Busty Blonde Sells Beer!

Press release below from the Llangorse Brewery, a new brew pub based at the Red Lion in Llangorse and owned by Breconshire Brewery.
She may be Maid for Hay but the latest ale from Llangorse Brewery is produced at the Red Lion in Llangorse.

This delightful red coloured beer, with the smooth, hoppy and refreshing finish, is just one in a growing range of beers that we are producing for a town, city or county near you.

We started with Maid for Llangorse, just to see how it would be received, and within days we were asked by one of our suppliers to produce one for Nottingham--- so’ Maid for Nottingham’ was brewed, barrelled up and dispatched to the eager purveyors of fine tasting ales, in and around the Nottingham area.

With Maid for Brecon coming out soon and plans for a Maid for Cardiff, Swansea, Hereford and Abergavenny--- on top of the existing farm shops, gastro-pubs, restaurants and off licenses that want their own name on their cask ales and bottled beers---‘ Maid for ales’ is proving to be a big hit.

The idea for ‘Maid’ was the brainchild of Howard Marlow, the companies Managing Director--- having already built up the Breconshire Brewery from a successful wholesaler into a producer of CAMRA award winning ales, he decided to bring out a whole new range of beers with a view to creating ale with the personal touch.

‘Everywhere I go’ says Marketing Manager, Karl Dixon, ‘customers are fascinated by the idea of having a beer with their own pub and name on the clip, and having the image of a sultry young maiden doesn’t hurt either. In fact many of our constantly expanding range of pubs say that it’s the pump clip that first pulls them in, but once in, the wonderful flavours and tastes keep them coming back for more.

The process is really quite simple: The pub, club, restaurant, specialist shop or wholesaler asks us to supply their ale and we produce a pump clip, free of cost, with the name of their pub on it--- just like the one shown.
So far as the bottled beers are concerned, a label of your choice is designed, like the one shown, with close consultation with the customer, and then added to the bottling process at our factory.

So if there’s anyone out there who believes, like we do, that the personal touch is an important thing in today’s faceless globalisation of seemingly everything, then get in touch with Breconshire & Llangorse Breweries and let us personalise your pump clips and offer you the exceptional beer’s to go with it.

After all, what could be more local than your own beer.


So let's get this right, a brewery is producing a 'local' beer by rebadging the same brew time and time again? Reminds me of Ind Coope in the '80s and '90s with their 'local' brews, all produced in Burton to the same recipe with different pumpclip - Benskins in Hertfordshire, Ansells Best in South Wales and the Midlands etc.
Still let's not judge a beer by its pumpclip but by what it tastes like.

Buster branches out

 ****** EXCLUSIVE ******

From Brew Wales

Award-winning brewer and Chair of the Association of Welsh Independent Breweries, Justin 'Buster' Grant has today announced that he will be parting company with Breconshire Brewery and their owners Marlow's to form his own company, Brecon Brewing Limited. Marlow's has been up for sale for some time and Buster has decided that his future lies with his own company rather than working for someone else.
Buster, a Herriot-Watt graduate and a former brewer at Brakspears in Henley-upon-Thames, first moved to Wales some 10 years ago to start brewing in Brecon.
According to Buster, "The time has come to move on and form my own brewery and the opportunity has arisen with the sale of CH Marlow to branch out on my own, with help from a couple of friends".
Joining Buster in this venture will be former sales manager of Breconshire Brewery, Simon Hall, and the former manager of the Hobgoblin pub in Reading, Duncan Ward (think he also ran the Old Toad in Rochester NY at one time as well).
The 20 -barrel brewing plant will be up and running in the next few weeks, in time for Brecon Jazz Festival.

