Great pub views no.9

Photo - Paul Evans

Inside the Goat Major, Cardiff.

Arty pints no.16



Photo - Paul Evans


A couple of Caledonian Deuchars IPA, at the Rummer Tavern.

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