Hornblower closes again

Once again, the Hornblower pub in Newport has shut. This time around it managed to stay open for about 10 months, something of a record given the recent history of the pub. The last owners failed to get things right from the very start with poor quality beer and indifferent staff who were more interested in stuffing their faces with crisps behind the bar than in making sure customers had decent pints of beer to drink. The pub was also competing with a nearby Wetherspoons and the Talisman pub, the latter has successfully cornered the market for the pond-life of the 'Port who are not catered for elsewhere.
So what's the future for the Hornblower? Not a good one as I doubt anyone would be stupid enough to take this once-popular bikers pub on. It's heyday was in the early 1990s when it boasted 5 real ales and was the spiritual home of Reckless Eric's Brewery. Although after that the pub went down hill with a succession of bad tenants including one alcoholic and one who had an interest in photography which raised the interest of the local rozzers. Hardly the type of people to attract customers to the pub?
The building to the right of the pub is also empty but this being Newport it is doubtful if any store will move in, especially with the new shopping centre under construction elsewhere in the city centre. So more dereliction for Newport.

Cider Festival at the Clytha Arms this weekend!

The place to go this weekend is the Clytha Arms in Monmouthshire as they hold their annual cider Festival!

Cider List

Llanblethian Orchards
Kingston Black Medium
Stoke Red Medium
Biglis Farm Sweet
Orchard Blend Medium Sweet
Mayday Sweet
Hendre Huffcap Perry

Raglan Cider Mill
Boris’ Brainbender Medium
Hanky Panky Spirit cask Medium K
ingston Black Dry
Eaters & Cookers Medium Dry
RCM Medium
Barn Owl Perry Dry
Snowy Owl Perry Medium

Three Saints
Bit of Rough Dry cider
Blush Sweet Perry
Divine Medium Perry
Nice Boys Dry Perry
Laughing Juice Perry
Sweet Burgundy Perry

CJs Cider
Wench Medium
Surprise Sweet
Rosie’s Triple D
Dry Scrumpy
Triple D medium
Wicked Wasp medium
Black Bart sweet

Skyborry Cider
Dry
Medium Dry

Ty Bryn
Twisted Oak Dry
Vintage Oak Dry
Sunset Medium sweet
Blakeney Red Perry Sweet

Ty Gwyn
Naughty Horsey medium
Very Naughty Horsey, medium dry

Williams Brothers Cider
Dry Cider
Medium Cider
Sweet Cider

Bartestree Cider
Fox Snout
Frome Valley
Harley Gum Perry Hellen's Early Perry
Oldfield Perry
Painted Lady Perry

Gwatkins Cider
Silly Ewe, Dry
Yarlington Mill,
Medium Norman,
Medium Rum Cask,
Medium Game Cock,
Sweet Stoke Red,
Squeal Pig Perry
Farmhouse Perry, Medium

Olivers Cider & Perry
Shebam,
Medium Making Hay,
Sweet
Traditional Perry,
Dry Classic Perry,
Medium Classic Perry,
Sweet

The Not So Tiny Rebel Beer Festival

The Tiny Rebel Brewery Tap, the Urban Tap House in Cardiff, will be playing host to their biggest ever beer festival from Thursday 5th to Sunday 6th June 2014 with over 240 beers and over 60 ciders available at Cardiff's Best Pub.
There will be special one-off brews available, including some that have been matured in wooden casks for a year and were not wanted at the bigger festival opposite!

Don of Brains Brewery retires

Brains’ Rev James creator to retire

One of Brains’ longest serving master brewers retires today after more than 40 years in the brewing industry - 26 of which have been spent with Brains. Don Jeffrey was recently presented with a special award by Cardiff CAMRA in the City Arms, he is pictured above together with Cardiff CAMRA Chair Rick Zaple.

 

Don’s brewing career began at Heriot Watt University in 1971, where he completed his brewing degree. His first job took him to Courage as a production trainee, moving across various sites including John Smith’s, Tadcaster and Simonds Brewery. He gained his master brewer qualification while working at the Courage bottling plant, London Bridge. In 1979 he joined Guinness, Park Royal, producing both Harp and Guinness, before relocating to the Isle of Man to become head brewer at Castletown Brewery, which later became Okell’s.

