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 -
September is a busy time for us brewers. The harvest is in and the hop pickers are busy and, before we know it, we will be choosing our malts and hops for the 2012 campaign.
For the last three weeks I have been working on our plans for 2012 and the development of a series of new beers for the guest ale market.
It’s all been about new hop varieties, new malts, and then blending the malts and hops together to get that perfect balance of biscuity malt flavours, balanced with different styles of bitterness.
All that is left now is to brew these beers with passion and care. The end result, I know, will be a wonderful new range of great cask beers.
Next year will see new Evan-Evans brands and Archers beers for the English market.
And, to proudly celebrate 245 years of family brewing, there will be a new brand, WH Buckley.
These Buckley brands will be a new set of heritage beers named after my late great uncle Bill Buckley, a proud West Walian and brewer.
The Buckley name will bring back brands that over the last 245 years were brewed for export to the former Empire.
Beer was sent all over the world from Llanelli and beers such as Bombay Bitter, 1767 Founders Ale, and six others will be brewed to celebrate our unique place in history.
These heritage ales will be unique and different and will relive a special part of our history.
I have for a long time enjoyed being a member of the Soil Association, an organisation at the forefront of the organic movement.
Brewing organic beer is frustrating. Put simply, the raw materials are expensive. However, organic hops give us some of the most fascinating flavours available to brewers.
Every organic farmer will tell you that the problem with organic is that no-one wants to pay the premium for it.
Yes, they want the provenance that comes with organic, but they do not want to pay the premium associated with producing the product?
So what do we do?
I have spent the summer working on a project with a major UK maltster to produce a unique range of organic malts, and to work to drive the price down to a level where there will be little or no difference between non-organic beer and the real thing.
Hopefully, we will have our first malt from the process in November in time for a special organic Christmas brew.
Then we can make organic beer a pint everyone can enjoy, including our near Royal neighbour, Prince Charles, over in Myddfai.
So, for you ale drinkers who regularly read this column, watch out for the new brands and make sure that you get to taste our heritage brands and relive with us part of Wales’s great brewing history.