Cross Inn Beerex

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Yet another beer festival this weekend, the Cross Inn, Llanblethian, Near Cowbridge, will be featuring a range of beers on this weekend, starting on Friday 22nd April and finishing on the following Monday.
The pub is short walk outside of Cowbridge or alternatively there is a large car park at the pub.
Cross Inn, Church Rd
Llanblethian, Cowbridge, The Vale of Glamorgan CF71 7JF
Beer list, subject to availabilty etc:

Hancock's HB abv 3.6%

Thornbridge Jaipur abv 5.8%

Wye Valley Butty Bach abv 4.5%

Brecon Brewery Cribyn abv 4.5%

Springhead Charlie's Angel abv 4.5%

Hop Back Spring Zing abv 4.2%

Mordue Radgie Gadgie abv 4.8% 

Skinner's Betty Stogs abv 4.0%

Prince of Wales Royal Ale abv 4.4%

Brecon Brewery Ysbrid y Ddraig 6.5% (if casked in time)

Gwynt y Ddraig Farmhouse Scrumpy Cloudy Cider abv 5.5%

Gwynt y Ddraig Happy Daze Cider abv 4.5% 

Westons Stowford Press Cider abv 4.5%

Boozing Brothers have bash at the Bell

This weekend is promising to be a busy one locally with plenty of beer festivals to choose from around South Wales.

The Bell at Glangrwyney, near Crickhowell, NP8 1EH, will be holding their first ever beer festival this weekend. Situated just outside of Abergavenny this is sure to be a good event.
The pub was taken over last year by brothers Tony and Dave Griffiths. Tony had worked for years at the WDA and has been a familiar site promoting local food and drink from Wales, even occasionally judging at the CAMRA Champion Beer of Wales Competition so we expect his beers to be spot on!
Beer list, subject to availability etc:
Jennings Stickle Pike, 

Butcombe Bitter, 

Skinners Betty Stoggs, 

Beer Rocks Nailers Pinnacle, 

Bath Gem, 

Hop Back Crop Circle, 

Batemans Jewel in the Crown, 

Bombardier, 

Wadworth 6x , 

Adnams Broadside, 

Brains, IPA, dark, SA gold, bitter, 

Otley O2 and Motely Brew 

 Breconshire Golden Valley and Ramblers Ruin

Ciders are Black Rat, Old Rosie, Westons Traditional with bottles of Orchard Gold and hopefully some others from Gwynt y Ddraig

 Bell Inn, Glangrwyney, Crickhowell, NP8 1EH

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The Bell is in on a bus route - the Abergavenny-Brecon-Cardiff X43 Beacons Bus run by Sixty Sixty Coaches runs past the pub and a timetable can be downloaded from here (pdf).

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The Wheatsheaf, Llantrisant

Wheatsheaf, 28 High Street, Llantrisant, CF72 8BQ, 

Open Monday-Thursday 5-12, Friday, Saturday & Sunday 12-12,

The Wheatsheaf Inn is situated on the steep and busy main road into the historic town of Llantrisant, with a conveniently sited bus stop outside the front door. The town once played host to 25 pubs, though today that number is down to 4. Although the pub appears to be two-story from the front, there are extensive cellars and a rear patio area, providing extra space in this roadside pub. The Wheatsheaf seems to have had its origins as a pub in the eighteenth century, though it is first mentioned in 1815.

The Wheatsheaf has recently undergone a sympathetic refurbishment by owners, Caerphilly-based brewery Celt Experience, who have installed a micro-brewery in the cellar of the pub. Previously the Wheatsheaf was owned by the Fernvale Brewery of the Rhondda, who bought the pub in 1925, Fernvale were taken over by Webbs of Aberbeeg in 1949 and in turn by Bass Charrington in 1967. The pub has, in the past, been the headquarters of Llantrisant Rugby Club and even had a rifle range in its cellars at one point.

On the exterior the Wheatsheaf features chalkboards advertising bands and food offers on, as well as a new pub sign and the name of the pub embossed across the upper floor.  Inside, an entrance hallway with a couple of old tinplate Bass adverts in it leads to the bar on the left and the lounge and restaurant area straight ahead. There is a serving hatch in the corridor by the lounge, this, together with the separate rooms is why the Wheatsheaf Inn appears in the CAMRA book, Real Heritage Pubs of Wales, as the relatively unspoilt interior is regarded as being of special historical interest.