Beer tax rise is 'a kick in the teeth' say Welsh Brewers

The increase of two per cent above inflation in beer tax,announced in today’s Budget, is ‘ruinous’ to the nation’s thriving local brewing sector, ignores its contribution to the economy and puts thousands of jobs
 in breweries and pubs in jeopardy, says Buster Grant, Head Brewer of the Breconshire Brewery and Chairman of the Association of Welsh Independent Brewers, (AWIB).
Buster Grant said, “This is a real kick in the teeth to the local brewing sector, one of the few British success
 stories of recent years. Local brewers are just the kind of business this government says it wants to see
 prosper: they create jobs for local people and contribute to the local and wider British economy by using
 home-grown ingredients. Yet the current beer taxation regime is killing off our main route to market – the British pub.”
He continued, “The Treasury claimed before the Budget that their beer duty escalator is ‘baked in’. We say it is half baked!
Continuing to increase taxes on draught beer, drunk in the socially responsible environment of the pub, will serve only to increase purchases of cheap spirits for unsupervised home consumption. We fail to see how this policy can help tackle binge drinking. ”
Nick Otley, managing director of the family-run Otley Brewery in Pontypridd, said: “Although the price of petrol per litre has been reduced by 1p, which will help the delivery side of our business, it doesn’t offset the increase in alcohol duty. This is not the best outcome for small, family run breweries like ourselves. With the local brewing sector creating jobs for local people and contributing to the local and wider British economy, it comes as a surprise to us that the previous government’s escalator on alcohol duty remains unchanged.

AWIB, along with SIBA (the Society of Independent Brewers) and CAMRA (the Campaign for Real Ale) have all campaigned vigorously against the Government's ‘duty escalator’, which increases beer duty by 2% above inflation every year.

Breconshire Brewery shows pride in British Beer

From Brew Wales

The Breconshire Brewery has lent its weight to a national campaign from the Society of Independent Brewers, by sending a copy of its ‘Proud of British Beer’ film to local Member of Parliament Roger Williams MP, in advance of the imminent Budget.

Breconshire Head Brewer, Buster Grant, was one of the 25 brewers to take a role in the short film, launched earlier this month, which celebrates British beer and the British pub where it is enjoyed by millions of people every week. ‘Proud of British Beer’ is not just a ‘feel good’ movie, it also sends a stern warning about damage caused by the government’s beer taxation policy – pub closures are currently running at 29 per week. “Stop the duty increases – show some pride in British beer”, implores a group of brewers in the film’s end frame.

Buster Grant commented, “We are proud to brew British beer, as are the other brewers from across the whole country who feature in this film. We hope that our message about beer duty is heard by MPs like Roger Williams MP who have it in their power to stop the increases and with it the decimation of our industry.”

Tax on UK beer has increased by some 40% since the millennium, and itis expected that there will be another 7% increase at the Budget - unless MPs act now. UK beer tax equates to 40% of the total beer tax in the EU - an astonishing figure. Taxes now make up over the half of the price of a pint in the pub - yet beer is a low alcoholic strength drink, with known health benefits when consumed in moderation. Pubs are responsible drinking enviroments, yet the ever increasing tax on beer (especially in relation to spirits) is driving pubs out of business, and drinkers out of safe, social, responsible enviroments. Even the Treasury's own figures state that the actual revenue from Beer Duty decreases with every subsequent increase in the tax.

The Breconshire Brewery was founded in 2002 by CH Marlow Ltd, and is at the forefront of the revival of the Welsh Brewing Industry. Buster Grant, the Head Brewer, acts as the Welsh Director of SIBA and is also the Chairman of the Association of Welsh Independent Brewers, a group that wholeheartedly supports this film and its message. The Brewery only uses British ingredients, and is proud to brew some of the best beers in the world.

It's time to take pride in the British Brewing Industry. 

Buster goes Nuts!

 The latest offering from Breconshire Brewery:

Go Cobnuts for Wildlife

What better way to spend a day than to go for a walk in a beautiful wildlife reserve, burn off a load of excess calories and then warm up afterwards with a rich, dark ale?

Especially when you know that lovely pint has just helped the wildlife you have been appreciating all day.

This is all now possible thanks to the Breconshire Brewery. Really Wild Nut Brown Ale  has been launched at the Royal Welsh Winter Fayre. A percentage from every sale is being donated to the Wildlife Trusts in Wales. As charities the Wildlife Trusts benefit enormously from such donations as do the wildlife they work to protect. This special relationship will help support wildlife all across Wales.

