Mid-Wales Beer festival starts this weekend

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The smallest town in Britain, Llanwrtyd Wells, will be playing host to the 10-day Mid-Wales Beer Festival this weekend. The festival is centered on the Neuadd Arms Hotel and brewery but other pubs in the town do take part.
Starting on the 18th and going on until the 27th November, this long-stablished beer festival will feature around 60 real ales on tap from breweries all over Wales, it is a true showcase of Welsh brewing talent.

The 60 ales are those just available in the Neuadd there are as many ales again available at other establishments in the town, and with no entry charges it is simply a case of turning up and enjoying as many as you can cope with. There is live music each Friday and Saturday evening, or visit during the week for quieter enjoyment of the ales.

No beer list but Sue from Waen Brewery tells me that their Blackberry Stout, Chilli Plum Porter and Festival Gold will all be available
The beer festival also has a couple of fringe events:
Real Ale Wobble
The Wobble is a mountain biking event where participants down free fresh pints of ale from the local Heart of Wales Brewery. The three trails are 15 miles, 20 miles and 35 miles long, through the Cambrian Mountainside. Riding is mostly off-road due to the alcohol consumption.

Routes change from year to year or sometimes just run backwards. Trails used in the past few years have run towards Coed Trallwyn and the Woolen Mill. Riders used to go near the LLyn Brianne reservoir, but not in recent years. A video of the 2010 event shows the trail highlights, stops and after-party.

Checkpoints are located throughout routes and are where the free drinks are tapped. These stops are also used make sure no one has gone astray during the adventure.

Around 700 riders joined the Saturday ride in 2010 and about 70 the next day.

Real Ale Ramble
The Ramble is similar to the Wobble, only stomped out on foot. Think of it as a pub crawl through the Welsh countryside. The routes begin at the town center and are a tad bit shorter. The three distance options are 10 miles, 15 miles and 20 miles.

While in anticipation of their next pint of Felinfoel's Double Dragon, ramblers will walk clearly marked trails through the mountains, moors and forests of Mid Wales. Medals are awarded to those who complete the trek, although badges have to be purchased.

Traveline Information:
Llanwrtyd Wells is on the Heart of Wales line, a very scenic journey that runs through the mountainous countryside between Llanelli and Shrewsbury.

Squatters take over Cardiff pub

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The former Entrerprise Inns pub, the Tredegar on Clifton Street has been taken over by squatters after lying empty for many years. The pub was closed in 2006 due to drug problems and Media Wales has some details here of what has happened to the place.
The absurdly named “Red and Black Umbrella Collective" have taken over this building and have no doubt banned smoking whilst holding meetings about how to promote more diversity amongst Afghan goat herders and the like.
 A sign on one of the windows reads:

"We are currently renovating the pub and want to provide a cultural hub for the local community. We want to create a safe and welcoming environment for everybody. The social centre will be a drug and alcohol-free zone, for people to come together, share skills and ideas, meet new people, make art, watch films and learn new languages.”
Sounds like Chapter Arts Centre without the bar!

Photographer Tom Ashmore has gained access to the squatters and photographs of the inside of the pub appear here.
It looks like the squatters were involved in the Occupy Cardiff fiasco in which the anti-globalisation and anti-capitalist protestors all went into into JD Chaverspoons after their eviction from the outside the castle walls.This is what happens when pubs close down - the buildings become derelict and squatters get in. Actually when this place shut the area improved as the drug dealers and their customers moved on elsewhere. No one has any idea who owns the pub now - Enterprise claim they sold it or are denying ownership - if Enterprise had not let this pub get in such a bad way it would never have closed in the first place and has lain empty for 5 years. Cardiff council are also to blame for failing to enforce Enterprise to do something to this pub - a compulsary purchase order can be issued for derelict buildings and it could have sold for housing or demolished. I am not an advocate for keeping failed pubs open, especially ones with known drug problems that do nothing to enhance the area but squatters moving in is not in anyones benefit - especially the neighbours in the South Wales Echo piece.

