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100 Beers from Wales you must try: 21-30

Here is the third post in this series, taking us through numbers 21 to 30... 21. Otley - O1 Sadly, Otley closed in early 2018, so there are only a few bottles of this award winning beer floating around. If you get a chance - try it before it’s gone! It’s a great beer with a nuanced aroma of hay, honey and bitter hops. A well balanced palate which is moderately bitter. Refreshing and very drinkable!  22. Bragdy Twt Lol - Glo in the Dark Bragdy Twt Lol is one of my favourite breweries. I could’ve selected any of half a dozen beers for this list but have gone with Glo in the Dark, which is Dark Ale. Rich roasted malt and coffee on the nose are followed by a surprisingly bitter palate driven by hops, which gives an unexpected kick to the beer, which retains a malty sweeteners in the background. An innovative and interesting beer which executes that difficult skill of pleasantly surprising the drinker.  23. Lines - Pale Ale Lines is a relatively new brewery but with a good heritage, h
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100 Beers from Wales you must try: 11-20

Here is the second post for the ‘100 Beers from Wales you must try’ series, taking us through numbers 11 to 20: 11. Crafty Devil - Safe as Milk Canton’s Crafty Devil are establishing themselves as a prominent player on the Welsh craft beer scene. A really high quality stout. An earthy and slightly smoky nose which leads to a strong flavour of black coffee with an almost charcoal-like flavour in the background. A smooth and creamy stout with a rich earthy finish.  12. Hopcraft - Profits of Doom Pontyclun brewery Hopcraft’s Profits of Doom is another very good Welsh stout. Woodsmoke and earthiness on the nose, which follows onto the palate with the interesting addition of dark fruits (berries and cherries), giving a slightly sweet malt kick. A slightly sharper finish than you might expect. An interesting beer.  13. Grey Trees - Afghan Pale Ale Aberdare’s Grey Trees are one of Wales’ most acclaimed breweries of recent years and deservedly so. Afghan Pale is an awarding wi
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100 Beers from Wales you must try: 1-10

In honour of Wales reaching 100 breweries in 2017, I will be seeking to review/profile 100 Welsh beers which you should try, with the intention of covering 100 different Welsh breweries… With no further ado, here are the first ten! Brains - Dark A fitting place to start. This beer is something of a Welsh - or at least a south Walian - icon. A beer of historic significance, harking back to the days of heavy industry, Brains Dark - a traditional dark mild - was a favourite amongst miners, steel workers and dockers. Some might consider the dark mild an unfashionable beer style, but Brains Dark is a cultural significant beer which still enjoys relatively high popularity. At 3.5% on cask, this is a solid session beer. Flavour-wise, notes of coffee, dark chocolate and a hint of liquorice give an interesting palate.  Conwy - Clogwyn Gold Clogwyn Gold from leading North Wales brewery Conwy is a traditional golden ale with a modern twist, utilising high quality North American hop
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Welsh Beer Review of 2017

As we approach the end of 2017 it seems like a good time to reflect upon the year. We've seen an exciting year of change on the Welsh beer scene and it would be impossible to capture every single development here. With that in mind, I've decided to list a few of the highlights below: Tiny Rebel First of all we start with arguably Wales’s biggest craft brewery, Tiny Rebel.  It’s been a big year for the Newport brewers, moving into a state of the art new premises in Rogerstone, enabling a significant expansion in production and the development of an onsite bar and brewery tours.  A slight down-note for Tiny Rebel has been the recent case involving the branding of their Cwtch beer. However, an optimist would note the significant publicity and exposure the brewery has received off the back of this episode… In spite of this recent blip, there’s no doubt that 2017 has been a great year for Tiny Rebel. Grey Trees The awards have been pouring in for the Aberdare br
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Y tarfarndai gorau yng Nghaerdydd ar gyfer cwrw crefft

Ychydig o flynyddoedd yn ôl, cyhoeddwyd rhestr o’r 10 tafarndai gorau yng Nghaerdydd ar gyfer cwrw crefft. Mae Walesonline hefyd wedi cynhyrchu cwpl o restrau tebyg, ond wrth gwrs mae rhestrau fel hyn yn dod yn goroedol wrth i rai barrau cau tra i rai eraill agor. Pwrpas y post hwn yw i roi math o “arweinlyfr” diweddar ynglŷn â thafarndau cwrw crefft yng Nghaerdydd. Rwyf wedi penderfynu i beidio rhestru nhw mewn trefn penodol, neu i gynfyngu’r rhestr i ond 10, oherwydd mae’n bwysig i geisio dangos y sefyllfa cwrw crefft llawn. Dros y blynyddoedd diwetha, dwi wedi ymweld â nifer o ddinasoedd yn y D.U., Ewrop a chwpl yng Ngogledd America. Dwi wirioneddol yn credo bod Caerdydd yn cymharu’n dda iawn i ddinasoedd eraill o ran cwrw crefft, ac yn sefyll allan fel un o’r goreuon yn Ewrop. Cyn dechrau, un nodyn: Does dim siopau ar y rhestr. Mae nifer o siopao potel gwych yng Nghaerdydd, ond ffocws y post hwn yw tafarndau a barrau. St Canna's Alehouse Tafarn newydd sy’
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A craft beer guide to Cardiff

A few years ago the Guardian produced a list of the top 10 craft beer pubs in Cardiff. Walesonline has produced a couple of similar lists, but inevitably such lists become outdated as some bars close whilst new ones open.  The purpose of this post is to provide an up to date guide to the craft beer pubs/bars in Cardiff. I've decided not to rank them, or to limit the list to 10 because I believe it's important to try to present a holistic depiction of the thriving craft beer scene in Cardiff.  In the last few years I've visited quite a few cities in the U.K. and Europe, as well as a couple in North America. I genuinely believe that Cardiff stands out as a high quality craft-beer destination. More needs to be done to promote Cardiff as a great destination for a city break, and the city’s flourishing craft beer scene could be a key element of its appeal.  Before I start, one caveat: I've not included bottle shops - although there are some great ones in Cardi
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