After much experimentation, which was very difficult (!), the brewery and Wildlife Trusts staff settled on an ale flavoured with cobnuts, vanilla & rosemary as being a suitable beverage to support the huge diversity of wildlife in Wales.   

Really Wild Nut Brown Ale was launched at the Royal Welsh Winter Fayre on the 29^th November and will be available for sale at the Welsh Wildlife Centre, Cilgerran,  as well as from the Brewery direct  and all good independent stockists. .

Notes:

Wildlife Trusts Wales. The six Wildlife Trusts in Wales work together for an environment rich in wildlife for everyone. Between us, we have 25,000 members and manage 230 nature reserves in Wales – covering more than 6,000 hectares of prime wildlife habitat, from rugged coastline to urban wildlife havens.

It will be available in bottles (by the case) from Breconshire Brewery and also wholesale from Tanners Wines & Templetons and all good independent retailers , it will also be available from the Welsh Wildlife Centre in Cilgerran Cardigan and the Snowdonia Railway. 

This flavoursome beer was launched at the Royal Welsh Winter Fayre 29^th November

 www.wildlifetrustswales.org

More information is available about Breconshire Brewery on their website.

“The Wildlife Trusts play a very important part in our natural heritage. I would encourage anyone who cares about wildlife to .“

Sir David Attenborough, Vice President of the Wildlife Trusts

 Follow WTSWW on Twitter , You Tube and on Facebook 

Buster and Breconshire Brewery go Baroque!

Award-winning brewer Justin 'Buster' Grant of Breconshire Brewery has taken a look back into the history books with his latest seasonal brew for the Autumn.

Baroque Ale is a 4.0% abv dark tawny-brown ale brewed in the style of the table ales that would have graced Georgian Britain. Sweet juicy malt flavours and a complex pallet are complimented by the gentle floral bitterness of Goldings hops, with Fuggles (both being some of the earliest cultivated hop varieties in the UK) providing a soft, grassy almost minty aroma.

This rich, dark ale is brewed with water drawn from under the hills of the surrounding Brecon Beacons National Park, and blend of pale, wheat and chocolate malts, all from Warminster’s traditional Floor Maltings, which give this beer its dark tawny-brown colouring and sweet malty flavours. Goldings and Fuggles provide the counterpoint of this extravagantly complex brew, which would have been one of the safest and most nutritious food sources of its time.

Brecon as a town is rightly famed for its beautiful selection of Georgian architecture, which has also inspired a highly acclaimed annual musicfestival, which takes place every October. During the Baroque period, (roughly 1600 - 1750 AD), European culture developed some of its most extravagant and complex expressions - in music, art, dance, architecture and some might even say politics.

Casks of this beer will be available throughout the Autumn, either direct from the brewery, from selected wholesalers or by telephoning the Brewery on 01874 623 731.

Green hop to Brecon

Justin "Buster" Grant, head brewer at Breconshire Brewery has brewed a special annual beer, made with hops picked on the same day as brewing the beer.
Usually hops will be dried and vacuum packed in order to preserve them but by using fresh hops some unique characteristics are passed on to the beer in the volatile compounds that can be lost through processing.
The hops were picked on the morning of the 9th of September at 11 am to be precise, at Little Lambswick Farm, near Tetbury Wells in Herefordshire and went into the boil at 3pm.

Green Dragon is described as a  4.6% golden ale, there is a gentle malty base of pale and wheat malts, with the just picked hops adding all of the remaining flavours.
An exceptionally fresh tasting beer with a gentle refreshing bitterness.

Green Dragon has now finished fermenting and has been released into the trade, look out for it in pubs across South Wales.

Head to the Boar's this weekend

View Larger Map
The Boar's Head in Brecon will this week be playing host to the Brecon Beer Festival this weekend which kicks off on Friday night at 5pm and continues throughout the weekend.

A souvenir pint glass will be required to buy beer or cider at the outside bar - a real snip at £2.

If you decide you have enough glasses at home, a £1.50 refund on the glass will be available.

Beer prices will start at £2.20 per pint up to £2.80, and ciders will be betwen £2.80 and £3.00 per pint.

