Tastes from all over the world at festival’s food stalls

Breckland Orchard
www.brecklandorchard.co.uk
Celtic Vale Natural Mineral Water
www.celticvale.co.uk
The Fresh Lemonade Co
Fresh lemonade and cocktails!

Hollow Ash Orchard
www.hollow-ash.co.uk

The Lemonade Lady
Freshly squeezed lemonade

Llanllyr Source
www.llanllyrsource.com
Shocka’s Coconut Hub
Freshly-chopped coconut water alongside alcoholic Shocktails mix

Welsh Farmhouse Apple Juice
www.welshfarmhouseapplejuice.co.uk

Yarty Cordials
www.yartycordials.com

SPIRITS & LIQUERS

Bramley and Gage Ltd
Chase Distillery Ltd
www.chasedistillery.co.uk
Da Mhile Distillery
www.damhile.co.uk
Moorland Spirit Company
www.hepplegin.com
Pinkster Gin
www.pinkstergin.com

Sam Sake
www.samsake.com
The Shack Revolution
www.theshackrevolution.co.uk
Sibling Distillery
www.siblingdistillery.com
Tipsy Fruit Gins
www.tipsyfruitgins.co.uk
Warner Edwards Distillery
www.warneredwards.com
TEA & COFFEE

Chantler Teas
www.chantlerteas.co.uk
The Coffee Camper
www.thecoffeecamper.com
The Coffee Gondola
www.thecoffeegondola.com
Delicia Cakes & Teas
Cakes and loose leaf teas.

Handlebar Barista
www.handlebarbarista.com
Moo & Two
Passionate tea lovers, fanatic even; delicious coffee too.

Sherston Tea Company
www.sherstontea.com
Tea People
www.teapeople.co.uk
Welsh Coffee Company
www.welshcoffee.com

WINE

Bordeaux Undiscovered
www.bordeaux-undiscovered.co.uk
Cwm Deri Vineyard
www.cwm-deri.co.uk
Frome Valley Vineyard
www.fromevalleyvineyard.co.uk
Gilbies
www.gilbies.co.uk
Serravinci Ltd
www.serravinci.co.uk
Viader Vintners
www.viader.co.uk

BEER & CIDER

Apple County Cider Co
www.applecountycider.co.uk
Blaengawney Farm (Hallet’s Cider)
www.halletsrealcider.co.uk
Bland’s Cider
www.blandscider.com
Brecon Brewing
www.breconbrewing.co.uk
Butford Organics
www.butfordorganics.co.uk
Gwatkin Cider Company
www.gwatkincider.co.uk
Gwynt Y Ddraig Cider
www.gwyntcider.com
Llangollen Brewery
www.llangollenbrewery.com
Skyborry Cider and Perry
www.skyborrycider.co.uk
Tiny Rebel Brewing Co.
http://www.tinyrebel.co.uk
Tudor Brewery
www.tudorbrewery.co.uk
Ty Gwyn Cider
www.tygwyncider.co.uk
Untapped Brewing Company
www.untappedbrew.com
Welsh Mountain Cider
www.welshmountaincider.com
Williams Brothers Cider
www.cider.wales
Wye Valley Brewery
www.wyevalleybrewery.co.uk
CEREALS

Casa del Cymru
www.casadelcymru.co.uk

Simplyseedz Ltd
www.simplyseedz.co.uk

DAIRY

Calon Wen Organic Dairy
www.calonwen-cymru.com
Llaeth Y Llan / Village Dairy
www.villagedairy.co.uk
READY MEALS

Coconut Chilli
www.coconutchilli.com
SEEDS, NUTS & DRIED FRUIT

Franchi Seeds 1783
www.seedsofitaly.com
Hodmedod
www.hodmedods.co.uk
Hotroastednuts
Cinammon roasted nuts and Italian licquorice sticks

Wild Trail
www.wildtrail.co.uk
Willy Chase’s Popcorn
www.willychases.co.uk
Wils Smokehouse
Smoked organic gluten free foods with attitude.

Welsh brewers win prizes at UK’s top beer awards

A North Wales brewery scooped a prestigious award in tonight’s Champion Beer of Britain Awards.

Heavy Industry Brewing based at Henllan won the strong bitter category with its ale, 77, at the awards staged at the Great British Beer Festival in London.

Founder Tom McNeill set up the brewery in 2012 after completing a course in British Brewing Technology at Brewlab in Sunderland.

He learned he loved brewing cask ales and worked for the summer of 2009 at Purple Moose Brewery in Porthmadog. There, he learned about running a brewery.

