Best Beers in Wales

 Time for my annual review of the best beers in Wales, as judged by various online sites

First up, is Ratebeer:

1              Polly's Brew Spectrum QIPA       

2              Mabinogion Mead / Superstition 'Hounds of Annwn' Strawberry vanilla                

3              Polly's Brew DDH Oh My              

4              Polly's Brew Fallow Plans             

5              Tiny Rebel Imperial Puft               

6              Loka Polly Souvenirs      

7              Polly's Brew Farrago      

8              Polly's Brew Lo-Fi            

9              Polly's Brew India Pale Ale El Dorado Deluxe Edition        

10           Polly's Brew DDH Rosa                  

11           Polly’s Brew Every Piece Matters             

12           Tiny Rebel Stay Puft Imperial Chocolate                

13           Loka Polly Rosa

14           Polly's Brew DDH Pines                

15           Polly's Brew Livewire     

16           Tiny Rebel / Siren Dark Cherry & Chocolate Barley Wine

17           Mabinogion Mead Transformation to Eagle        

18           Tiny Rebel Stay Puft Imperial Praline      

19           Polly's Brew Fickle          

20           Loka Polly Double IPA Mosaic Simcoe    

21           Polly's Brew Rock The Bit             

22           Polly's Brew Mylar          

23           Polly's Brew Avery          

24           Polly's Brew Double IPA Azacca Mosaic

25           Polly's Brew What Did You Feel IPA         

26           Tiny Rebel / Arbor Bonsai            

27           Polly's Brew Nada           

28           Tiny Rebel Stay Puft Imperial Irish Cream             

29           Tiny Rebel Stay Puft Imperial Espresso Martini  

30           Polly's Brew Naive Melody         

31           Polly's Brew Wave Mix

32           Polly's Brew Discount Jazz Hour                

33           Polly's Brew Cahb           

34           Tiny Rebel Stay Puft Imperial Salted Caramel      

35           Tiny Rebel Stay Puft Amplified Imperial                

36           Loka Polly Spur

37           Polly's Brew India Pale Ale Simcoe Mosaic 

38           Tiny Rebel / Deya NEIPA              

39           Polly's Brew Ghost Voices           

40           Loka Polly Petal                

41           Polly's Brew Patternist  

42           Polly's Brew An Original Mix       

43           Polly's Brew DDH Spur  

44           Tiny Rebel Dooms Night               

45           Tiny Rebel Chunky          

46           Polly's Brew Surface Edition       

47           Tiny Rebel Dodge, Dip, Duck, Dive and Dulce      

48           Polly's Brew A Late Summer Pale Ale: Idaho 7    

49           Polly's Brew Floating Through the Surface           

50           Polly's Brew High Speed Soul

Okay, well that's a toss up between Polly's and Tiny Rebel, with the Mabinogion Mead cropping up despite the meadery appearing to close some years ago? Looking at the individual scores it appears some made their way to America and were still be drunk in 2021.

Ratebeer also mentions the top places to drink in Wales (based on what their members say)

1. Tiny Rebel Cardiff (91)
2. BrewDog Cardiff (87)
3. City Arms (Brains) (84)
4. Bub's Bar & Kitchen (84)
5. Tiny Rebel Newport (83)
6. Fire & Ice (81)
7. Clytha Arms (80)
8. Vinomondo (80)
9. Stori Beer & Wine (79)
10. Albion Ale House (

Over to my favourite beer app, Untappd

NB, a beer must have 150 ratings or more to appear on this list:

1. Polly's Brew Co. DDH Spur
2. Polly's Brew Co. DDH Pines
3. Polly's Brew Co. DDH Patternist
4. Polly's Brew Co. IPA - Birthday Beer
5. Polly's Brew Co. DDH Every Piece Matters
6. Polly's Brew Co. Positively Unattached
7. Polly's Brew Co. DDH Rosa
8. Polly's Brew Co. Deep Fake
9. Polly's Brew Co 58 BPM
10. Tiny Rebel Brewing Co Super Hero Landing
11. Polly's Brew Co. Nada
12. Polly's Brew Co. This Never Happened
13. Polly's Brew Co. DDH Oh My…
14. Tiny Rebel Brewing Co Imperial Salted Caramel Stay Puft
15. Polly's Brew Co. Everything We Dream Of
16. Polly's Brew Co Acapella
17. Polly's Brew Co A Fleeting Sound
18. Polly's Brew Co Fallow Plans
19. Polly's Brew Co Keeler
20. Polly's Brew Co Controversy Between Deep
21. Polly's Brew Co Ghost Voices
22. Polly's Brew Co Cahb
23. Polly's Brew Co Spur
24. Polly's Brew Co Good Nature
25. Polly's Brew Co Rosa
26. Polly's Brew Co The New Renassaince
27. Polly's Brew Co Lo-Fi
28. Tiny Rebel Brewing Co Imperial Chocolate Stay Puft
29. Polly's Brew Co. Does It Matter How Far?
30. Polly's Brew Co. Amateur Dance
31. Polly's Brew Co. Every Piece Matters
32. Polly's Brew Co. Floating Through the Surface
33. Polly's Brew Co. Wallow
34. Polly's Brew Co. Spectrum TIPA
35. Polly's Brew Co. Circadian Rhythm
36. Polly's Brew Co. The Feels Vol. 3
37. Polly's Brew Co. Hi, Everything’s Great
38. Tiny Rebel Brewing Co Amplified Imperial Stay Puft 12.8% ABV!
39. Polly's Brew Co. Farrago
40. Polly's Brew Co. Mylar
41. Polly's Brew Co. Naive Melody
42. Polly's Brew Co. Dream Like Sequence
43. Polly's Brew Co. Chinook Mosaic Double IPA
44. Polly's Brew Co. Brand New Only
45. Polly's Brew Co. Jennasea
46. Polly's Brew Co. The One You Can’t Control
47. Polly's Brew Co. Step Inside the Panic Room
48. Polly's Brew Co. Humble Clairvoyance
49. Polly's Brew Co. Circle Foam

 Okay, that's quite a list from Untappd, with Polly's Brewery definitely producing the best beers in Wales according to Untappd.