On the bar in the pub:
1 Breconshire Welsh Pale Ale 3.7
2 Breconshire Golden Valley 4.2
3 Breconshire Cribyn 4.5
4 Breconshire Ramblers Ruin 4.4
5 Breconshire Good Time George 4.6
6 Brains SA Gold 4.7
Outside
1 Breconshire Brecon County Ale 3.7
2 Breconshire Good Time George 4.6
3 Breconshire Wild Beacon 4.8
4 Breconshire GVX 6.0
5 Brains Dark 3.4
6 Kingstone 1503 5.0
7 Tudor Blorenge 3.8
8 Otley O-garden 4.8
9 Otley 5-0 5.0
10 Celt Summerberry Stream 4.1
11 HoW Welsh Black 4.4
12 Monty's Mojo 3.8
13 Oakham JHB 3.8
14 Tim Taylors Landlord 4.3
15 Fullers ESB 5.5
16 Caledonian Deuchars IPA 3.8
17 Adnams Bitter 3.6
18 Rugate Ruby Mild 4.4
19 Ringwood Forty Niner 4.9
20 Kelham Island Pale Rider 5.0
21 Harviestoun Bitter & Twisted 3.8
22 Hop Back Summer Lightening 5.0
Ciders
1 Gwynt y Ddraig Happy Daze 4.5
2 Gwynt y Ddraig Black Dragon 7.2
3 Gwynt y Ddraig Black Dragon 5.0
4 Gwynt y Ddraig Dogdancer 6.5
5 Gwynt y Ddraig Two Trees Perry 7.0
6 Old Monty's Medium Cider 6.5
7 Ralph's Medium Perry 6.5

So that's over 10 Champion Beer of Britain medalists and a load of Champion Beer of Wales winners as well.

Brecon can be reached by bus

Boars Head
Watergate
Brecon
LD3 9AL

Breconshire Brewery Commemorates George Melly

The Breconshire Brewery will be releasing a new special commerative ale, in association with the George Melly Sculpture Appeal  - Good Time George, at local beer festivals next week including the Great Welsh Beer & Cider Festival and at the Star, Talybont on Usk. 
In addition the beer will be available at the Brecon Beer Fest on the 2-4th July in the Boar's Head, Brecon.

George Melly has been described as the flamboyant 'Oscar Wilde of English jazz'. He was also the first musician to be contracted by Brecon Jazz for the 1984 festival and remained a loyal and inspirational performer and supporter until his death in 2007. He was instrumental in setting up the Jazz Festival and served on its committee, as well as being involved with the Contemporary Art Society for Wales. A Surrealist flâneur, an incisive critic, broadcaster and raconteur, George was a vivacious entertainer in outrageous suits.  He had a passion for surrealist art and fishing and wrote extensively on both subjects. He was first inspired to sing on was hearing a recording of Bessie Smith singing Gimme a Pig-foot and a Bottle of Beer. Now Goodtime George has his own beer brewed in his adopted home town of Brecon.

The George Melly Sculpture Appeal was set up in July 2008 at the 25th Anniversary of Brecon Jazz Festival. Their aim is to commission a sculpture which commemorates George Melly’s relationship with Brecon. Please get in touch at www.georgemellysculpture.org.uk (Registered Charity Number : 1130174). 5p from every pint sold will be donated to the Appeal.

This commerative Ale is brewed with water drawn from under the hills of the surrounding Brecon Beacons National Park, and blend of pale, wheat and chocolate malts, all from Warminster’s traditional Floor Maltings, which give this beer its rich, dark colouring and velvety smooth texture.

This 4.6% abv commerative ale is a rich, tawny colour, with a smooth, complex flavour - full of character and extremely pleasing - much like the man himself…

Casks of this beer will be available from the beginning of June for the summer, either direct from the brewery or from selected wholesalers. More details can be found at www.breconshirebrewery.com, or by telephoning the Brewery on 01874 623 731.