Golden Lion, Penarth

Golden Lion, 69 Glebe Street, Penarth, CF64 1EF
Open all day


The Golden Lion is a two-story Victorian building on the corner of
Glebe and King Streets and was one of the original ten pubs built when
this area of Penarth was constructed in the nineteenth century. The
pub was originally owned by Hancock's Brewery, then was taken over by
Welsh Brewers but was recently bought by the locally-based JW Bassett
Pub Company who have leased the pub for a number of years previously.
The frontage consists of large windows and black painted wooden beams
with a decorative pub sign of a golden lion with the words 'Serving
the finest ales and lagers' written underneath. The entrance doorway
is on the corner and this leads to the small and compact bar area.
Polished wooden floorboards give way to black and red Victorian floor
tiles approaching the tall wooden bar counter.
Three gleaming brass handpumps serve real ales and a cider, the Golden
Lion is a rare local outlet for beers from Wales oldest brewery,
Felinfoel of Llanelli and also a rare local outlet for one of Wales'
newest breweries, Kite of Gorslas. The ciders and occasionally a perry
are from Westons of Much Marcle, a traditional Herefordshire maker.
All the drinks are served in branded glassware with the beers from the
Kite Brewery being served in their own oversized vessels.

A large real fire is a feature of the bar area and to the left hand
side of this is a passage into what once was the next door house, now
encompassed into the Golden Lion as part of the pub. This part of the
pub features a dart board as well as more seating. To the rear of this
room is a doorway that leads to a courtyard which features as the beer
garden and smoking area. An outside drinking area is unusual to find
in Penarth and this one is even equipped with its own weatherproof
flatscreen television. Live sports events are a feature of this pub
and there are 6 plasma screens in total, including one for 3D
broadcasts.

Food is served all day with grills a speciality and a carvery on
Sundays. One of the menu items is a 32oz mixed grill for under a
tenner. A chalkboard in the bar gives details of a Pick 'n' Mix combo
or 'Welsh Tapas' which prove very popular during major sporting
events. Real Crisps and pickled eggs are also available.
The Golden Lion is a thriving, friendly community pub with regular
charity events and drinks promotions on Monday nights and a poker
night on Tuesdays. Free WiFi.

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Calling Time series on the BBC

Tonight will see a new four-part documentary series on BBC One Wales entitled 'Calling Time' which follows pub landlords as they try and keep afloat during the recession.

Episode 1, 14.11.11, 2235hrs:
Investor Tina sinks her savings into a derelict Porth pub, Caerleon landlady Lorraine fights to keep her retirement plan alive, and Swansea publican Ron spends his last night behind the bar.
Available on BBC iPlayer

Episode 2, 21.11.11, 2235hrs:
Investor Tina is back from Spain and meeting unexpected hurdles with her renovation. Landlady Lorraine comes to a final decision on her pub in Caerleon, and Brains brewery takes drastic measures to secure the future of a Cardiff boozer.
Available on BBC iPlayer

Episode 3, 28.11.11,. 2235hrs:
Three regulars live out their dreams by taking over their local pub in Carmarthen. However, a costly plan to brew their own ale could end in disaster for the inexperienced landlords, as they try to bring in the custom without breaking the bank
No details of episodes 4 as yet but I did film a piece for the series in the Vulcan in Cardiff.

Calling Time

New Brewery for Brains

The largest cask ale brewer in Wales, SA Brain and Co Ltd , today announced that it is to extend production facilities at the Cardiff Brewery by installing a new craft brewery.

The brewery will complement Brains’ existing plant and enable them to brew a diverse range of craft cask, keg and bottled beers.

Bill Dobson, Head Brewer at Brains, explains: “The beer market is always changing and there is a growing interest in more diverse beers and different beer styles.  We have seen this through the growing popularity of our seasonal ales and a demand for a wider choice on the bar, especially from the younger drinker.”

 Above: Bill Dobson in the existing brewery

“This new brewery means we will be able to meet these growing needs by brewing on a much smaller scale, at the same time developing our capability to innovate new products and to experiment with limited editions and one-offs.”

David Bonney, Commercial Director at Brains, added: “This investment demonstrates our commitment to the development of our cask and keg beers – a key element of our growth strategy – enabling us to remain at the forefront of new product development.”

Brains hopes to have the new plant up and running by the end of March 2012. The company will continue to brew its range permanent and seasonal beers – which includes the renowned SA, the award winning SA Gold and the legendary Dark – at the Cardiff brewery.  

