(this newsletter can also be found in Ale Drinker in the Abercolwyn Branch area - website)

                                                                                                                                                     

August 2007 

SURVEYING BALA AND BEYOND

The Vale of Clwyd branch covers a large geographical area, principally in the counties of Denbighshire and Flintshire and almost inevitably as a result there are some pubs on the outskirts of the area that do not get visited as often as we would like. Earlier this year the branch did a tour by mini-bus to survey some of the more westerly pubs including new recommendations and old favourites.

After a lengthy journey picking up branch members on the way we arrived at Bala, a town with quite a few pubs but none in the current 2007 Good Beer Guide. We started off at the White Lion Royal, a substantial mid 18^th century 4-star hotel on the High Street. On entry into the hotel bar we were impressed with the choice of beers available which included beers from Purple Moose and Conwy amongst others. Unfortunately the Purple Moose Madog was returned as undrinkable and the M&B mild was rated poor whilst the Conwy Honey Fayre and Brains Reverend James were scored average by the surveyors. After a disappointing start the party split up to survey other pubs in Bala High Street.

Nothing special was found at any of the other pubs in High Street until the surveying party re-united at the Boars Head. Two cask beers were on sale, Purple Moose Glaslyn and a national beer from one of the major brewers. Most of us chose the Glaslyn which was found to be very good but the other guest beer was also sampled by some and considered to be of good quality. On the day this pub was worthy of consideration for the Good Beer Guide and one to be re-visited in the future.

A few miles east from Bala on B4401 took us to the Bryntirion, Llandderfel an old coaching inn of good quality in a rural setting. A few of us had visited this pub before and always been impressed. The Purple Moose Snowdonia and Jennings Cumberland were both tried and found to be very good if a little cold at first for some. The Bryntirion is always worth a visit with a warm welcome and two guest rooms for those looking for a base to explore the surrounding area.

From Llandderfel we travelled on A5 through Corwen to Cynwyd, a village well known for being the headquarters of Ifor Williams Trailers and the Blue Lion, one of the few regular outlets for Plassey beers in NE Wales. This traditional pub has remained unchanged over the years and as the bar was busy with pool players we retired to the rear lounge to sample the Plassey beers. In addition to the Plassey bitter we were pleased to see Border mild on sale and this dark mild brewed to the original Border brewery recipe was rated one of the best beers of the night. The Plassey bitter was paler in colour than we remembered indicating a possible change in recipe which was confirmed with the landlord.

After the short detour off A5 we carried on to the Sun, Glyndyfrdwy, a pub situated in the Dee valley on main A5 which was new to most of the surveying party. This pub of character was one of the liveliest of the evening with a warm welcome and an enthusiastic landlord who was happy to discuss the joys of real ale in all of its different varieties. The beers available were Banks's Original, Banks's bitter, and Harviestoun Schiehallion as the guest ale. All the beers were of good quality and we could have happily stayed here for the rest of the evening but we had one more stop to make on the journey home before closing time.

Our final port of call was Golden Lion, Llangynhafal, the branch Pub of the Year for 2007 situated at the foot of the Clwydian hills at a crossroads in the centre of the village. This homely village pub was relatively quiet but nevertheless had a good beer range with a mild, bitter, and strong bitter available together with a real cider, all served in lined glasses. The Golden Lion is a rare outlet in North East Wales for Joseph Holt beers of Manchester and the bitter was rated good, as was the Coachhouse Gunpowder mild. As this was the last stop on the survey most of the party finished with Facers Landslide which as usual did not disappoint and provided a fitting finale to the evening.

It should be noted that the findings of the survey represented a snapshot on the day, and visits on other days could produce different results. As always Vale of Clwyd branch welcome feedback from CAMRA members in particular and the drinking public in general on any pub in their area (see branch website for contact details), so why not visit the pubs yourself and let us know what you think.

BRAGDY'R BRYN CLOSES

After a period of uncertainty during which brewing was suspended due to staffing problems it has finally been confirmed that brewing will no longer take place at the Denbigh site. Bragdy Bryn was set up in 2005 by Geraint Roberts and Euros Jones-Evans at the Colomendy Industrial estate in Denbigh. Geraint had been a brewer at Sharps in Cornwall and the two regular beers Bryn bitter (4.0%) and Bryn Special (4.2%) quickly gained a good reputation locally. Subsequently the regular beers were joined by Herald (6.2%) a classic IPA and other seasonal beers including Du (4.2%) a dry stout. As their reputation grew Bragdy Bryn made plans to upgrade the 5 barrel plant and also introduce bottled beers. Unfortunately Geraint suffered an injury which made it impossible to continue and it became difficult to find a replacement brewer. As a result supplies became sporadic and eventually it was decided to cease trading altogether. The closure of Bragdy Bryn highlights the difficulties the North Wales micro breweries face in gaining outlets for their distinctive, quality products. The local micro breweries deserve support and the best way to help their survival is to ask for their beers in your local pub and seek out the pubs where their hand-crafted traditional beers can be enjoyed.

EISTEDDFOD ALE

Following on from last years successful inaugural event the Mold Food & Drink Festival (www.moldfoodfestival.co.uk) will again take place this year on 23 – 23 September. More than 4,000 visitors attended the event last year and with the numbers expected to double this year there will be a change in format to a style similar to a continental Christmas market. Brewing exhibitors in the main exhibition area include Purple Moose from Porthmadog and Ralph's Cider and Perry from New Radnor, Powys, and in addition to a large increase in the number of exhibitor stands there will also be a 'street' of wooden cabins which will likely showcase local breweries selling and explaining their own wares.

There is a welcome addition to the real ale scene in Mold at the Griffin, an ex-Burtonwood pub on the High Street. Enterprising licensee Darren Stobbs introduced real ale in March in the form of Jennings Cumberland which proved popular and cask beer quickly outsold all the other keg bitters put together. Recently Darren has added a guest beer to complement the Jennings including beers from Wadworth and St Austell amongst others. The Griffin is a lively one-roomed pub open all day with a modernised interior featuring live music, free internet access, charity nights and other events (see www.griffininn-mold.com for details).

Visitors to Mold centre looking for a quality product to drink at home should visit the Gwinology Off-Licence, on Wrexham St near Wetherspoons Gold Cape. CAMRA supports Real Ale in a Bottle (RAIB), also known as bottle-conditioned beer, as the fresh, natural taste of the best in British Brewing. A RAIB will contain live yeast so it matures to produce a sophisticated taste and is infinitely superior to cans or mass-advertised pasteurised beers. The Gwinology has a fine selection of British bottle-conditioned beers, some from local micro breweries such as Conwy, and also features classic Belgian beers amongst its foreign selection including some Trappist breweries such as Westmalle and others such as La Chouffe and Silly breweries. Opening hours are Mon – Thurs 9.30am – 6.30pm, Fri – Sat 9.00am – 7.00pm, Sun 11.00am – 5.00pm.

Ian Ogden
20/08/2007

                                                                                                                                                      

The views expressed in these pages are the views of the local branch or the individual member(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of the Campaign for Real Ale.

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