Breconshire Brewery

Ffrwdgrech Industrial Estate, Brecon Powys, LD3 8LA

Tel : 01874 623 731             Fax : 01874 611 434

SIBA Award winners - Wales and West

SIBA, the Society of Independent Brewers held their Wales and West competition at Ludlow Castle last week and although the Brew Wales editor was invited along to be judge it, he could not attend as was busy running a CAMRA beer bar at Tredegar House Folk/Dance Festival.
Well done to all the winners, especially Norman at Corvedale who came second overall with his St George's Stout. No doubt we can all look forward to seeing this beer at forthcoming CAMRA beer festivals, especially those local ones in Shropshire.
The full list of winners is available here
List of Welsh winners:
Mild: Bronze for Great Orme Brewery Welsh Black

Best Bitter: Silver for Breconshire Brewery Cribyn

Premium Bitter: Silver for Tudor Brewery Sugarloaf

Strong Bitter: Gold for Waen Brewery Landmark

Strong Ale: Gold for Celt Experience Bleddyn 1075

Porters, Strong Milds and Stouts: Silver for Waen Brewery Blackcurrant Stout

Speciality Beers: Silver for Otley Brewery O-Garden

Welsh Breweries win awards at National Winter Ales Festival

Congratulations go to both Otley and Breconshire Breweries have have won awrds at the National Winter Ales Festival in Manchester this week.

Breconshire Brewery won Gold in the Old Ale and Strong Mild Category with their Ramblers Ruin and also won the Silver medal in the overall compettion. Ramblers Ruin is described as a dark amber, malty and well hopped ale with a beautifully balanced aftertaste; a champion Old Ale. High percentages of Crystal and Black Malt create the malt/biscuit undertones; bitterness and aroma are provided by Goldings and First Gold amongst others.
 Previously Ramblers Ruin has won:
Gold Medal Winner,International Beer Challenge 2009
CAMRA's Champion Old Ale of Wales 2008

Otley Brewery won a Bronze Medal in the Barley Wine Category for their O8 beer, a former Champion Beer of Wales winner in 2008 and the 8% session beer * is described as pale golden strong ale. Deceptively smooth and drinker friendly, in moderation! Hoppy aromas and good bitterness with Willamette hops dominating.

The full list of winners is available here:
Champion Winter Beer of Britain 2010 - Winners List:

Old Ales and Strong Milds category
Gold- Breconshire, Ramblers Ruin (Brecon, Powys)
Silver- Leeds, Midnight Bell (Leeds, West Yorkshire)
Bronze- Beartown, Black Bear (Congleton, Cheshire)

Porters category
Gold- Elland, 1872 Porter (Elland, West Yorkshire)
Silver- Sulwath, Black Galloway (Castle Douglas, Dumfries & Galloway)
Bronze- RCH, Old Slug Porter (Weston-Super-Mare, Somerset)

Stouts category
Gold- Acorn, Gorlovka Imperial Stout (Barnsley, South Yorkshire)
Silver- Beowulf, Dragon Smoke Stout (Brownhills, Staffordshire)
Bronze- Wapping, Stout (Liverpool, Merseyside)

Barley Wines 
Gold- Robinsons, Old Tom (Stockport, Cheshire) 
Silver- Kinver, Over the Edge (Kinver, Staffordshire) 
Bronze- Otley, O8 (Pontypridd, Mid Glamorgan)

OVERALL result 
Gold- Elland, 1872 Porter (Elland, West Yorkshire) 
Silver- Breconshire, Ramblers Ruin (Brecon, Powys) 
Bronze- Acorn, Gorlovka Imperial Stout (Barnsley, South Yorkshire)

The National Winter Ales Festival is in a new location this year:

"The Venue", Sheridan Suite, Oldham Road, Manchester, M40 8EA and is open until Saturday 23rd January.

More Information on the CAMRA Website

*NB O8 can be described as a session beer, just a very messy session!