Good news for Brains and beer drinkers - the existing plant was built in the 1970s by Bass and this new plant will allow Bill and his team to develop smaller brew lengths for experimental brews as well as use new hop varities, for instance the currrent brewery uses hop pellets and not every new hop is available in pellet form. So we can look forward to more great brews such as Milkwood, Summer Ale and Brains Strong Ale being available in 2012.

Zero Degrees Banana beer

Popped into the excellent Zero Degrees in the centre of Cardiff to try their latest brew, the bananarama. I've tried banana beers before, a company called de Troch produced a truely awful one a few years back. This is not so bad, it seems to be based on their wheat beer and the banana flavour is present in the nose and initial taste, before the spicy flavour of the wheat beer kicks.
Not too bad but don't think I'll have another.

New Book of Beer Knowledge

CAMRA’s Book of Beer Knowledge- the essential source of pub trivia ammunition
Pocket-sized book of beer wisdom returns for second edition


CAMRA, the Campaign for Real Ale, is pleased to announce the release of the second edition of its Book of Beer Knowledge, a pocket-sized compendium to load beer drinkers with the ultimate pub trivia before a trip to their local.
Compiled by award-winning beer writer Jeff Evans, this must-have title for lovers of pub ammo contains more than 200 entries covering the serious, silly and the downright bizarre from the world of beer. Packed with beer facts, records, stats and anecdotes, CAMRA’s Book of Beer Knowledge reveals everything from the smallest pub in Britain to how to say ‘cheers’ in 26 different languages.
Jeff Evans, author of CAMRA’s Book of Beer Knowledge, said:
‘I’ve always been fascinated by facts and figures so it’s been a great pleasure to put together tables and charts showing lots of information beer and pub lovers will hopefully find useful. At the same time, I’ve been looking at the crazy side of beer production – the wacky facts and oddball bits of trivia that sum up the fun of beer drinking around the world.
‘In addition to compiling lists of best-selling beers, important hop-growing regions and other hard facts, I’ve been discovering a beer in Australia that is made for dogs and the Japanese beer made with barley grown in space, as well as unearthing the truth about names such as Samuel Adams and JD Wetherspoon. It’s been great fun.’
Some of the unusual facts contained in the book include-

• China produces the most beer of any country in the world (410.3 million hectolitres each year)
• Home-brewing is still illegal in Alabama and Mississippi, USA
• Buddhist monks in Thailand have built an entire temple from old beer bottles
• The longest pub name in the UK is ‘The Old Thirteenth Cheshire Astley Volunteer Rifleman Corps Inn’

Neath Ales at the Cricket Club this Saturday

The award-winning Neath Ales, mmm Green Bullet, will be hosting their second ever beer festival this Saturday (12th November 2011) at Neath Cricket Club, following on from the sell-out success of their first festival earlier in the year.

Over 10 delicious real ales from quality independent Welsh breweries including Rhymney, Cerddin (Maesteg), Neath, and more... Kick off is midday 

The Gnoll Ground, Dyfed Road, Neath, Neath Port Talbot SA11 3
Google Map:

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Find Neath Cricket Club on Foursquare!

Great British Pubs Book

Well it looks as if ATJ has been busy recently with the launch of his latest book.
CAMRA’s Great British Pubs (published Nov 1st 2011, RRP £14.99, Paperback) is the definitive collection of the must visit pubs that can be found from the tip of Cornwall to the Scottish Islands. Compiled by internationally-acclaimed beer writer Adrian Tierney-Jones (1001 Beers You Must Try Before You Die) the book’s categorised reviews detail over 200 public houses of all shapes and sizes that represent the best of this British institution.

Recent research shows 76% of adults in the UK think that the pub makes an important contribution to British life and when asked about why he wanted to write a book on the subject Tierney-Jones explained:

‘The British Pub is a unique institution and despite many efforts to replicate it throughout the world its heart is in these islands — and the other unique aspect of the pub is that it’s also the only place where you can drink cask beer; you cannot do it at home unless of course you live in a pub. I’m a writer, I like pubs and beer. It’s a no-brainer.

‘All these pubs have something to offer beyond the promise of good beer, great food and plenty of cheer. They also offer a chance to step into another world for a while.

