The Swansea Bay Beer Festival proved yet another great success. Visitors were treated to over 100 real ales, ciders and perries, sourced locally and further afield …. no wonder it marked it’s 33rd year!
It also boasted the first heats of the coveted Champion Beer of Wales Awards, namely the best bitter and speciality categories. Judges pondered over the range of fine beers shortlisted for these categories and following a blind judging (not knowing what each beer they were tasting) they crowned 2 local breweries.
Firstly in the Best Bitter category was Glamorgan Brewery with Jemima’s Pitchfork. Based in Llantrisant, Glamorgan Brewery was formally known as Kite (the bird still adorns the labels), the brewery boasts it’s own bottle shop and offers brewery tours. Other beers in it’s range include Welsh Pale Ale, Cwrw Gorslas (Named after the village in Carmarthenshire where they first brewed) and Welsh Cake Stout.
Glamorgan Brewery – Jemima’s Pitchfork 4.5% abv
A pale, crisp beer brewed with Citra and Eldorado hops giving a brilliant undertone of citrus, pear and melon. Hops: Eldorado, Cascade, Citra, Bramling Cross, Chinook. It’s going down well at the Carmarthen Beer Festival, having been voted ‘Beer of the festival’ for the last 2 years.
Secondly in the Speciality category (real ales that may be produced with novel ingredients) was Mumbles Brewery with Oystermouth Stout. Established in 2011, Mumbles Brewery Ltd is committed to producing quality real ales with a local flavour. Brewing beer locally has reduced “beer miles” and expanded the range of real ales consumed in the area. No strangers to awards, their Gold debuted at the 2013 Swansea Beer Festival and was the first to sell out and continues to be their best selling ale, whilst Mumbles IPA was also crowned champion beer at Swansea Bay Festival 2016. Then in 2017 at the SIBA Wales & West Beer Festival at Ludlow, Mumbles Brewery scooped no fewer than 6 awards!
Mumbles Brewery – Oystermouth Stout 4.4% abv
A rich creamy head and dark roasted malt flavours distinguish this classic stout, with the slightest hint of the sea due to real oysters being added to celebrate the rejuvenation of oyster cultivation in Swansea Bay.
Quickly on the heels of the Swansea Beer Festival is Wales’ main event the Great Welsh Beer Festival. Having had a bit of a nomadic existence over the last few years it is being relocated to The National Cricket Training Centre in Sophia Gardens, Cardiff. Running from Thursday 17th October to Saturday 19th October and will feature a vast range of cask ales, craft beer, cider and perries, live entertainment and pub games.
One highlight which has caught people’s eyes is the Craft Beer Bar. Wales Ales caught up with the Craft Beer Bar organiser, Alex Simmens, to ask him to tell us more about this exciting feature.
“For 2019 our craft beer bar has been expanded both in size and in scope! This year our number of taps has doubled to 12 allowing a larger range to be on sale at once. We have expanded the range of Welsh craft beers on offer from all corners of Wales. Including a range of breweries from North Wales Such as Wild Horse and Geipel that are rarely seen in the South. Being a Welsh festival we wanted to set ourselves apart from other CAMRA festivals. As such we decided on an overriding theme this year: pan-Celtic solidarity. We aim to source an exciting range of products from the Celtic regions of the UK – Cornwall, Scotland & Ireland. For our first year we are getting in White Hag from the Republic of Ireland, Fierce Beer from Scotland and Verdant from Cornwall among others. Who knows, if the theme proves successful perhaps we can expand it in the future to include Brittany and Galicia?”
The festival will also feature a greater number of categories to be judged. The finals will be at The Great British Beer Festival Wales in April 2020 held at Bute Park. So if you fancy some champion beers then pop along and see for yourself why it’s called The Great Welsh Beer Festival.
Upcoming Festivals & Events
Carmarthen Beer Festival – 3rd October – 5th October 2019 St Peters Civic Hall, Nott Square, Carmarthen
Great Welsh Beer Festival – 17th – 19th October – Sophia Gardens, Cardiff
Help keep news FREE for our readers
Supporting your local community newspaper/online news outlet is crucial now more than ever. If you believe in independent journalism, then consider making a valuable contribution by making a one-time or monthly donation. We operate in rural areas where providing unbiased news can be challenging. Read More About Supporting The West Wales Chronicle