In 1988 Don took on a head brewer role at Buckley’s in Llanelli, which was later acquired by Brains. While there he created a new premium ale, The Rev. James, which was named after one of the brewery’s early owners, Methodist minister James Buckley, and has since become one of Brains’ most popular cask ales. Don’s last move was to Brains’ Crawshay Street site in 1999, becoming packaging manager.

 

Bill Dobson, head brewer at Brains, said: “Don has been a pivotal member of our production team for the last 15 years, supporting the growth of Brains brands, and more recently was part of the team to establish Brains Craft Brewery.”

 

Don added: “There have been many changes during my years in the industry – often challenging and demanding, but always stimulating. I’ll miss the day to day contact with my colleagues but I’m now looking to put a bit back by offering my skills as a brewing consultant and trainer, for both brewing apprentice programmes and formal qualifications for the Institute of Brewing and Distilling.”

 

To mark his retirement, Don has brewed his own Alt style beer in Brains’ craft brewery, with a name that plays on his other passion – magic. Don is a long-time member of the International Brotherhood of Magicians and the Society of American Magicians. Old Tricks uses Munich and Crystal malts, Hallertau and Saaz hops and Dusseldorf Alt yeast, resulting in a combination of sweet malt, caramel and rich raisin flavours, and a classic floral, spicy aroma from the noble hops.

Old Tricks will be available in 30 Brains pubs from May 14^th. For more details visit www.brainscraftbrewery.com

CAMRA says tied pubcos must be disarmed

Campaigners say the tied pubco model is a ticking time bomb the Government must disarm

CAMRA, the Campaign for Real Ale, has today mounted renewed pressure on the Government to act now to save Britain’s struggling pubs, with a petition delivered to Business Secretary Vince Cable calling for vital large pub company (pubco) reform. The petition gained over 30,000 signatures in just 5 days and surpassed the 42,000 mark ahead of it being delivered to Vince Cable today. As well as the delivery of the petition, over 100 campaigners, pub-goers and licensees gathered outside Parliament to rally behind Vince Cable’s pledge to end the Great British Pub Scandal.

CAMRA says it is essential that Vince Cable sticks to his guns and makes an announcement in the next few weeks, to allow action before the upcoming General Election.

“It is absolutely vital that the Government disarms the ticking time bomb threatening the nation’s pubs. CAMRA is demanding the introduction of a Pubs Watchdog to rule on disputes between licensees and pubcos, plus a guest beer right and a market rent only option for tied licensees. These measures are essential in order to create a level playing field for licensees, ensuring those tied to the large pubcos are no worse off than those that are free of tie.” Colin Valentine, CAMRA’s National Chairman.

It is now well over 12 months since the Government launched its consultation and despite several assurances of action, including a recent letter to CAMRA from Vince Cable stating that “We intend very soon to publish the Government response to our pubs consultation and to announce the next steps”, the Government has so far failed to make an announcement.

Currently tied licensees must purchase their beer and other products from the pub company at an inflated rate, which is often at least 50% more expensive than the market rate. As a result 57% of tied licensees earn less than £10k a year.

“The reforms CAMRA are seeking will enable publicans tied to the large pub companies to make a decent living and invest in their business, protecting thousands of valued pubs and creating a thriving industry. The current model is weighted far too heavily in the favour of the pub company at the expense of the licensee and it is essential the Government acts now to redress the balance, before thousands more people lose their livelihood.” Colin Valentine added.

Big Apple Cider & Perry Results

The Big Apple Cider & Perry competition was held at Putley in Herefordshire over the weekend and the results are below.