‘I visited the majority of the pubs, while the others were recommended to me by friends, colleagues and CAMRA members. Some will agree, some will disagree, but that’s the beauty of the British pub, it stirs the emotions, and makes people care.’

The best...

Every kind of pub is represented in the 23 categories that make up CAMRA’s Great British Pubs, with listings and full-colour photography illustrating a host of excellent pubs from the seaside to the city and from the historic to the ultra-modern.

For the category, ‘The best....beer ranges’, Adrian Tierney-Jones recommends the following pubs as outlets which offer the beer connoisseur a reason to step into their confines and study the beers within-
Bhurtpore Inn, Aston, Cheshire- ‘This is an Aladdin’s cave of drink for cask beer lovers, but what makes it slightly different is that all the ales are guests’
Cambridge Blue, Cambridge- ‘If you have a thirst for beer then this is the right place to come – up to 16 cask beers are often available’
Cask Pub and Kitchen, Pimlico, London- ‘The wall behind the bar is lined with glass-fronted coolers, where hundreds of bottled beers rest waiting to be picked out. Ask for a beer menu and you’ll probably find something you’ve never had before’
Cloisters Bar, Edinburgh- ‘There are usually up to nine cask beers on offer, from both the growing number of Scottish craft breweries and further afield’
Grove, Huddersfield- ‘So many beers, so little time. There can be up to 18 cask beers available at the Grove and if that’s not enough there’s also a trio of draught ciders and nearly 300 bottled beers from around the world’
Halfway House, Pitney, Somerset-‘Above the small bar, a chalkboard offers between eight and 12 West Country cask beers, all of them drawn straight from the barrel in a cool room at the back’
The Pub, Leicester-‘The Pub might have the most minimal name in British pub culture, but there’s nothing sketchy or meagre in what it offers the good people of Leicester’
The Rake, Borough, London-‘Cask beers from all over the country can be found on any given day: Dark Star, Otley, Hardknott and Rudgate for instance. There are also special festivals showcasing beers from various regions of the British Isles’
Southampton Arms, Kentish Town, London- ‘There is no regular beer so expect all manner of treats’
Tom Cobley, Spreyton, Devon- ‘I can testify that every time I pitch up here and taste several of the beers, they’re all in tip-top condition’
White Horse, Parsons Green, London- ‘Cask beer? Six to eight are usually on offer, with regulars Harveys and Adnams joined by beers from across the nation. There are also beer festivals throughout the year with the most famous being the Old Ales one at the end of November’

To further inform the reader, articles on brewing, cider making, classic pub food recipes and traditional pub games are included to emphasise the diversity of the Great British pub, and its many quirks. The publication also acts as a travel guide for all beer and pub lovers, with pubs presented as a stopover from which you can explore the beauty of both urban and rural landscapes, from Scotland to the Lake District to London.

Drink Socially with Untappd

Untappd has been running for about a year now and I joined shortly after it came out so having used it for about a year I'd thought I'd better write something about it.
Untappd is a logical extension of social media into the world of drinking, we already have Twitter, Facebook and Foursquare to update via our smartphones and Untappd has take that next step of bringing beer (and cider) into the social media world. Once you have created an account (free) you can type in what beer you are drinking, rate it and share it with friends via Twitter and Facebook. As in Foursquare this also gives you the opportunity to win badges, for instance yesterday was International Stout Day so by drinking a bottle of the excellent Wye Valley Dorothy Goodbody's Stout I unlocked a badge:

Other badges feature beers from the same country and badges for the amount of different beers you have tried.
Untappd also lets you friend people in the similar way to Foursquare and you can comment on what beers your friends are drinking as well as 'toasting' their drink.

The application also makes a note of your top beers and this appears on your homepage:

No surprises there - although the last 2 on the list were new discoveries to me, both being found in the City Arms in Cardiff during their American and German beer festivals.

Now I don't use Untappd all the time I'm out drinking, it is dependent on mobile coverage or WiFi networks (there are both mobile and desktop versions available - the mobile site is on an m. site, suitable for Symbian and they claim Blackberry, though Jonas claims he has problems using it on the Blackberry. Its also available as native apps on Android and  Apple IOS. I mostly use it via my Nokia smartphone (Symbian) via the Opera Mobile Browser (far better than any packaged browser the phone came with). Works okay and not had any major problems with it.
The native apps for the iphone and Android allow uses to upload photos as well.