The bar room is quite small, but intimate, with an attractively carved wooden bar featuring five gleaming brass handpumps serving a range of real ales from across Britain, though with an emphasis on beers from Cornwall as the landlord is from that county. The beer range will shortly be increased to seven handpumps for the summer. Regular beers are Felinfoel Double Dragon as well as one from the St Austell Brewery range, together with other guests from the Wooden Hand and Skinners breweries of Truro. There is an extensive collection of pumpclips on the wooden gantry behind the bar of previous ales served at this pub. For lager drinkers Krombacher Pils is served on draught and cider lovers have Taffy Apples to enjoy. The landlord is hoping to hold a Cornish Beer Festival in the next few weeks.

From the main bar area a small passageway by the side of the chimney stack with its real fire, leads to another room with low settles, tables and a flagstone floor. This leads out to the upper patio area which provides smokers with a sheltered place.

 Above: Landord Tom behind the bar

The pub is decorated throughout with local pictures and there are books on real ale and the history of the area for customers to read through whilst enjoying their beers. The pub is also home to Wales' smallest brewery, the Korev Brewery, with a capacity of just 20 gallons a brew. The beer is brewed using well water from the pub's own source.

Food is available in the form of bar meals or via the separate steakhouse restaurant, not Monday & Tuesday.

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Brains pubs to celebrate the Royal Wedding

 The pubs of award-winning brewer SA Brain will be celebrating the forthcoming Royal Wedding:

Aubrey Arms
Free glass of wine with your meal to toast the royal wedding 12pm - 5pm.
BaroccoCelebrate the royal wedding with champagne cocktails available all day. Resident DJ from 8pm onwards.
Black Lion, Llandaff
Watch all the proceedings of the Royal Wedding while enjoying fresh scones and tea.
Bowl Inn Buy a main meal between 12pm and 5pm and get a free 175ml glass of a selection of wines. Also get a free pint of Celebration Ale with your voucher from www.brainsoffers.com.
Cardiff Arts InstituteSpring Sessions - We have the scene's best DJs and producers on rotation along with some very special guests and a special U-stream set up so everyone in the world can see what they’re missing.
ChurchillsRoyal wedding day afternoon tea and watch the wedding on the big screen in the Llandaff suite.
CornwallCelebrate the royal wedding with guest ales and a fancy hats & waistcoat competition. There will also be karaoke night from 8pm and a meat raffle.
CrwysEaster Egg mountain raffle with proceeds going to charity.
Duke of Wellington (Cowbridge) Sweet 16 birthday disco party in the ballroom. Movies theme fancy dress. Try our William and Kate’s dessert (for two to share)!
Fox & Hounds (St Mellons)
To celebrate the royal wedding we will have a showing of the royal wedding in our conservatory where tea and fresh Victoria sponge will be available throughout the ceremony.
Fox & Hounds (Whitchurch)
Catch all the glamour of The Royal Wedding on one of our big screens. Then rock the night away to live music form Local heroes "The Fugitives.
Grape & OliveFree glass of wine with your meal to toast the royal wedding 12pm - 5pm.
GreenhouseBeer Festival Weekend. 11 different real ales as well as 3 very tasty ciders! Relax in our garden under the marquees, where the pub will be showing the royal wedding.
Hanbury
CAVA-CANAPES-CUPCAKES
Ladies come and watch the Wedding in peace! Posh Frocks and Bling! £5 admission. Private area-No men allowed!
HarbourShowing the royal wedding on televisions in the pub with a royal lunch available.
Hen & ChickensWatch the royal wedding happen on our wide screen TV. Friday is also part of our real ale, cider and sausage festival. 8 real ales and 4 ciders to try, not forgetting locally made sausages. Live music- Elvis Tribute from 9pm. Free Entry
Hollybush
Join us for our Royal Wedding Celebrations throughout the day and join us in the evening for our Royal Tie and Tiara party with Karaoke/Disco
Lamb & Flag10.30 - 11.30 Champagne Breakfast
Book your seats in the Sugar Loaf Suite to watch the Royal Wedding on the big screen
12.00 - 2.30 Bucks Fizz & Lunch
Finish off the day with a Royal Afternoon Tea
Lord BeechingsRoyal Wedding - Ties and Tiaras Party. Free buffet of vol-au-vents and other finger food and buck fizz. Fancy dress welcome!
Lord NelsonRoyal Wedding Cream Teas. Join us and watch Prince William and Catherine’s marriage live on our big screen whilst enjoying a traditional cream tea, homemade cheese scones with Reverend James chutney and fruit scones with jam and clotted cream for only £5.00 per person.
Maltsters (Whitchurch)
Royal wedding celebrations with special cask ale and BBQ in our courtyard beer garden.
Merrie HarrierKings & queens fancy dress ball, £1 entry and all monies goes to charity.
MonachtyRoyal wedding day specials.
Old InnJoin us for the royal wedding and get a free pint of "celebration ale" see www.brainsoffers.com for details. Receive a free meal if your name is William or Kate (proof will be required)
PenwigRoyal wedding breakfast with bucks fizz.
Piercefield Royal Wedding Brunch – Brunch with a glass of Bucks fizz.
Royal Wedding Most Original Hat - Most original hat wins a bottle of Bubbly. £1.00 entry fee, donated to PlayGroup
Predict the Dress – Correctly predict Kate’s dress & win a bottle of Bubbly. 1.00 entry fee, donated to PlayGroup
Paper Crowns for Kids - colour in crowns.
Strawberries & cream
The bar will be a wedding free zone
PumphouseJoin us for all the coverage of the wedding of the decade!
Witness history on our big plasma screens as Prince William marries Kate Middleton... or just come on down and celebrate another day off work with us!
Punch House Royal Wedding celebrations with a best of British specials board. Cava cocktails to celebrate the day in style and afternoon teas. Fancy dress hat party in the evening and a live singer from 9pm.
Rose Crown, Porthcawl
From 28th April to 1st May we'll be running our very first beer festival at the Rose & Crown!
Coinciding with the May Day Bank Holiday (which historically was beer festival period for the Rose) and the Royal Wedding join us for our Ale & Cider Festival!
The festival will serve from 12 midday to 10.30pm during the 4 day event.
To find out more call us on 01656 784850 or email roseandcrown@sabrain.com
Salt AberystwythCoffee and cake for £2.95 including hot cross buns and home-made Easter cakes.
Salt Fish Supper! Fresh fish dishes served on our specials menu.
Salt CardiffFull coverage of the wedding with a British specials menu available.
Afternoon cream teas – free pot of tea with every cream tea (sandwiches, mini cakes and scones)
Cocktail of the day – Kir Royale
Salt SwanseaWe will be running a street party theme with bunting, hats, fancy dress and it is also the Mumbles Musical Mile Festival that weekend too so we have live bands playing on the Saturday and Sunday nights!
Smoking DogFish Friday - A selection of different fish dishes available. Free glass of wine with your meal to toast the royal wedding 12pm - 5pm.
Three Arches
Wedding Zone in the function room, full coverage on our 60" screen with volume and a manned bar.
Want to get away from the wedding? Come downstairs into our Wedding free zone, where there will be no evidence of the event.
Thomas Arms The Royal Wedding Friday April 29th starts at 10.45am. Celebrate and watch this historic occasion on our big screen, why not dress up in a hat from your favourite charity shop, bring a receipt along to enter, prize for the best dressed. We also have 2 buffets available
Choice 1: £6.95, a selection of traditional party foods: mini sausages, party pasties, sausage rolls, mini eggs, sandwiches. Choice 2: £12.95 Champagne buffet: a glass of champagne to toast, peppercorn or Cajun chicken fillets, mini jacket potatoes and a selection of chefs salads.
Twelve KnightsCelebrate the event with a traditional afternoon tea here at The Twelve Knights Hotel. A selection of sandwiches, scones and cream, cream cakes, a selection of fine teas, a glass of bubbly to toast the happy couple. All this for only £4.99

TynantAll staff dressed in posh frocks and a bride and groom! Kid’s activity day to keep the kids occupied so mums can watch the wedding on TV.

Ty Risha Afternoon cream tea. Free cream scones with every cup of tea purchased. Royal wedding full coverage, free hats and flags for all. Guest Ale, specially made by SA Brain for Royal wedding on sale. Beer battered haddock, chips and peas for only £4.99. Come and celebrate the wedding of the decade with us.
Victoria ParkRoyal Wedding Hen & Stag Do on Friday 22^nd April, 7pm til close, disco and fancy dress. Prizes for the best hen and stag.
On Friday 29th April we'll be hosting a street party to celebrate the wedding of the year!
Vivian Arms
Come and enjoy the day with live coverage of the royal wedding special two course menu and plenty of champagne available.
Wellington Band with pizza and a pint for £5.99
Westgate
Royal Wedding Garden Party - we will be open from 10am so that you can watch the whole event in our garden on our outside screen - enjoy a royal breakfast for £3.95 and wash it down with our special "Celebration Ale" brewed in honour of the Royal Wedding.
White Horse (Coychurch) Royal Garden Party Day & Night! Strawberries and Cream and Pimms available all day ... Garden Party in the church grounds all afternoon (just opposite us, drop in for continuous refreshment!) and watch the events unfold all day with us and stay for our Hats and Frocks Party Night (Ladies can wear them too!) with party music and cocktails!! Pretend you were invited!!
White Lion Royal HotelRoyal Wedding B&B offer £99 two nights.
Yard All main courses £5, desserts £2 plus children eat for just £3. £3.50 on selected cocktails.
Earn double loyalty card points on all purchases all day!