CAMRA Champion Cider and Perry

CAMRA names the UK’s
best Ciders and Perries
Cider
GOLD – Sheppy’s, Medium
SILVER – Dove Syke, Ribble Valley Gold
BRONZE – Wilce’s, Cider
Perry
GOLD – Oliver’s, Perry
SILVER – Kent Cider Company, Perry
BRONZE – Raglan Cider Mill, Snowy Owl
CAMRA, the Campaign for Real Ale, has today announced the winners of its National Cider and
Perry Championships.
The winner of the Champion Cider of Britain is Sheppy’s Medium, described by judges as having “A rich apple aroma, dry yet well-
balanced flavour and a clean, refreshing, moreish
finish.”
The winner of the Champion Perry of Britain is Oliver’s Perry which the judges described as “Initially sweet with a dry aftertaste – a very balanced perry with great body .
The final round of judging for CAMRA’s National
Cider and Perry Championships 2014 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 aroma, flavour, after-taste and
personal enjoyment. The winners were selected
by a specially chosen panel of judges including
cider experts, drinks writers and CAMRA members.
Tom Oliver of Oliver’s Perry, had this to say
“That’s fantastic, we’re really pleased, especially
on the back of the Pomona award last year –
fantastic for us to win for our perry. We’re very
proud.”
Andrea Briers, CAMRA National Cider and Perry
Committee Chair, had this to say on the quality
and diversity of entries:
“Real Cider and Perry continues to grow in
popularity and by the quality of this year’s
entrants it is easy to see why. With such a
fantastic range of quality ciders and perries now
being produced all over the UK, the standard of
this year’s competition was higher than ever –
the overall winners should be extremely proud of
their achievement as picking a Champion from
such an accomplished field proved very difficult.”

The Gravity Station comes to Cardiff

 

The Gravity Station

 Cardiff''s first micro-pub opened the other week, situated in Barrack Lane.

Where?

Yes, I had to look it up as well, Barrack Lane runs parallel to Charles Street on the Eastern end of the St David's 2 redevelopment. Not too sure when the Barracks were ever here though but it must have been before 1855 as the Barracks marked on a map of that date are on Roath Road, later Newport Road and the Cardiff Royal Infirmary site. The lane is marked on the 1831 map but there are only a couple of buildings marked on it. More recently, before the St David's 2 development, there was an open-air market on the site.

 How to find The Gravity Station?

Exit St David's 2 via the Food Court and turn left, the Gravity Station is on the left-hand-side, halfway along the lane.

Google Map:

View Larger Map
/>https://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=gravity+station+cardiff&safe=active&ie=UTF8&hq=gravity+station&hnear=Cardiff,+United+Kingdom&t=m&z=14&iwloc=A&cid=1543232312660098535&ll=51.480283,-3.173695&source=embed" style="color:#0000FF;text-align:left">View Larger Map

The Gravity Station is an unique, at least for Cardiff, combination of pub and off-license. Owned by the Waen Brewery of Llanidloes, Powys, this compact bar sells a range of beers from cask, keg and bottle, to drink in or take-away,

The Gravity Station is a fusion of bar and off-licence, with this extensive range of bottled beers available to drink-in or take-away.

The keg beers are served from the bar whilst from the rear cabinet, real ales are served via gravity from pins, 4.5 gallon casks, which makes sure no beers are kept hanging around for too long.

Oh and this pub does not smell of fish.

Star to host beer festival this weekend

The award-winning Star Inn, Talybont-on-Usk will be holding a beer festival over this weekend.
The Champion Beers of Britain - beer festival on
April 11 and 12 will feature the winners of CAMRA's Champion Beers of Britain from 1998-2013:
13 Real ales - all CAMRA Champion Beer of Britain winners. There will also be live music in the marquee
including:
Friday 9pm: The Bleedin Noses
Saturday 1pm: The Mansel Davies Duo
Saturday 8.30pm: SoulD and more!

Polar Beer for Pubs

The latest beer to come out of Brains Craft Brewery is a 5% single hopped brew, Polar Beer, a sunshine yellow blonde ale, brewed
with Polaris, a new-generation German hop. Polaris being another name for Pole or North Star. Ale and lager malts combine to create a smooth, crisp malty base with a sweet nose, followed by refreshingly light and distinctive herbal flavours from the Polaris hop.
Polar Beer will be available in keg and delivered to selected Brains pubs from Thursday 3rd of April.