All in all a good little free application for those of us who use social media.

Ember Inns launch 4 cask ales for November

Ember Inns, a division of M & B are launching 4 new cask ales this November, or NovEmber as they have called it.
Only Ember Inn in South Wales is the Deri Inn, Heol-Y-Deri, Rhiwbina, Cardiff, CF14 6UH.

Here's the blurb from M & B:
"We have four ales in our festival that are fast, eco-friendly, female-friendly and even inspired by a famous music band...one for each week from 1st of NovEmber at The Deri Inn.
Special stories, unique ales

If ales could talk, what would they say? Well, the four special ales in our NovEmber cask festival have some interesting stories to tell:
Project Green - known as 'the fastest ale on Earth' where the whole brewing process from field to glass takes only 100 hours
Build a Rocket Boys! - created by the band Elbow, this golden ale has a rich rounded body, smooth bitterness, subtle tang of malt and a fruity aroma
Pure Gold - one of the most eco-friendly ales in the country, this is a refreshing golden ale with a dry and bitter finish
Venus Black - a team of seven British and Irish female brewers make this tasty black IPA"

Okay good to see M & B do something like this but 'the fastest ale on earth' - I understand it uses green hops, freshly picked but was the grain freshly malted as well? If not then its hardly 100 hours from field to glass.
Never heard of the band Elbow so I'm a bit of a loss with this one - had to look them up on Wikipedia and still at a loss as to what their songs are. Still they seem to have put Ramsbottom on the map.
Pure Gold - eco-friendly? Well beer is 97% water and as the old saying goes you don't buy beer you just rent it.
Venus Black - female brewsters involved? Hoepfully this beer won't have a yeast infection anytime!

Rummer Tavern, Cardiff

Rummer Tavern, 14 Duke Street, Cardiff, CF10 1AY, 

Open all day

Situated opposite Cardiff Castle, the Rummer Tavern has an unmistakable black and white timber frontage but this no early twentieth-century Brewers' Tudor pub but an older, eighteenth-century building that traditionally dates back to 1713. Although there must have been a building on the site before that, unusually the plot appears vacant on John Speed's map of 1610. The name 'Rummer' refers to a large drinking glass with a studded stem that were popular between the fifteenth to late seventeenth centuries and pub name is unusual, though not unique as there is a hotel of this name in Bristol. During the1950s the Rummer Tavern went under the name of 'Hallinans' before reverting to its original name.

As is common with the older pubs of the City, the Rummer is long and narrow, recognising the original outlines of the burgage plot this pub stands on. The Cottage and the Borough Arms on High Street/St Mary Street also stand on Burgage plots.

The black and white timber frontage of The Rummer features leaded glass windows and leads into a cavernous interior via a stout wooden door. The bar is towards the rear of the building. There are plenty of seating areas in the pub, at the front there is an area with flagstone flooring and an excellent view of the castle, traffic permitting. Other areas of the pub have wooden flooring and there are some sections of old wood panelling still on the walls, others are exposed brickwork. Old pictures and prints are on the walls and above the bar is an odd collection of jars and beer crates. The Rummer does manage to have separate and distinct areas despite being open-plan – from the window seats to the more secluded and private brick lined rear part.

The bar is made up of recycled wood with old table legs forming the shelf supports and old draws forming another part. This mix of wood actually works quite well in this pub where church pews and wooden whiskey barrels all appear as part of the pub furniture. Upstairs, there is a function room available for hire. The pub used to have a basement bar about 15 years ago but this has since been converted into toilets.

The Rummer Tavern serves five real ales from gleaming brass handpumps, with local beer Hancock's HB and more unusually Wye Valley Hereford Pale Ale being the permanent beers and the three others being guests. The pub was formerly owned by Hancock's Brewery and is owned by a pub company. The guest beers change often and Wychwood Hobgoblin, Wells Bombardier and Thwaites Wainright have all featured on the bar recently. Bottled cider from Westons of Herefordshire is also available.

Food is served all day from a traditional menu with everything from baguettes to grills on it as well as chalkboard specials on the bar.

 Above: The Rummer Tavern pictured from the walls of Cardiff Castle with St John's Church in the background

Artisan Brewery open this Saturday

News from Artisan Brewery in Pontcanna, Cardiff:

First Saturday in November sees the Artisan Brewery doors open once more...