Flintshire Real Ale Trail

 Well the weekend looks like its going to be good and for those readers in North Wales, the Flintshire Real Ale Trail will be running again this year.

The Real Ale Trail is a bus based beer festival running from Mold and up onto Halkyn Mountain with buses operating, 2 in each direction between 11am and 11pm.

Nine pubs are planned to be en-route providing a variety of real ales, other refreshments and entertainment. For £4 in advance or £5 on the day, a Real Ale Trail bus pass will allow you to use the special buses all day.

The following pubs are taking part in the festival:
...
o Gold Cape, Mold
o Antelope, Rhydymwyn
o The Oak, Hendre
o Pwll Gwyn, Afonwen
o Piccadilly, Caerwys
o Royal Oak, Caerwys
o Crown, Lixwm
o Black Lion, Babell
o Blue Bell Inn, Halkyn 

There is a Facebook Site for the event here

Best Beer writers freelance in the Welsh Valleys

Otley Brewery joins forces with World’s best beer writers

The award winning, family run Otley Brewing Company, has joined a growing “guest beer” trend by launching a series of collaborative beers with some of the World’s most well-respected beer writers as well as with Roger Protz.

The brewery has joined forces with Adrian Tierney Jones, Pete Brown, Melissa Cole and Roger Protz to jointly brew creative and unique style beers which are then sold as a limited edition special to Otley’s on-trade customers.

Otley have welcomed influential beer-writer Pete Brown to the brewery this week to try his hand at creating an Imperial Russian stout with ginger. Nick Otley and Pete will spend the day brewing before holding a beer and book matching event for the brewery’s Beer Academy members in the evening.

The brewery kicked off its collaborations with Adrian Tierney Jones in January, who opted for a dark saison, continental-style beer which Adrian and Nick Otley jointly named Saison Obscura. The beer was officially launched in March with a live and online pub crawl around top London pubs including The Rake, The White Horse, Cask Ale Pub and Kitchen and the Southampton Arms.

Otley has also joined forces with world-renowned beer writer, Roger Protz. Roger is well known for writing the World Guide to Beer, The Ale Trail and best-seller 300 Beers To Try Before You Die. Roger brewed a Burton Ale at the brewery in March and later in the evening gave a talk for the Beer Academy where he discussed the history of Burton Ales and how the ale has evolved since it was first brewed.

Melissa Cole will also be attending the Otley Brewery in May to create an elderflower IPA beer.

Nick Otley, Managing Director of Otley Brewing Company, said,  “Joining this growing trend of collaborative beers has given us the opportunity to really experiment with different flavours and styles of beers in partnership with some of the best beer experts in the world. We originally brewed with Melissa Cole last year to create Thai-Bo, an oriental inspired beer with galangal, lemongrass and lime leaf and it was such a success, we decided to expand on this and contact other beer writers who we thought would be interested in doing the same. Partnering up with industry experts gives us the platform to market a range of limited edition beers to our customers, something they will not have seen before. Not only do we get the opportunity to try something different but it also means those beers have a stamp of approval from industry experts who are as equally passionate about beer as we are".

Nick continued, “The evening tutored tasting sessions we run after brewing with each beer writer also allows us to give our customers the opportunity to meet them and to join in discussions about various ales. We want to position the Bunch of Grapes as a centre of excellence for real ale and the co-brewing and tasting sessions have definitely helped with this and have boosted our membership.”