So the Untappd list of Best Brewries in Wales looks like:

1. Polly's Brew Co., Mold, Flintshire
2. Dog's Window Brewery, Bridgend, Bridgend
3. Lucky 7 Beer Co, Hay on Wye, Powys
4. Crafty Devil Brewing Co, Cardiff,  
5. Wild Horse Brewing Co, Llandudno, Conwy
6. BeerRiff Swansea, Swansea
7. Bragdy Mona Gaerwen, Isle of Anglesey
8. Wilderness BreweryNewtown, Powys
9. Tenby Brewing Co, Tenby, Pembrokeshire
10. Flowerhorn, Cardiff, Cardiff
11. Tiny Rebel Brewing Co, Newport
12. PIPES™Cardiff,
13. Grey Trees Brewery, Aberdare, Rhondda Cynon Taf,
14. Brew Monster Caerphilly,
15. Rival Brewing Co.Cardiff,
16. The Waen Brewery Llanidloes, Powys
17. Lines Brew Co.Usk, Monmouthshire
18. Gwynt y Ddraig Pontypridd,
19. Geipel Brewing Llangwm, Conwy
20. Cwrw Cader Dolgellau, Gwynedd s
21. Purple Moose Brewery (Bragdy Mŵs Piws) Porthmadog, Gwynedd
22. Well Drawn Brewing Company, Caerphilly,
23. Untapped Brewing Company , Raglan, Monmouthshire
24.  Mad Dog Brewery Co, Penperlleni, Monmouthshire, Cardiff soon!
25.  Mantle Cardigan, Ceredigion
26.  Gower Brewery, Swansea,
27. Cwrw Llŷn, Ffordd Dewi Sant, Gwynedd
28. Tenby Harbwr Brewery, Tenby, Pembrokeshire
29. Wye Valley Meadery, Caldicot, Monmouthshire
30. Glamorgan Brewing Co, Llantrisant, Rhondda Cynon Taf
31. Tinworks Brewing Co., Llanelli, Carmarthenshire
32. Cwrw Iâl Community Brewing Company, Eryrys, Denbighshire
33. Hafod Brewing Company, Mold, Flintshire
34. Bragdy Twt Lol / The Trefforest Brewery Pontypridd, Rhondda Cynon Taf
35. Hallets, Mynedd Maen, Newbridge, Caerphilly
36. Caffle Brewery, Narberth, Pembrokeshire
37. Big Hand Brewing, Wrexham, Wales
38. Lithic Brewing, Brynmenyn, Bridgend
39. Bragdy Lleu, Penygroes, Gwynedd
40. Snowdon Craft Beer, Colwyn Bay, Conwy
41. Kingstone Brewery, Tintern, Monmouthshire
42. Magic Dragon Brewing, Wrexham,
43. VOG Brewery, Barry, Vale of Glamorgan
44. Mumbles Brewery, Swansea,
45. Cold Black Label, Bridgend,
46. Coles Family Brewers, Llanddarog, Carmarthenshire
47. Tomos & Lilford, Llandow, Vale of Glamorgan
48. Conwy Brewery, Llysfaen, Conwy
49. Bragdy Nant, Llarwst
50. Great Orme Brewery, Llandudno, Conwy Wales

 

 Over at Beer Advocate, again, no Welsh beers make it into the top-rated beers beers for the UK, however the Welsh list is rather surprising 

1              Tiny Rebel Brewing Co Stay Puft               

2              Tiny Rebel Brewing Co  Clwb Tropica

3              Purple Moose Brewery Dark Side Of The Moose (Ochr Tywyll Y Mws)    

4              Tiny Rebel Brewing Co. Dutty    

5              Tiny Rebel Brewing Co. Cwtch   

6              Brains Dark

7              Brains Bitter

8              Felinfoel Brewery Co , Thames Welsh ESB (6.5% ABV, Export only?)              

9              Hurns Brewing Co ,Tomos Watkin Old Style Bitter

10           Purple Moose Brewery Snowdonia Ale (Cwrw Eryri)

11           Conwy Brewery Clogwyn Gold

12           Brains The Rev. James

13           Brains SA

14           Brains SA Gold

15           Brains Craft Brewery Barry Island IPA (6% version!)

16           Felinfoel Brewery Co. Double Dragon

A new list to look at this year is the Untappd app copy, Pint Please, which out of it's top twenty UK beers, only one Welsh entry, Tiny Rebel makes an appearance at number 6

No CAMRA awards for real ales brewed last year due to COVID

Once again, beers from the Llandeilo Village Idiot failed to get a mention in any of the lists