Brecon Twilight Brecon 4.0
Brecon Wandering Beacons 5.0

Breconshire Ramblers Ruin 5.0

Bryncelyn Buddy Marvellous 4.0

Bryncelyn Holly Hop 3.9
Bryncelyn Oh Boy 4.5

Bullmastiff Son of a Bitch 6.0
Bullmastiff Welsh Red 4.8

Celt Experience Bleddyn 5.6

Celt Experience Bronze 4.5
Celt Experience Golden 4.2
Celt Experience Native Storm 4.4
Celt Experience Silures 4.6

 Cerddin Cascade 4.8

Conwy Beechcomber Blonde 4.2

Conwy Cwrw Mel 4.5

Copper Dragon Black Gold 3.7

Copper Dragon Challenger 4.0
Copper Dragon Golden Pippin 3.9

Elland 1872 Porter 6.5

Elland Bargee 3.8
Elland Nettlethrasher 4.4

Facer's Clwyd Gold 3.5

Facer's Dave's Hoppy Beer 4.3
Facer's Landslide 4.9

Felinfoel Double Dragon 4.2

Gloucester Dockside Dark 5.2
Gloucester Gloucester Gold 3.9
Gloucester Mariner 4.2

 Gower Gold 4.5

Great Orme Celtica 4.5

Great Orme Welsh Black 4.0

 Grey Trees Rechabites Bitter 4.0

Heart of Wales Aur Cymru 3.8
Heart of Wales High as a Kite 9.5
Heart of Wales Irfon Valley 3.6
Heart of Wales Welsh Black 4.4

Ilkley Best 4.0

Ilkley Black 3.7
Ilkley Mary Jane 3.5

Jacobi Light Ale 3.8
Jacobi Red Squirrel 4.0

Kelham Island Kelham Best 3.8

Kelham Island Pale Rider 5.2
Kelham Island Riders on the Storm 4.5

Kingstone 1503 4.8

Kingstone Stout 4.4

Kite Cwrw Haf 4.1

Kite Gold Wing 4.2
Kite Thunderbird 4.5
Kite
Kite

Leeds Leeds Best 4.3

Leeds Midnight Bell 4.8
Leeds Yorkshire Gold 4.2

Llangollen Grange No1 3.2

Monty's Midnight Stout 4.0

Monty's Mischief 5.0
Monty's Sunshine 4.2

Nant Mwnci Nell 5.5

Neath Black 5.5

Neath Gold 5.0

Ossett Silver King 4.3
Ossett Yorkshire Blond 3.9

Otley Croeso 4.2
Otley Motley Brew 7.5
Otley O Garden 4.8
Otley O1 4.0
Otley O3 Boss 4.4
Otley O4 Columbo 4.1
Otley O5 Gold 5.0
Otley O6 Porter 6.6
Otley O7 Weissen 5.0
Otley O8 8.0
Otley Oxymoron Black IPA 5.5
Otley Thai Bo 4.6

Pixie Spring Deliverance APA 4.5
Pixie Spring Prince of Bengal IPA 5.5

Plassey Mild 4.2

Preseli Baggywrinkle 4.5

Purple Moose Dark Side of the Moose 4.6
Purple Moose Glaslyn 4.2
Purple Moose Snowdonia 3.6

RCH East St Cream 5.0
RCH PG Steam 3.9
RCH Pitchfork 4.2

Rhymney Export 5.0
Rhymney Gold
Rhymney Hobby Horse 3.8

Rudgate Battleaxe 4.2
Rudgate Ruby Mild 4.4
Rudgate Viking 3.8

Saltire Raspberry Blond 4.0
Saltire Triple Chocoholic 4.8

Sandstone Edge 3.8

Snowdonia Carmen Sutra 4.4

Swansea Deep Slade Dark 4.0

Timothy Taylor Dark Mild 3.5
Timothy Taylor Landlord 4.3

Tiny Rebel Cwtch 4.6
Tiny Rebel Dirty Stop Out 5.0
Tiny Rebel Doc Brown 3.8
Tiny Rebel Fubar 4.4
Tiny Rebel Full Nelson 4.8
Tiny Rebel Hadouken IPA 7.4
Tiny Rebel Urban IPA 5.5

Tomos Watkin Brewery Bitter 4.0
Tomos Watkin Chwarae Teg 4.1
Tomos Watkin Cwrw Haf 4.2
Tomos Watkin OSB 4.5
Tomos Watkin

VoG Cwrw Dewi
VoG Wheats Occurrin 5.0

Waen Blackberry Stout 3.8
Waen Chilli Plum Porter 6.1
Waen First of the Summer Waen 3.9

Wentworth Bumble Beer 4.3
Wentworth Oatmeal Stout 4.8
Wentworth Rampant Gryphon 6.2

Wye Valley DG Lager 4.2
Wye Valley DG Stout 4.2
Wye Valley HPA 4.0

York Centurion's Ghost 5.4
York Guzzler 3.6
York Yorkshire Terrier 4.2

 Zero Degrees Mango 4.5

 Zero Degrees Pilsner 4.8

Great Welsh Beer & Cider Festival 2012

It's just under two months to go now before the Great Welsh Beer & Cider Festival returns to the Motorpoint Arena in Cardiff. The beer and cider orders are being finalised at this very moment and up-to-date lists will be published on the Festival Website as and when we have confirmation. With over 200 real ales, ciders and perries, the 2012 will be the biggest ever beer festival in Wales, with even more beers and ciders in reserve just in case the stocks run low again due to the unprecedented demand we had at the 2011 Festival. The Brewery Bars are now all fully booked and the new brews from Brains brand new craft brewery will be taking centre stage at the festival alongside old favourites such as Otley and Tomos Watkin and the new brewery from Newport, Tiny Rebel. The bands have all been booked with the stage this year being sponsored by Budweiser Budvar from the Czech Republic. Friday 8th June 5pm Under the Driftwood Tree Under The Driftwood Tree have continued to build a glowing live reputation on the festival circuit. Already in 2012 they have been invited to perform at Camp Bestival, Secret Garden Party, Wilderness, Fire In the Mountain and many more to be announced soon. Exceptional song-writing skills transform their music into mini-tales of simple philosophies that everyone and anyone can relate to. Friday 8th June 8pm FREE BEER! Top Party Band No matter what the occasion, if you want it to be the talk of the town with your guests, clients or customers then you need to ply them with copious amounts of ‘FREE BEER’. Playing a range of hits from the 50s through to the present day, ‘FREE BEER’ are the band guaranteed to make your party a truly memorable one. Saturday 9th June Choir tbc Saturday 9th June 7pm Still got the Blues Blues / Blues Rock / Classic They are a Four Piece band formed in 2007 from members of the Borough Blues Club. They have played the usual pub gigs and also at Pontypool 'Jazz in the Park' and other local festivals. The Champion Beer of Wales competition will be held at the Festival, along with a Regional Cider competition, the results of these will be announced at 3pm on Friday 8th June. More details on the GWBCF Website Great Welsh Beer & Cider Festival 7th-9th June, Thursday-Saturday, 11-11 Motorpoint Arena Cardiff CF10 2EQ