Capel Beerex

Some advance notice of the forthcoming beerex at the Capel, Gilfach Fargoed, Mid-Glamorgan

The Cornwall, Grangetown

The Cornwall, 92 Cornwall Street, Grangetown, Cardiff, CF11 6SR

Situated on the junction of Cornwall Street and Hereford Street and just off Clare Road, this popular Grangetown local is a two-story brick-built pub, half-whitewashed and features a very large and imposing slate roof, the steep angle of which makes the Cornwall stand out from the surrounding buildings. The pub was opened in September 1894, although it was built the previous year but could not get a license to sell alcohol when first built. The expansion of Grangetown in the late nineteenth century created a demand for pubs and eventually it was granted a license. Originally the pub had four separate rooms as well as an off-sales area, the jug and bottle shop, but over the years these areas have been knocked through, although only partly in places with the remains of the original brick walls being able to be seen and today. The main, front bar has a lively but friendly atmosphere, with its dartboard and raised seating areas.

The corner doorway and porch leads into the main public bar, well-lit with large windows and decorated with wood panelling. To the left of the main bar a side passageway leads to the lounge/dining areas and a rear room which features a cast-iron fireplace with a decorative tilled surround and large, low backed settle-type seating set against the walls. The bar features a mahogany top and, more unusually a large brass plate underneath with a thick rope, that stretches the length and curves around the counter. The beer range is from Brains with Dark, Bitter, SA and their seasonal beer, currently Bread of Heaven, all served from the gleaming brass handpumps. On the Hereford Street side, in the single-story extension to the Victorian building is a doorway allowing access to a small outside seating area which provides the Cornwall with a smoking solution in this small, street-corner local.

The Cornwall is decorated throughout with photographs and drawings of HMS Cornwall; from the days of sail, through to the First World War Dreadnought and later ships to bare that name. The Cornwall is very much a community pub with quiz nights every Thursday night and a cupboard of silverware cups won by the various pub teams this pub plays host to. The pub is supposedly haunted by Will The Pig, the father of an old landlord who died in the lounge.

Food is served all day, with menus and separate chalkboards advertising the daily specials with special offers available Monday-Thursday and a curry & pint offer every Wednesday, as well as a loyalty card for those drinking the Brains cask ales.

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Beers at the Boars this weekend

From Brew Wales

The Boar's Head at Tyla Garw, Pontyclun will be holding a beer festival this weekend, April 15th-17th, with landlord Wayne celebrating 10 years at his award-winning pub as well as his 40th birthday! Double celebrations all round.
Beer list:
Subject to availabilty etc:
648 - Gold Angel ... Ruby Mild
ALLENDALE - Wagtail Best Bitter
ART BREW - Spanked Monkey ... I Beer
B&T - Mad Hatter
BLACK HOLE - Super Nova ... Milky Way
BLACKWATER - Impressionist ... Surrealist
BLINDMANS - Buff ... Buzz Light-year
BOX STEAM - Chuffin Ale ... Derailed
BRENTWOOD - Big Bunny ... Hot X Buns
BREWDOG - Alpha Dog (TBC)
BREWSTERS - (3 x Beers - TBC)
BUFFYS - Buffy's Bitter ... Mucky Duck
CONCRETE COW - Pale Ale
CROUCH VALE - Santiam ... Amarillo ... Brewer's Gold
DARK STAR - Golden Gate ... Partridge ... American Pale Ale ... HopHead ... Original
EMPIRE - Golden Warrior ... Ooh Matron
GREEN JACK - IPA ... Orange Wheat ... Excelsior ... Lurcher Stout
HOLDENS - April Showers ... Black Country Bitter
ILKLEY - Best Bitter ... Pale
LEEDS - Yorkshire Gold
MARSTON MOOR - Brewer's Droop
NAYLORS - Spring Ale
OAKHAM - Bishop's Farewell ... JHB ... White Dwarf
OLD BEAR - Black Maria
RCH - Pitchfork ... Old Slug Porter ... Steam Showers
SALOPIAN - Golden Thread ... Peccadilllo ... Shropshire Gold
SPRINGHEAD - Charlie's Angels ... Robin Hood ... Bees Knees ... Roaring Meg
THORNBRIDGE - Brother Rabbit ... Jaipur IPA ... Kipling
WESTERHAM - British Bulldog Best
WILLIAMS - Harvest Sun
YORK - Centurian's Ghost

Boar's Head, Tyla Garw, Pontyclun, CF72 9EZ, 01443 225400

A less than 10-minute walk westwards from Pontyclun railway station, brings you to the Boar's Head, unmistakable with it's old Fernvale Brewery sign outside, a former Welsh brewery that closed in 1970. The walk is a bit difficult as it involves crossing the Bailey Bridge, walking through an industrial estate and almost missing a hidden path with metal fencing around it. Clue – turn right at the stones and carry straight on past the new housing estate. The Boar's Head is on the left hand side, by the level crossing. There is a car park at the rear of the pub if you choose to drive here.

