Oh we do like to brew beside the seaside!

Welsh summer … sun, sand and beer! I thought I’d turn my attention to one of my favourite seaside towns, the lovely Pembrokeshire coastal town of Tenby which boasts gorgeous beaches, cobbled streets, castle walls and two breweries! This week I caught up with co-owner Rob Faulkner of Tenby Brewing Co. to find out what it’s like to brew beside the seaside.

Both Rob and co-owner James having a background in running pubs, bars and restaurants all over South Wales and abroad. They met in a pub Rob was running in Tenby and got on very well as they were both self-confessed beer geeks and both had a keen interest in home brewing. After drinking far too much beer one night Rob expained that they decided they should open a brewery. Since it still seemed like a great idea days later they decided to go for it!

James and Rob released their first beer ‘Barefoot’ in early 2015 having decided that some of the beer they were producing at home was far more interesting than the mass produced beers on offer in most pubs, restaurants and shops. “That first batch of beer sold out in a matter of days, which was lucky for us since we would’ve been unable to brew a 2nd without those funds! We went on to produce another four beers in 2015 including our ‘Black Flag Rum Porter’, a witbeer and a red IPA.”

Roll on a few years and the brewery has gone from strength to strength, winning their first SIBA (Society for Independent Brewers) award for ‘Black Flag” in 2016 with a good few more since, distributing nationwide and moving to bigger premises which they converted into a craft beer/street food venue (now Sandbar).

“We’re now delivering directly all over South Wales and regularly sending beer to our favourite ditributors across the UK and growing our offering with a host of new canned brews.
We’ve got some awesome collaborations for 2019 including some innovative beer styles with the likes of Beer Riff Brewing, Wild Weather Ales and Tiny Rebel not to mention our recent brew with Panic! at the disco and Asbury Park Brewery (New Jersey).”

They’ve recently decided to embrace canning their beers, something which is still not widely commonplace among Welsh breweries, so why have Tenby decided on this route?

“Cans have many advantages over bottles including reduced exposure to uv light and Oxygen, they are more recyclable and more recycled. Lighter in weight and more efficient in terms of space which makes them more eco-friendly in terms of chilled storage and transportation. Aesthetically it gives us the freedom to design the majority of the can rather than around half of a bottle, so there is more freedom and fun with our design work (which we do fully in house), for busy venues cans can also chill in the fridge or on ice much faster than bottles. The only downside to cans is the stigma that the beer beer might taste ‘tinny’ although blind trials have shown this is not the case and metallic flavours in beer generally come from issues with the brew itself rather than the packaging, cans have historically had a bad name probably tainted in most by the mass produced beers that were packaged in them(generally speaking) pre ‘craft beer revolution’.”

With over 100 breweries in Wales is there still room for new breweries?

“It’s great to see so many independent breweries in Wales, and handful of these are brewing world class which is something we can all be very proud of! It would be far harder to start a brewery from scratch these days, with much greater competition but in my opinion if the passion for great beer is there and the science is exact, why wouldn’t you give it a go! Just be prepared for some very hard work (especially in the early days!)”

Black Flag Rum Porter 5.5% abv 

Luxurious smooth Porter, with Coffee and Chocolate notes and a touch of Rum sweetness from additions of Pembrokeshire ‘Barti Ddu’ spiced Rum.

Son of a beach 4,2% abv

A tropical pale ale. Their best selling sessionable and refreshing Pale Ale full of Tropical Fruit flavours from premium hop additions. Dry hopped with Simcoe/Equanot/Mosaic. Best served on the Beach!

IP!ATD 6% abv

Asbury Park have handed them the reins to brew this super Limited Edition beer to kick off the UK leg of the Panic! ‘Pray for the Wicked’ tour! This IPA weighs in at a respectable 6%, showcasing the hard-hitting west coast style in all it’s glory, a full on hoppy hit gives in to a complex and well rounded malt backbone.