Heavy Industry Brewing started out with a ten barrel brew kit and now produces 10 beers including 77, Diawl Bach, Nelson’s Eye, Pigeon Toed Orange Peel, and Dr Jekyll’s Last Waltz.

The winning beer, 77, is an amber IPA brewed with pale and crystal malts and has a flavour of dark Seville marmalade spiked with pepper. Find out more about the brewery here.

It was a good night for Welsh brewers.

Aberdare’s Grey Trees Brewers picked up a silver in the golden ale category for Digger’s Gold.

Newport’s Tiny Rebel Brewery – the winner of last year’s champion ale title with its beer Cwtch – picked up two awards. It won silver in the bitter category for Hank, and joint bronze in best bitter category for Cwtch.

The Great British Beer Festival is run by CAMRA, the Campaign for Real Ale.

This year’s supreme champion brewery is Bingham’s of Runscombe in Berkshire for its Vanilla Stout.

MARIA WILLIAMS IS A COPYWRITER, BLOGGER, PR, AND JOURNALIST. VISIT HER WEBSITE HERE.

Mad Dog Brewing has the recipe for success

Passionate brewer Alexis Jones has been cooking up a great 2016 for his company, Mad Dog Brewing.

The Goytre company is currently brewing the official beer for the National Eisteddfod 2016 which will be staged in nearby Abergavenny. Europe’s biggest cultural festival is expected to welcome 160,000 visitors between July 29 and August 6.

He’s also poised to take on his first two staff, both experienced brewers, and to expand into a nearby unit as his business grows. He also has plans to open a family venue in Abergavenny.

The company’s beers can now be bought across South Wales. Mad Dog Brewing supplies Wetherspoon’s pubs from Llanelli in the west to the English border in Monmouthshire.

It’s a DIY success story born from home-brewing in his kitchen after watching a number of videos on YouTube. After learning his trade, qualifying in microbiology for brewing, and working for a brewery in Caerphilly, he started his own company just two years ago.

Now, he’s begun his eight brews of the Eisteddfod beer Iechyd Da, a red ale which tastes of oranges and chocolate and has a spicy finish on the tongue.

“It’s clean and crisp and is 4.1%,” he says.

The beer has a lower AVB than some other craft ales because it is designed to be a refreshing drink for the Eisteddfod maes, where Mad Dog will have a bar. It will also be sold in bars in South Wales.

The brewery is making 160 casks for the festival, along with 1,000 500ml bottles.

Iechyd Da will be launched at The Bridge in Llanfoist on June 4 – and Alexis will also be showing off one of his most popular beers, Bohemian Hipster.

“I was asked to brew the beer by Monmouthshire Council. When I first got the email, I thought it was a wind-up, but I went to a meeting two days later and found out it was serious,” Alexis says.

“As well as having a bar on the Eisteddfod field, we’ll be staging a brewing demonstration on the first Saturday of the festival.”

The event will provide a huge audience for Mad Dog’s beers – and a massive boost to the company’s profile.

The secret to Mad Dog’s success is the fact Alexis is a perfectionist who uses unusual and local produce, like juniper berries and granola, as part of the brewing process to create unusual and delicious tastes.

2016-05-20-11-16-53_resized — Brewing begins on Iechyd Da

The brewery carries out a pilot brew on its ales as they perfect the recipes, ensuring all its beers meet Alexis’s exacting standards. Even its used mash doesn’t go to waste – it becomes cattle feed for a nearby beef farm.

The brewery is planning its own beer festival with guest ales from around the UK in September at its site in Goytre, to raise funds for mental health charity MIND.

2016-05-12-10-50-24_resized

In July, Mad Dog will also be involved in a ‘tap takeover’ at Cardiff’s Urban Tap House, and Alexis is in the process of planning a Christmas event too.

“Our two new brewers start work in the next few months, which will help us meet the growing demand for our beers,” Alexis says.

He can’t reveal more details about his plan for an Abergavenny venue as yet – watch this space!

For more details about Mad Dog’s beers go to http://maddogbrew.co.uk/

Maria Williams is a copywriter, professional blogger, and PR for small business: www.wordsyoucanuse.co.uk

UPDATED: Sup a new red ale to support Wales in the Six Nations

maddoglogo

UPDATE: Monmouthshire brewery Mad Dog has been chosen to create the official beer for this year’s National Eisteddfod in Abergavenny.

Founder Alexis Jones says the decision was made by Monmouthshire County Council and the Eisteddfod board. The ale will use Welsh ingredients, and, like its Six Nations ale, it will be red.

