The latest Iechyd Da column from brewer Simon Buckley

The Iechyd Da beer column from the Carmarthen Journal by Simon Buckley, chief executive of the Evan-Evans Brewery in Llandeilo.

It was General MacArthur who said, ‘Beware, retreat often ends in defeat!’
Well, I am not a general facing a massive retreat and the consequences of that.
But I am a brewer facing the impact of a long wet summer.
This is the time of year that pubs make money to see them through the winter and the weather is killing off the summer day-time trade
The Royal Welsh and the National Eisteddfod normally mark the beginning of the final run out of summer and the run into autumn.
We hope that these landmark events are going to herald the onset of summer and a few weeks of dry and sunny weather. The positive impact that this will have on both morale and takings will be tangible.
Ever the optimist, here’s hoping!
I am not taking the bet and am off to France for a battery charge.
Much is talked about the new concepts of brewing and the marriage of beer to food, and creating new flavours for new food matches.
Anyone would think that this is something new, but beer has always been the drink of the nation, with cider coming a close second.
Our new bottling plant will be up and running by the end of September and we are then going to launch a series of new bottled beers that will provide a whole new range of flavours to match even the most demanding beer drinkers and flavour aficionados.
For all those CAMRA members, there will be a new range of specialist bottled-conditioned beers.
We will be the only brewer bottler in Wales that can produce bottle-conditioned beers professionally.
So what are bottled-conditioned beers?
My dear mother always used to drink bottle Guinness back in the ’60s and in the bottom of that bottle would be a sediment.
The sediments were for the most part natural yeast, which worked its wonders in the bottle, fermenting the sugar in the beer. It was that sediment that gave the beer its natural carbonation.
Many people try to produce great bottle-conditioned beers, but the simple fact is that it’s not an easy process.
The process involves removing yeast from the beer by cold filtration and then dosing the clear beer with a set amount of ‘clean’ yeast.
Too much and the beer explodes, too little and the beer is flat.
Get it right, and you will get a beer that is fresh and will deliver a wonderful range of flavours.
Most of the bottle-conditioned beers in Wales are simply bottle-conditioned because the brewer fills them straight from the fermenting vessel. That is not the way to do it!
So, you can expect, new organic ales, bottle-conditioned dark beers and a flavour to match a host of new recipes being devised for the Autumn and Christmas by our team of Evan-Evan chefs.
Also, look out for a new desert beer, to match the nutty dessert wines, softer carbonation and intense flavours from the malts.
So, if summer does not happen, we will have something to look forward to in the autumn.
But as I finish this article, the sun is beaming into my office in the brewery, and perhaps, we may just be seeing the start of our long awaited summer?