Wales’ best loved brewer, SA Brain and Co Ltd, today celebrated the official launch of its craft brewery – coming 130 years after Samuel Arthur and Joseph Benjamin first established Brains.
The 15 barrel craft brewery is housed within the main brewery but is just a tenth of the size, meaning Brains can experiment with diverse range of cask, keg and bottled beers.
Bill Dobson, Head Brewer at Brains, said: “We’ve seen in our own pub estate that customers are looking for an eclectic range of beers on the bar. And with a growing interest in the beer category from a younger audience*, we felt it was the perfect time to extend production.
“While new product development has always been part of our business, we’re limited by the scale of our main production plant. The craft brewery is allowing us to experiment with different techniques, ingredients and styles – from India Pale Ales through to continental style beers. It’s an exciting time for the brewery.”
Production is already underway at the craft brewery and a handful of beers have been produced, including All at Sea, and Barry Island IPA – a collaboration beer with Simon Martin, You Tube beer reviewer and Barry resident. These, and future brews, will be available at 30 Brains pubs throughout Wales.
Bill added: “We take great pride in producing core brands that our customers know and love, consistently and to a high quality, and we’ll continue to brew our range of permanent and seasonal beers – including the renowned SA, the award winning SA Gold and the legendary Dark.”
For more information, including stockists, visit www.brainscraftbrewery.com
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Photo Caption: Bill Dobson tests the liquid in the craft brewery
*Cask Report 2011-12 reports a 17% increase in younger drinkers. “1.9 million cask ale drinkers are aged 18-34”
For more information please contact Laura Overton on 029 2033 4762 or laura.overton@sabrain.com