A mouth-watering selection of fine cold Bare Naked Beers, brewed on-site and 100% naturally.

Helles Lager 5%
Smoked Lager 5.4%
Vienna Lager 5.35%

Oh, other booze includes wine and house blend cider for those inclined.

Big Scott's on the BBQ, banging out hot food like a machine.

We'll do tunes - low key (in the background)

It's a 'beer-garden' so bring your mates... this time, no dunk pool. Perhaps a fire, or fireworks??? You know the drill by now... good times roll on!

Seats are limited - Entry is still free

Bare Naked Beer

183A Kings Rd

Cardiff

CF11 9DF

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Kingstone Brewery Festival this Saturday

Kingstone Brewery in Tintern, Monmouthshire, will be holding one of their regular festivals this Saturday (5th November '11).

Open Saturday 1130-late
Meadow Farm
Tintern
Monmouthshire
NP16 7NX

Google Map:

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Model Inn to reopen as a restaurant

After being closed for almost a year, the historic Model Inn on Quay Street, Cardiff is set to reopen in December as a restaurant - still owned by Wales' biggest cask ale brewers, SA Brain.

Now I'm all for saving pubs but the problem with the Model Inn (pictured in the snow last December) was that it had become rather tatty to say the least. Here's what I wrote about the closure last year:

 "The Model Inn has seen better days, the pub has been in a slow decline for years with its dark and dingy interior hardly providing a warm welcome to customers. The pub stopped doing food some years ago, though the tiled roof of the food servery is a classic example of late 1960s/early 1970s pub refurbishments. The odd bits of wood around the bar do nothing to attract customers into this surprisingly spacious City Centre bar, though the Brains Bitter was spot on when visited the other night. In the week before Christmas, other pubs were packed; the Old Arcade, Duke of Wellington, City Arms, Goat Major, yet the Model shut early at half six due to lack of custom."

The Model Inn also lacked a smoking area, apart from the street.

Originally called the Ship on Launch (this is Quay Street after all), a building on this site is clearly marked on John Speed's map of 1610 and was renamed the Model Inn, according to tradition, after Cromwell's New Model Army were billeted there during the civil war.

In 1956 The Model Inn was purchased by Cardiff brewers SA Brain, from wine merchants Greenwood & Brown, together with 4 other pubs for around £100,000. The other pubs were the York Hotel on Canal Wharf (Still standing but has been closed for 20 years and is awaiting demolition), Vulcan (still open, just), Ship Hotel (closed) and the Cross Inn on Newport Road, Rumney (still open)

The refurbished Model Inn will be renamed Greenwood & Brown after the previous owners of the building.

It's good to see a pub being refurbished at last, I'm not mourning its loss as a pub, the fantastic City Arms is just a couple of doors away so it would be stupid to have 2 pubs competing for the same custom in that small area, especially as their is a Chaverspoons nearby as well. Also it provides an alternative to the 'Dine for £1.99' offer in the City Arms - pickled egg and a pack of crisps! Some may see this as Brains diversifying from their core business, put together with the recent purchase of Coffee#1, but in the twenty-first century family brewers are having to diversify in order to survive. I'd rather see a pub that cannot succeed reopen as a restaurant than lie derelict, especially when there are other good pubs nearby.

Press release from Brains below:
The Model Inn, on Quay Street in Cardiff City Centre, will reopen in early December after major internal and external refurbishment. Reopening as ‘Greenwood and Brown’, the new venue will operate as a bar and grill, serving simple, great quality food.

The Model Inn has been part of the Brains family for more than half a century. In 1956 Brains bought the pub from a local wine merchant, Greenwood and Brown – which provided the inspiration for the name.

Philip Lay, retail director at Brains, explains: "Food is becoming an increasingly important part of our business, and across our managed pub estate now represents 35% of total sales. Greenwood and Brown therefore feels like a natural progression for us.

"We already have a great pub on Quay Street in the City Arms, which serves 35 different types of beers and ciders. Greenwood and Brown will offer something completely different, and we think it will be a great addition to the area."

To keep up to date with the latest news, follow Greenwood and Brown on Twitter @GreenwoodBrown