A thread devoted to Real Ales in Wales

[ddraig]

oh tis open on Albany rd then! hope it shapes up and gets more beers like you say and will do a walkby and maybe go in soon
still not been to the Otley Arms

 

[marty21]

Best by far is The Park, Park Street - hiden away up a back street hill.. Most of the others are indifferent to shite for beer to be honest.

Try instead (or as well) to persuade them to go to The Joiners in Bishopston, bus ride away and truly excellent for beer, it's where the Swansea Bay Brewing Company (very micro) beers are made and sold, with other guests constantly rotating. Food pretty good too, better than anywhere in Mumbles IMO.

cheers WoW, can't see them wanting to schlep to Bishopston tbh - I have a bit of free time so I might go up there myself whilst they are playing golf

 

[ddraig]

here is a bit more on the new Rhymney Brewey Bar on Albany Rd
http://www.roathcardiff.net/2012/09/03/andrew-buchan-new-real-ale-bar-opens-on-albany-road/

 

[William of Walworth]

Rhymney ales kick proper arse. Export and Dark are best. I can see that place doing well with it offering a welcome alternative for the CF-area alelover -- bit of a change from the ubiquitous Brains (and yet more Brains and then even more Brains )

Will check it out ourselves on a future visit.

 

[William of Walworth]

Hey thanks for that report JKaranka -- we were going to head to Pontypridd today (Sun), from Cardiff along the Taff Valley trail on our bikes. But then the weather prospects declined ....

I do know the Bunch of Grapes, loved it, it's the Otley Arms that will be new to me ... but festivaldeb has never made either pub so I'm sure we'll be back in the area .... certainly for Oct-o-bar (see above) and maybe another time as well ....

 

[jannerboyuk]

here is a bit more on the new Rhymney Brewey Bar on Albany Rd
http://www.roathcardiff.net/2012/09/03/andrew-buchan-new-real-ale-bar-opens-on-albany-road/

the people putting the signs in the windows were obviously paid in beer! got a friend in that area reporting back to me on this place, before i deign to leave pontcann for scruffy old roath!

 

[jannerboyuk]

Chapter is indeed bloody expensive. But it's really the only the place to go for guest ales unless you want to join the wino's in Wetherspoons on Cowbridge Road. It says alot about Cardiff that probably the best place for beer if you can put up with the rest of it is Wetherspoons.

the conway did some guest ales a while back, with a handy list of what was it the cellar waiting to come up! Ill pop there tomorrow to see how they are doing on that front.

 

[ddraig]

Microbreweries 'the way forward' after 11 open in year
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-19583116

with a handy list

New breweries in Wales over 12 months

• Gower Brewery Co Ltd Greyhound Inn Oldwalls
• Grey Trees Brewery Red Cow Inn Llwydcoed
• Violet Cottage Brewery Gwaelod y Garth Inn Gwaelod-y-Garth
• Tiny Rebel Brewery Newport
• Tudor Brewery Abergavenny
• Llangorse Brewery Red Lion Llangorse
• Denbigh Brewery Hope & Anchor Inn Denbigh
• Hafod Brewing Co Ltd Gwernaffield
• Big Bog Brewing Co Waunfawr
• Cwrw Llyn Nefyn
• Friends Arms Brewery Carmarthen

Source: Camra

 

[wayward bob]

Today I've been to the new Rhymney Brewery pub in Albany Road. Quite disappointed. Four Rhymney's on pump, but no guests on sight, plus the ales were all on the safe-ish side (bitter, bevan, export...). Place looked like either a betting shop or a community centre.

i only noticed it yesterday and thought it was a very odd choice of location. it used to be a video shop and doesn't look like they've changed much

 

[jannerboyuk]

I was at the pelican near ogmore on sea on wednesday. a few wye valley beers and doom bar which i had, a bit ordinary but not brains at least

 

[marty21]

Back from Swansea, went to that Park Inn? a couple of times - quite liked it - 3 or 4 ales on, nice atmosphere. Mumbles is pretty lifeless though - when I lived there in the 80s there were maybe 15 pubs/bars along the 'Mumbles mile' plus 3 or 4 clubs - it was a student mecca - now just a handful of pubs, a few wine-bar sort of places, no clubs - I heard somewhere that students don't really live there anymore - which probably caused the pubs to close - or was it the pub closing that led to the students moving into town?

 

[Plumdaff]

We were in Tenby last week on holiday - our favourite pub by a long shot was the Hope and Anchor on St Julians St near the harbour - two or three 'resident' beers which were your standard Brains and Doombar but a really good selection of around six guest ales, my favourite of which was Springhead's Maid Marian. They also do lovely grub and there's a good mix of locals and tourists. I recommend.

 

[Gavin Bl]

So anyone been in the Rhymney place on Albany Road? i'm thinking I might have to combine this thread and the chippy thread, have couple of pints in there, and then partake of fish n chips in the Albany fish bar... couple of pints of dark, and a bag of chips - how tidy is that?