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

Brains to open new pub under Cardiff Bay

Brains – Wales largest brewer and pub operator
– is set to open the UK’s first underwater pub in
Cardiff Bay.
Aqua Nova will be situated five metres below the
surface and accessed via a jetty, located a short
water taxi ride from its sister pub, the Brains-
owned Terra Nova. With panoramic views of the
Bay, the aquarium style venue will offer
customers a once in a lifetime experience.
Bruce Newman, head of marketing at Brains,
said: “Customers are always looking for
something new and different. Aqua Nova won’t
disappoint. As well as a great range of beers,
such as Brains’ All at Sea IPA, customers can
also look forward to a fresh seafood menu,
including Cardiff Bay fish of the day.”
Head of UK Naval Technologies, Captain Burt
Sye, has been working closely with Brains,
supervising the development. He added: “This is
a complex but revolutionary project and one that
is sure to be popular with the British pub goers.”
Work is due to start next month and it is
expected that the bar will be open in the summer
of 2015.
In the meantime, Brains is looking for volunteers
to be the first to test its beers underwater to
ensure they’re unaffected by changes in
pressure. Volunteers will wear specially adapted
dive suits, allowing them to sip a pint below sea
level. For more details, and to sign up, call
Brains on 029 2040 2060, quoting ‘Aqua Nova’.

Best pubs in Wales

The votes are in and have been counted for Wales Online Best Pub in Wales, top 30 below:
The top 30 in full:
1.Ty Coch Inn, Porthdinllaen
2. Plough and Harrow, Monknash
3. The Coach, Bridgend
4. Ship and Castle, Aberystwyth
5. Kings Head Inn, Llangennith
6. City Arms, Cardiff
7. Y Mochyn Du, Cardiff
8. The Gwaelod-y-Garth Inn, Gwaelod-y-Garth
9. The Star Inn, Treoes
10. Blue Anchor Inn, Aberthaw
11. Urban Tap House, Cardiff
12. Harbourmaster Hotel, Aberaeron
13. Black Boy Inn, Caernarfon
14. The Pelican in her Piety, Ogmore
15. The Star inn, Talybont on Usk
16. The Pentre Arms, Llangrannog
17. The Bush Inn, St Hilary
18. Bunch of Grapes, Pontypridd
19. Old Swan Inn, Llantwit Major
20. The Sloop, Porthgain
21. The Goat Major, Cardiff
22. Uplands Tavern, Swansea
23. The Pilot, Mumbles
24. The Bear Hotel, Crickhowell
25. The Worms Head Hotel, Rhossili
26. The Lansdowne, Cardiff
27. The Ship Inn, Tresaith
28. The Ship, Llangrannog
29. Rummer Tavern, Cardiff
30. The Queens Hotel, Swansea

http://www.walesonline.co.uk/lifestyle/food-drink/best-pubs-wales-your-vote-6864231

CAMRA Budget response

CAMRA celebrates another brilliant budget for
British beer drinkers
“CAMRA is delighted to see the Chancellor
implementing an unprecedented second
consecutive cut of a penny in beer duty. This is
not only about keeping the price of a pint
affordable in British pubs but helping an
industry which has been in overall decline
continue on its long road to recovery. CAMRA
cares greatly about the future of the Great
British pub and it is clear from this Budget
announcement that the Government do too.
“Keeping the price of a pint affordable is vital
for the long-term health of the pub sector and
CAMRA would hope this latest vote of
confidence in British pubs will go some way to
slowing the rate of closures, by encouraging
more people to make use of their local this
summer.
“No doubt many of CAMRA’s 160,000 members
will be raising a glass to the Chancellor this
evening to toast another brilliant Budget for
British beer drinkers.”
Mike Benner, CAMRA Chief Executive

Aberdare to get a beer Festival!

The town of Aberdare is to get a beer festival in May, on the Saturday 24th & Sunday 25th May 2014. The Market Tavern Pub are hosting the Main Event with support from Grey Trees Brewery. The Marquee will be situated in the Centre of Aberdare in the Market Tavern Car Park.