Latest Simon Buckley 'Iechyd Da' column from the Journal

The latest Iechyd Da beer column written by Llandeilo brewer Simon Buckley in the Carmarthen Journal -
Christmas is coming . . . .a long holiday and a time to enjoy strong beers!
The festive season is traditionally when we drink stronger beers that are brewed to offset the cold of winter, beers that are more fulsome, and warming.
Increasingly, we brewers are trying to marry food to beer and to get people to try beer as a natural accompaniment to the rich food of Christmas. (More on this in the new year)
So, what am I drinking this Christmas?
Probably too much!
But, seriously, I am looking for stronger ales, that are rich full bodied, with a nice spicy bitterness; Winter porters and dark beers and, if possible, a nice stout to down with my favourite pork pie.
I am often asked what is the difference between Porter and Stout. If you want a detailed answer, Wikipedia is the place to go, but in simple terms a Stout is marginally more bitter and uses malts that give a more astringent taste.
Both beers really are winter beers, with strong malt flavours, and complex hints of liquorice.
The use of dark roasted barley in Stout, gives a strong coffee like flavour, which comes across as a very strong and astringent espresso. This, with the subtle off-set of sweetness from the Pale ale malt, gives you a beer that has body, bite, and fullness. Today’s Guinness is not the Guinness that Arthur once brewed in Dublin.
So where do we find the Christmas beers?
Well this year it’s proving more difficult. The supermarkets are rationalising their stock lines, and there are few if any Christmas beers from Welsh small brewers available on supermarket shelves.
So it’s Plan B and a move to cask ale and the ‘take home’ four-pinter. Your local pub is bound to have a good selection of winter beers, and it’s time we as a nation supported our local .
Look out for the Christmas beers from your local breweries. There will be Christmas beers from North Wales, like Conwy’s Hoppy Christmas, a rich full bodied beer; a new beer from SA Brains, and, rumour has it, one from Kite in Gorslas.
If you can find it, try the Brain’s Stout in bottle, it’s a variant of their famous Dark, soft and slightly sweet.
We at Evan-Evans have been busy brewing five new beers for Christmas and the winter.
Each beer has been carefully crafted to bring out a new flavour - a winter porter, dark robust, but with subtle hop flavours; an original Welsh stout, slightly softer than the London Guinness bottle of 40 years ago, but distinctive; two Christmas Santa ales, one for Evan-Evans, and the other for the English Market, Archers Santa’s Glow.
The beer that I think is probably the best, and the one I would urge you to buy as your first four-pinter, is our WH Buckley Celebration Ale, one of our new heritage brands, and named after my dear late Great Uncle Bill.
With the start of celebrations of 245 years of family brewing, I can see this Christmas being memorable in more ways than one.