 

[ddraig]

didn't look too inviting on Sat afternoon and a bit like a betting shop

good idea you got tho as they are almost opposite each other!

 

[Gavin Bl]

old men drinking real ale shock, ddraig?!

I just hope the don't do what they did in the Winchester in merthyr, serving great beer in the most cheaply fitted out pub ever, was like an olde worlde portakabin.

 

[nogojones]

didn't look too inviting on Sat afternoon and a bit like a betting shop

good idea you got tho as they are almost opposite each other!

Popped in there a couple of days ago and all I could think off was the bookies. can't see myself becoming a regular

 

[ddraig]

e2a to gav
i will be going in there to try it out and support them! so ner
knocking on myself, nearly target audience

yo nogo! ya ok?

 

[William of Walworth]

New breweries in Wales over 12 months

• Gower Brewery Co Ltd Greyhound Inn Oldwalls
• Grey Trees Brewery Red Cow Inn Llwydcoed
• Violet Cottage Brewery Gwaelod y Garth Inn Gwaelod-y-Garth
• Tiny Rebel Brewery Newport
• Tudor Brewery Abergavenny
• Llangorse Brewery Red Lion Llangorse
• Denbigh Brewery Hope & Anchor Inn Denbigh
• Hafod Brewing Co Ltd Gwernaffield
• Big Bog Brewing Co Waunfawr
• Cwrw Llyn Nefyn
• Friends Arms Brewery Carmarthen

Most of those we've tried over the months, the rest will have to remain a "tickers' challenge" for now

 

[William of Walworth]

And if you can hunt Pixie Spring Brewery (Facebook link) down, then give their ales a go. Fabulous

 

[William of Walworth]

Carmarthen Beer Festival 2012 starts tomorrow, for those able to head West ...

We can only make the Thurs evening sadly (27th Sept), but we're leaving work no later than 4 pm tomorrow to get there

 

[ddraig]

sooo
just got back from the Andrew Buchan! tidy
1 other bloke and a group of 4/5 Indian students in there 7.30ish
nice and cosy as they have a fire
i had 2 pints of Rumney Export 5% very nice
it is like a betting shop with the lights, semi mirrored ceiling and 2 gamblers
also furniture and lack of stuff over the walls adds to it

there were 2 framed Cardiff City shirts, one red and one BLUE! both with signatures on wishing luck for the new bar.

for some weird reason i didn't go directly across to AFB but came home and got to knock together a stir fry now!

 

[nogojones]

e2a to gav
i will be going in there to try it out and support them! so ner
knocking on myself, nearly target audience

yo nogo! ya ok?

Been better, but its a long story

 

[William of Walworth]

Our friends/neighbours in Neath/Port Talbot branch of CAMRA helped us get the last 2 seats on their minicoach to The Star Inn, Talybont on Usk, next Friday (12th October). Would be an utter killer (or would it? ) to get to otherwise (6 miles from Brecon, 14 from Abergavenny).

The Star is having a beer festival that weekend. The place has won many CAMRA awards it seems ....We're hugely looking forward to trying somewhere completely new to us. On my very first official non working Friday after going onto a reduced-hours contract, too ...


Anyone else been?

 

[trampie]

You still haven't been there WoW, 18 months after i [a local beer drinker] advised you on this thread.

 

[ddraig]

not bloody easy to get to now is it! to be fair like

 

[trampie]

not bloody easy to get to now is it! to be fair like

None of the best ones are, Red Lion Penderyn, Ancient Briton in Pen-y-Cae, its a beer drinkers duty to seek out the best, to take 18 months after been told is terrible performance, WoW has a lot to learn.

 

[William of Walworth]

I've been to the other two (Red Lion and even more, the Ancient Briton) a good few times. But as ddraig points out, the Star is considerably more of a mission.

Can't wait til Friday now though!

 

[William of Walworth]

Ths Star was AMAZING last Friday!

For last wekend's beer festival, the place had a huge marquee in he back garden with about 15 to 20 barrels in that, and maybe 7 or so handpumps in the pub itself.

Paradise!

So going back next year ....

ETA : apparantly the pub has use of a canalside campsite 2 mins walk from the pub. Prospect of much summertime joy therefore!

 

[William of Walworth]

Early talk locally of one of our infrequently-seen CAMRA mates setting up a new ultramicro in Mumbles. Apparantly, he has gone into partnership with some people (?) who are about to take over a long closed pub that was once one of the landmarks in the used-to-be famous Mumbles Mile in days gone by.

Watch this space, but it may take time. We'll see!

 

[teqniq]

Earlier in the thread I mentioned Bare Naked Beers and the ridiculous case of trademark infringment bought against the proprietor by Pepsi. Unfortunately he lost the case.

Tiny Welsh brewer loses battle over beer name with drinks giant Pepsi

scum