Entering the door of this pub, with its stained glass windows, you could be forgiven for thinking that nothing has changed since the pub was built in 1875, however a few years ago, the Boar's underwent a sympathetic refurbishment with the bar now becoming the centre of the pub and the surrounding rooms were retained rather than knocked through into one. The pub was originally built by the Trecastle Estate for the nearby tinplate workers.

Six real ales are always available on the bar here, together with Budvar Dark Lager from the Czech Republic. The beer range varies but brewers such as Hydes of Manchester, Archers of Swindon and Mathews of Bath are often seen on handpumps alongside Fullers from London and Welsh breweries such as Heart of Wales from Powys. This is an unusual beer range for South Wales, made possible by the fact that the Boar's Head is a free house and not tied to any particular brewery. However the popularity of some of the brews with customers means that Mathews Brassknocker, a golden, hoppy ale of 3.8% ABV, has become an almost permanent feature on the bar.

The Boar's Head is panelled throughout in wood and gleaming copper pans hang over the bar. Another reminder of the old days of Welsh brewing is the old Ely Brewery poster in the bar.

There is a pleasant outside drinking area to the rear and a choice of rooms in the pub to eat or drink in. There is Welsh food on the menu in the form of Celtic Pride beef burgers and Welsh Black Beef Curry. Special offers run throughout the week on the menus with Tuesday being steak night and Wednesday curry night. Bookings are recommended for Sunday lunch. Food served Mon-Sat 12-2.30, 6-8.30

Every room in the Boar's has its own character, with long table and settles or more traditional dining tables in the restaurant section. Every room also has its own fireplace, ideal for those winter evenings.
Awards:
Mid Glamorgan CAMRA Branch 'Pub of the Year' - 2009
Mid Glamorgan CAMRA Branch 'Pub of the Year' - 2003
Mid & S. Wales CAMRA Branch 'Regional Pub of the Year' - 2003
Mid Glamorgan CAMRA Branch POTY 'Runner-Up' - 2002

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Purple Moose lays an egg for Easter

The latest sesaonal beer from the award-winning Purple Moose Brewery of Porthmadog is Cwrw'r Pasg / Easter Ale and is described by the brewery as "An easy drinking chestnut session bitter with a fruity hop finish".
Just hope some of it reaches South Wales.

The Rhymney Story

 I was recently given a copy of the film 'The Rhymney Story” (thanks Dave!) which gives a fascinating glimpse into a brewery in the 1960s. Although the film is undated it contains footage of the opening of the new brewery offices by Lord Robens, Chair of the National Coal Board, at the Crosswells Brewery site in Ely, Cardiff, in February 1963. The coal-fired boilers burnt 40 tons of a coal a week so there was a vested interest by the NCB.

The film begins with a few scenic shots of Rhymney and of course mentions the importance of the ironworks to the locality. The brewery owes its origins to the Rhymney Iron Company who established it in 1838 with Andrew Buchan (pictured on a commemorative mug) as manager, to slake the thirst of those who worked in the iron industry. 

By 1867 it was considered the largest brewery in South Wales. The ironworks closed in 1890 and since then the company focused on coal mining until it was purchased by the Powell Duffryn Steam Coal Company Ltd in 1920. In 1929 the brewery became a separate company in its own right when it merged with Griffiths Brothers Brewery of Blaina under the title of Andrew Buchan's Brewery, the name of the legendary figure who first managed the brewery. 

The famous brewery clock is shown, which once stood at the gates of the brewery and has now been moved to the rear of a building close to Rhymney train station.

In 1936 Rhymney Brewery purchased Crosswells Brewery of Ely, Cardiff. By the time this film was made these were the only two breweries left operating in the Rhymney Brewery empire after a series of takeovers and closures. The film does shift from one brewery to another without making it clear which site is which but from what I have deduced from other sources is that the bottling plant was at the Crosswells site and the majority of draught beers brewed at the Rhymney site.

There is a good little piece about brewing the beer with some facts that you just don't normally see in the history books such as the malt came from the Dereham Maltings in Norfolk and sugar was used in the brew.

 Above: Two copper mashtuns fed via a copper pipe from the hopper overhead

Below: the copper was painted white, in 1960 according to the beam

Above: the hop back

The gleaming copper vessels makes a change from the stainless steel vessels we are familiar with today in breweries. In fact the copper was also made from copper as was the hopback and some of the older fermenting vessels. The Rhymney brewery underwent a refurbishment in the 1950s and closed stainless steel fermenters can be seen in one shot.