Brecon Beer Festival

Brecon Beer Festival
Well it's that time of year again when the local beer festivals all start happening at the same time. For those of you not going to the Plough & Harrow in Monknash this weekend there is the Brecon Beer Festival at their new venue, the Breconshire Brewery tap, the Boar's Head.
For those wishing to travel to Brecon, Sixty-six coaches run the X43 Abergaveny-Brecon- Merthyr-Cardiff (and return) service. Bus run every 2 hours so check with Traveline Cymru on the times or use the option box below:











On tap in the Boars':
Breconshire WPA 3.7 %ABV
Breconshire GV 4.2%ABV
Breconshire CBN 4.5%ABV
Breconshire BMR 4.4%ABV
Brains SA Gold 4.7%ABV
Oakham JHB 3.6 %ABV

Outside
Breconshire GV 4.2%ABV
Breconshire BCA 3.7%ABV
Breconshire RD 4.7 %ABV
Breconshire RR 5.0 %ABV
Breconshire WdB 4.4 %ABV
Kingstone Gold 4.0 %ABV
Tudor Skirrid 4.2 %ABV
Otley O-1 4.0 %ABV
Otley Ogarden 4.8 %ABV
Celt Native Storm 4.4 %ABV
Rhymney Silver Drum 4.3 %ABV
HoW Ifron Valley 3.6 %ABV
HoW Welsh Black 4.0 %ABV
PM Snowdonia 3.6 %ABV
Great Orme 3 Feathers 5.0 %ABV
Monty's tba
Hurns OSB 4.5 %ABV
Hogs Back Summer Ale 4.2 %ABV
Sharps Doom Bar 4.2 %ABV
Oakham Oblivion 5.7 %ABV
Corvedale Dark & Delicious 4.6 %ABV
TBA tba
Ringwood Boondoggle 4.0 %ABV
Harviestoun Bitter & Twisted 3.8%ABV

Mountain Rescue at the Great Welsh Beer and Cider Festival

The designated charity for the Great Welsh Beer & Cider Festival this year is the Central Beacons Mountain Rescue Team and to celebrate 40 years of mountain rescue, the Breconshire Brewery will be launching a special ale at the festival next week, with a donation going to the charity for every pint sold.
The 4.4% ABV beer is described by Breconshire Brewer 'Buster' Grant as "a bronze coloured ale, with smooth fruity flavour, and a building hoppiness that leaves a refreshing, long dry aftertaste".
The Central Beacons Mountain Rescue Team began 1959, when Jack Powell a Police Sergeant in Merthyr Tydfil, was asked to bring together some outdoor people to form a team. An increasing number of people were getting into trouble in the Brecon Beacons. By 1963 members included Civil Defence Corp thus was formed the Police Civil Defence Mountain Rescue Team.

One of the first incidents the team were called to, was for a Vulcan Bomber on a low flying sortie which hit the top of Fan Llia and crashed onto the mountain on the other side of the valley. This was an extensive search area conducted in poor conditions, which involved RAF Teams from England and Wales, volunteers from Brecon and our team. The remains of the Aircraft were located with the aid of a helicopter and the Team members had to assist in the recovery of the bodies.

The Aberfan Disaster struck in 1966 and members of the team who were part of the Civil Defence Corp were involved in this major operation, all played an important part with Jack as the Site Rescue Officer.

In 1968 the members of the Police Civil Defence team became the Morlais Mountain rescue team.

The team is a founder member of the South Wales Search and Rescue Association (SWSARA) and is an affiliated to the Mountain Rescue Council for England and Wales. By 1996 the team changed its name from Morlais to become the Central Beacons Mountain Rescue Team.

Photo above right and details taken from their website.

Above: Some of the team pictured outside the Cardiff International Arena Last Year

Great British Beer Festival 2008 - Wednesday

Wednesday saw ITV Wales turn up in the form of the Food Programme with presenter Hywel James. The programme will be broadcast in the autumn and will be available online from the ITV Local website after broadcasting.


The above image shows Hywel interviewing Italian Beer Supremo Lorenzo Dabove and tasting some of the 26 different Italian Beers at the Great British Beer Festival this weekend.


Whilst later in the day, Justin "Buster" Grant, Brewer at Breconshire Brewery and Bar Manager of the Welsh and Scottish Bars takes time out from his mallet dancing practise (don't ask) to answer some questions for the Food Show.