Cwrw Steddfod will be available in cask and bottles in pubs in Mid and South Wales, and there are plans for a brewing demonstration at the July event.

Six Nations ale goes red for Wales:

If you want to show your Six Nations support for the Welsh rugby team while supping a local craft ale, the Mad Dog brewery has come up with your perfect tipple.

The brewery based in Penperlleni near Abergavenny has brewed a Welsh cask ale called Scrum Sox which it is distributing to a select group of pubs. In honour of Warren Gatland’s side, it’s red.

Brewer Alexis Jones says the ale is made using chocolate rye malt, which gives it the distinctive colour.

“I’ve made about 1,000 litres, and it will be available in the Boar’s Head, Brecon, the Horseshoe in Mamhilad, and the John Fielding in Cwmbran,” he said.

Mad Dog has made a name for itself by creating delicious craft ales from unusual ingredients, many of which are sourced locally. Its All Day Breakfast granola stout, available between October and March, uses handmade granola from the Wye Valley.

all_day_granola_stout_bottle

Afternoon Sunshine, which has citrus notes, is an American Pale ale which is dry-hopped to the finish. Alexis said this is to give the beer “extra bark”.

Full-bodied stout John Peel, available between September and March, is infused with fresh orange peel, and is named after one of Alexis’ musical heroes.

“I listened to John Peel’s programme when I used to drive a truck,” he said.

john_peel_bottle

Submissible Anarchy, available between September and March, is a golden crafted ale made with local honey, and added flavours of citrus and juniper berries.

A keen home brewer whose passion for creating beer was re-ignited by YouTube videos, Alexis learned his craft at Caerphilly’s Celt Experience brewery. He also completed a microbiology course in beer at Brew Lab.

He started Mad Dog Brewing Company Ltd in October 2014, initially creating four beers from his home kitchen – Afternoon Sunshine, Bark Like A Bird, Dirty Dog, and Now In A Minute.

He moved the brewery to a unit in Penperlleni in February 2015. The business has taken off, and now he’s expanding, and hopes to take on two members of staff.

A number of Mad Dog’s bottled beers are available in a number of shops as well as cask ale being available in pubs.

“We’ve got around 26 different wholesalers situated across the UK,” Alexis said. Close to home, the beer is sold at The Marches Deli in Abergavenny.

Find out more about the beers at http://maddogbrew.co.uk/beer-range/

Customers can buy the brewery’s bottled beer, including John Peel, Now In A Minute, Bohemian Hipster, and It’s All Propaganda, online at http://maddogbrew.co.uk/shop or through Beer Revolution http://www.beerrevolution.co.uk/

John-Peel-Mad-Dog-Brewing-Co

Maria Williams is a professional blogger, copywriter, and PR for small business. Visit www.wordsyoucanuse.co.uk

25 reasons to check out Cardiff Brewfest this weekend

Breweries Otley and Tiny Rebel are staging a fully independent craft beer festival in Cardiff this bank holiday weekend.

The three-day event will see beers and ciders from 25 breweries, including Pontypridd’s Otley Brewing Company, Newport’s Tiny Rebel, which recently won the accolade for Britain’s top beer with its ale Cwtch, The Celt Experience, Hallet’s Cider, Bristol Beer Factory, Brecon Brewing,Crafty Brewing, Arbor, Heavy Industry, and the Tenby Brewing Company. There will also be streetfood stalls.

Cardiff craft beers — Beers from Pontypridd’s Otley Brewing Company

Each visitor gets entry to the venue, Depot, at 22, Dumballs Road, Cardiff, a programme, and their branded half pint tasting glass for £5.

Opening times; Friday – Trade – 12-3pm; Public – 3-11pm; Saturday – 12-5pm and 6-11pm; Sunday – 12-11pm.

Tickets can be pre-ordered online here, or you can pay on the door. For trade tickets please contact bradley@tinyrebel.co.uk

Newport brewery wins top title in Great British Beer Festival

The owners of Newport’s Tiny Rebel Brewery are celebrating today after winning the title of Champion British Beer with their ale, Cwtch.

The prestigious award comes at the Great British Beer Festival in Olympia, London, run by the Campaign for Real Ale,where there are 900 real ales, ciders, perries and international beers. There are 350 British breweries featured.

The brewery describes Cwtch as our very own untraditional Welsh Red Ale. Citrus and tropical fruit dominate the taste that is backed up with caramel malts that balance the moderate bitterness. Drinkability & balance makes this beer.”