 Above: fermenters

In 1963 closed fermenters were still unusual in this part of the country with Brains, Hancock's, Crown (Clubs) and Buckley's and Felinfoel breweries still using open ones. In fact the old Bass/Hancock open fermenters at Brains have only recently been covered over. Felinfoel still use open fermenters and were still using an open-fired copper up until the 1980s and Brains were still using some copper open fermenters in the Old Brewery up to when it closed in 1999.

The film also shows the cask washing and at this time the  brewery was using a mixture of wooden and metal barrels. Although this shot of the cask racking room only shows wooden casks.

 I was a bit surprised that some beers were dry hopped – the process of putting hops in the barrel with the beer to impart more flavour – its not something normally associated with Welsh beers and goes against the image of Welsh beers traditionally being bland.

 After being racked into barrels the beers are stored in a cool room, only being given a dose of finings immediately before they leave the brewery. It is not mentioned how long the beers are stored here for but there are quite a few barrels being stored in this room.

The pubs get a mention, although with a huge estate of over 730 pubs only a few get a mention, the Salutation in Weobly, the Hollybush in Hay, the Angel in Pontneddfechan and the famous Old House at Llangynydd. The unique Railway in Pontlottyn, now sadly demolished, is shown. This pub was built under the arches of a railway viaduct, as this land was owned by the Rhymney Railway Company and not by the temperance loving landowner of the rest of the village who would not allow pubs in the area.

 Above: the Railway Inn, Pomtlottyn

Footage of tanked beer on the drays is also shot – in 1963 Rhymney Brewery equipped sixty pubs with this facility where the beer was fed from the tanker and into the cellar tank, where it was kept under gas and pumped up to the keg fonts on the bar.

The former Iron Company shop which ran out the notorious 'truck' system is seen converted into a mineral water factory, still using the crates of the Llanfoist name, taken from the former Charles Edwards Brewery of Llanfoist, Abergavenny which was taken over in 1945.

As well as soft drinks, the brewery also bottled wines and spirits. The massive wooden butts that transported and stored the wine can be seen in the background of this image below.

There the film leaves Rhymney and footage of Crosswells Brewery at Ely is shot showing the bottling process. “Return your empties please” says the narrator to this story. How many breweries now have the facilities for washing and reusing bottles? Even beer crates are a rarity today with most bottled beers going out shrink-wrapped to a cardboard tray.

The scale of the bottling line can be seen in the pasteurising plant below:

Rhymney took over Crosswells neighbouring brewery Ely in 1959 and demolished it in 1963, concentrating production on the Crosswells site and virtually building a new brewery and a administration block.

 Above and below: Crosswells Brewery, Ely, Cardiff

Looking at this film there is only a small amount of branding in it, compared to how a brewery would project itself nowadays. The famous Hobby Horse trademark gets a mention and can be seen throughout the film but apart from the 'Welsh Brown' sign and 2 indistinct pumpclips there is very little. 

 The flavour of the beer does not get a mention at all, something I think all of us would be interested in nowadays! A brief shot of the keg beer 'Silver Drum' is shown, though the name is not, perhaps because it was one of Ely Brewery's most famous products, not Rhymney or Crosswells. 

This film is a brief snapshot of what was at the time the largest brewery in Wales. At the time this film was made Whitbread Brewery owned 30% of Rhymney Brewery, it was said that Rhymney was one of the breweries that 'sheltered under the Whitbread Umbrella'. A few years later in 1966 Whitbread made a £4.2 million takeover of Rhymney Brewery and replaced the Rhymney beers with their Tankard and Trophy beers. Rhymney Brewery was closed and demolished in 1978, the Cardiff brewery followed in 1982.

Film: 'The Rhymney Brewery'

Year: 1963 or thereabouts

Length: 24 minutes

Director: Ken Pople

Production: Stanley Jones-Frank

There is of course a Rhymney Brewery today, brewing in Merthyr Tydfil though shortly to move to Blaenavon, so once again the Hobby Horse roams the South Wales valleys.

Multi-tasking by Tomos Watkin

Brewery videos are few and far between but this little viral advert gave me a chuckle:


MULTI TASKING BY TOMOS WATKIN by sharkyb

About time I annoyed the feminazis again!

