Swansea Bay Beer Festival

Having enjoyed the Swansea Bay Beer Festival more than the bigger and more lauded Great Welsh Beer and Cider Festival last year, I was keen to return to see if my opinion had changed.

 

Photo - Paul Evans

The festival ran from the 23rd to 25th of August, and was held at the grand-inside-slightly-Soviet-outside Brangwyn Hall.

Brangwyn Hall exterior
Photo - Paul Evans

With over 100 beers and ciders available it promised to be another good festival, and a bargain £4 entry too, including a rather natty glass tankard. Good start.

Unfortunately the optimism didn't last long.  As I was perusing the beers, it became apparent rather quickly that very few of the ones I wanted to try were available. I chatted to one of the volunteers briefly, and he said that they had ordered 10% more beer for this year.  Maybe next year they should add 50% more.

Nevermind, it offered me the opportunity to hit the cider and perry, which is never a bad thing.

Photo - Paul Evans

Even though i missed out on the beers I wanted to try, it was a good afternoon and the Brangwyn Hall is always a nice place to booze the day away.  The event was also well run, had decent facilities and decent food available if you wanted to waste time eating.

Photo - Paul Evans

Of the beers I tried, these were the best:

O-Garden, Otley, 4.8% A great spicy wheat beer, with orange, coriander and clove flavours. My favourite beer of the festival.

Blackberry Stout, Waen Brewery, 3.8% As well as Bullmastiff's Son of A Bitch, I always try and have a pint of this at a beer festival. A good, full-on stout with a lovely, juicy, dark fruit finish.

Barry Island IPA, Brains, 6% A fairly recent beer from Brains' new craft brewery.  A decent effort, but slightly muted hoppiness for a 6% IPA.

Special mention must also go to Kelham Island for making a pale ale that smelled like a urinal. Rancid.

Cider and Perry:

Rum Cask, Blaengawny, 7% In your face dryness was the order of the day from this Blaengawny beast.

Barn Owl Perry, Raglan Cider Mill, 5.6% I should have guessed something was up when I refused a taster and the barman pulled a silly, slightly mocking face at me.  The driest liquid I have ever tried!

Blindfold, Blaengawny, 6% An excellent medium cider, my favourite of the festival.

So, a good day out at the Swansea Bay Beer Festival, which is rapidly gaining in popularity.  More beer next year please.

Cheers!
Photo - Paul Evans

Arty pints no.15



Photo - Paul Evans


A pint of Otley O6 Porter at the Bunch of Grapes, Pontypridd.

Snake Dog

This is a 7.1% IPA by the Flying Dog brewery of Maryland, USA.

Photo - Paul Evans

It's a deep amber colour, with a frothy beaten egg-white head.  The aroma is fruity, hoppy, with notes of citrus fruits and pineapple.

Photo - Paul Evans

This is another beer with a big initial hop hit. It's lively in the mouth and very moreish.  There are some tropical fruit flavours, hints of sweet candyfloss and melon which is balanced by a good maltiness that doesn't dampen the sharper flavours.

4*

Great pub views no.8

Photo - Paul Evans

An old Brains sign, outside the Black Lion, Llandaff.

Cat Bar

On the advice of regular Commercial Room contributor Ian Owen, I visited the Cat Bar in Barcelona on a recent trip. It's a vegan cafe and artisan bar, tucked away on one of Barcelona's oldest streets, near the famous Cathedral.

Photo - Paul Evans

The Cat Bar specialises in craft beer from local Catalan brewers and the choice was excellent.  There was a plethora of local beers on tap, as well as a fridge full of Spanish craft beer and many more from further afield.

The Bar
Photo - Paul Evans

It's a cosy and quaint venue with some cool drinking stools and tables opposite the main bar.  It's a cafe in style - as most Spanish bars are - but I could have happily drank away a few hours in this place.

 

The fridge!
Photo - Paul Evans

The staff were very helpful and insightful about the beers available, I only wish I could have spent more time there working my way along the taps, and then through the impressively stocked fridge.  I did manage to try two local brews, which were both excellent.  First up was Cerveses Almogaver, a 'Catalan style' pale ale. A good amber colour and crisp and refreshing. Exactly what I needed at the time as it was beyond baking in Barcelona.  Next I tried Fort smoked oat stout which was absolutely delicious.



The author enjoying a Cerveses Almogaver, and the smoked oat stout

Photo - Paul Evans



The Cat Bar is a very cool, laid back drinking establishment and I was over the moon to find some craft beer after drowning in the blandness of Heineken throughout Europe all week. If you're ever in Barcelona a visit  should be mandatory for a beer lover.

P.S. I didn't try the food but the vegan burgers looked amazing!

The Cat Bar Barcelona - Carrer de la Bòria, 17, 08003 Barcelona, Spain

King cobra

This is a strong, double fermented, lager from Cobra.  It is presented in a champagne style bottle complete with cork and cage, which gives it a classy appearance.

Photo - Paul Evans

The beer is brewed with hops from the Hallertau region of Bavaria, along with the finest rice and barley malt.

Photo - Paul Evans

The beer is very pale, with a lively white head that is short lasting.  The aroma is primarily of dried banana, with hints of fresh grains and wet grass.

Photo - Paul Evans

The beer tastes of banana followed by a hit of strong alcohol that balances perfectly.  It is crisp and bitter on initial tasting, but this leads into a mellow malty creaminess, which is very smooth and reminiscent of peach melba ice cream.

I thoroughly enjoyed this beer, from its appearance and packaging right through to the final drop. 

4*

Arty pints no.14



Photo - Paul Evans

 A pint of Robinsons double hop IPA at the Prince Llewellyn, Beddgelert.

Little Creatures

This is a 5.2% pale ale by the Little creatures brewery of western Australia.

Photo - Paul Evans

It's a beautiful bright orange in colour with a nice lathery white head. The aroma is fresh and predominantly of citrus fruits. It is a lively beer on the palate, with hints of mandarin and a subtle spiciness.

Photo - Paul Evans

I was introduced to this recently by Commercial Room guest poster, Ross Evans, who spent a couple of years in Australia and said this was one of the best beers he had tried there. It's hard to disagree, this is a great beer.

Rating: 5*

Pale Ale

This is a 5.4% pale ale by the Stone brewery of San Diego, California.

Photo - Paul Evans

It's dark amber in appearance, with a classic American style frothy off white head.  The aroma is of cream soda, sweet barley with floral hints.

Photo - Paul Evans

This beer tastes hoppy, with a nice grapefruit bitterness and a rich malty flavour.

4*

Arty pints no.13

Photo - Paul Evans

A pint of Caledonian Coffee porter at the Rummer tavern, Cardiff.