The latest 'Iechyd Da' beer column from brewer Simon Buckley
On your marks, ale drinkers of Wales!
It’s official: Your taste buds are going to be challenged over the next few months.
Get ready for a range of new beers, new tastes and styles of beer not tasted in Wales for a very long time.
In total, there will be seven new ales for you to try - and a very special summer stout.
Each year, I review the brands we brew, look at the events of the coming year and see how we can then build a beer that will celebrate the great art of brewing and the event in question.
By the end of November, the job is done and I have my plan for the following year.
This year, we have launched our Archers Guest Ale brand and this summer will see us launch a new range of organic beers for the export market.
It’s no easy task, but I believe we have come up with a range of beers that will challenge every ale drinker in Wales to get down to their local pub.
So what goes into this process of creating new brands?
The project is always long and involved, with the cross matching of beers to hops to malt to water.
Then, the trick is, to make sure that they are all distinctly different.
After hours on my iPad looking for new hop varieties (and then finding where I can get them in the UK), the job is finally done.
Then we cost them carefully and price them so that our loyal followers can enjoy the very best of Welsh Ales at a price they can afford.
So what have we come up with?
The answer is, something for everyone - a Jubilee ale, an Olympics ale and a clutch of new summer ales, as well as the tried and tested.
For example, there’s Prince of Wales Ale, first brewed in 1910.
Then, to continue our celebration of 245 years of family brewing, Colonel Bill’s IPA, named after the famous ‘WH’ Bill Buckley.
Finally, there will be a new summer stout, to be drunk colder than normal.
Each of these brands has its own place in our history and will be a memorable new beer to try.
In late June, we will be brewing our Olympics Ale called Victory.
Then, there will be four new beers for the summer - Archers Golden, Ow’zatt and Lazy days, followed by an exciting new Evan-Evans beer called Bombay Bitter.
So where do you find these new beers?
Well, I am pleased to report they will be found in a good real ale pub near you, and in our own pubs starting with a Jubilee Ale Fest in early June to celebrate the ‘Art of Welsh Brewing’.
So, beer drinkers of Wales, whatever the weather does, you have a summer ahead of trying some great Welsh Ales.
If you don’t like the Royal connection, then fine, close your eyes and see the beer as a celebration of 245 years of a great West Wales tradition.
Then, of course, you can have a second to drink to the next 50 years of the same!
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