Beermat distributor to cut 350 jobs

Beermat distributor Gwent Police have announced that they will be cutting 350 jobs in an effort to save £3 million off their budget.
Landlords throughout Newport, Monmouthshire, Torfaen and Caerfilthy Unitary Authorities are outraged that they will no longer be able to have bilingual beermats delivered to them by police officers.
One Newport publican, who wished to remain anonymous said, "This really is the thin end of the wedge. Breweries cannot afford to print beermats any longer so we rely on Gwent Police to spend public money producing their propaganda and for their officers to deliver it to my pubs. I mean why do we pay our taxes if the police will not be making deliveries of beermats to pubs".

A spokesperson for Gwent Police said that the beermats had been designed by the Beermat Working Committee and had been approved by both the Ethical and Diversity Committees of the Force, none of which will effected by the job losses in the police force, "That only applies to frontline staff and not to our backoffice team of diversity coordinators and five-a-day fruit advisors. Police officers will still be visiting pubs throughout the Gwent Constabulary area to drop off beermats and collect donations for the Police Widows and Orphans Fund which are always gratefully received, especially in unmarked envelopes containing non-consecutive notes".

Gwent Police have their own Facebook page where you can find out which PCSO has found out whose dog has been fouling the pavement.
They also have their own Twitter account where I aim to help them where possible:

Brains barmaid wins top award!

An employee of award-winning brewer SA Brain came top of the league last night, scooping the 'Barperson of the Year Award' at the Publican Awards in London. Rebecca Jones, team leader of the Terra Nova,on Mermaid Quay in Cardiff Bay beat contenders from across the UK to win this prestigious title.
I have to admit I am a fan of the Terra Nova and have reviewed it previously here.
It is by far the best pub in the Bay, the others suffer from poor beer quality and cleaniless problems on my visits there, yes I am referring to the Eli Jenkins, a pub that surely Mitchells & Butlers could improve by just getting the staff to clean the place regularly.
Back to the awards, Brains were the only Welsh winners last night, the full list is up on the Morning Advertiser site here.
Congratulations to Fullers, one of my favourite breweries who walked away with the Regional Brewer of the Year Award and Managed Pub Company of the Year Award.

Farmer's Arms, Rhymney

Farmers Arms, Old Brewery Lane, Rhymney, NP22 5EZ

The Farmers Arms is located almost at the top end of the Rhymney Valley and although the heavy industries have disappeared from the surrounding areas, the Farmers has survived for almost 140 years as a pub , witnessing the birth, success and eventual demolition of the nearby Rhymney Brewery of which the pub became the brewery tap for. Today a disused supermarket stands on the site of the famous Rhymney Brewery, whose Hobby Horse logo was once a familiar site throughout South Wales. The Farmers Arms opened its doors as a pub in 1875, although it was a farmhouse before that. The building seen today is an extension of the original farm and this explains why it is set at an odd angle to the surrounding and later-built streets. Today the Farmers Arms is a two-story light-coloured building with a contrasting Welsh slate roof and a single-story extension to the side.

The entrance porch leads to a small hallway with the old serving hatches for off-sales directly in front of the door. These were once a popular feature of many Victorian pubs, though few of them survive refurbishments. To the right is the bar area and there is a lounge/dining area and function room to the left. The bar area has a traditional feel to the place with both flagstone and stripped floorboards. Half-timbered walls, cast-iron table legs and high-backed settles add to the atmosphere in this room with a large stone fireplace occupying one wall of the pub. A modern wood-burning stove sits in the old fireplace and heats up this room, perfect to keep the chill out on cold winter evenings. To the side of the bar the thick internal stone walls that belonged to the original farmhouse have been cut through, providing access to other areas of the pub such as the back room and dining area.

The Farmers Arms is decorated throughout with memorabilia from the former Rhymney Brewery, old photographs of the staff at work, beer bottles and the Hobby Horse logo all feature around the pub. The pub also has a function room and this is used by the Silurian Choir as their headquarters and is decorated with their photographs.

The bar is a central island bar, with three separate counters for serving the different areas of the pub and, of course, the old off-sales hatch. Above the bar, dimpled beer glasses hang down like fisherman's hooked worms, acting as bait for the thirsty customer in this old, historic pub. The real ales are from the Enterprise Inns list with Bass being a permanent beer served from the gleaming handpumps with painted china handles, alongside guests such as Everards Tiger from Leicestershire. 

The Farmers Arms is open all day and serves food from 12-2 and 6-9 (not Monday).

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