The Ale Archive

The brewery: “The idea of starting a microbrewery had been discussed many times. We were already running two busy pubs in the Gower, so forming a microbrewery was the natural next step.The company was formed in September 2011. We acquired a 5 barrel brew plant in October and renovated our building. Walls, floor, ceiling... the lot. The brew plant was installed in November, with haste to try and hit our goal of brewing on the 11th of the 11th of the 11th!  We managed it. Our 1st brew ( Brew1 )  was completed at around 4pm on 11/11/11. Not a date we'll forget in a hurry.” The beer: A strong ruby red ale, with amazing complex tastes and aromas, produced from a delicate mix of malts and hops.“ One of the sweeter ruby ales to grace my palate but enjoyable nonetheless and in excellent condition as all the Gower beers have been. A big thanks once again to Paul for a very thorough evenings research….July 2018

The brewery: “The idea of starting a microbrewery had been discussed many times. We were already running two busy pubs in the Gower, so forming a microbrewery was the natural next step.The company was formed in September 2011. We acquired a 5 barrel brew plant in October and renovated our building. Walls, floor, ceiling... the lot. The brew plant was installed in November, with haste to try and hit our goal of brewing on the 11th of the 11th of the 11th!  We managed it. Our 1st brew ( Brew1 )  was completed at around 4pm on 11/11/11. Not a date we'll forget in a hurry.” The beer: “Lighthouse is a light, thirst quenching, continental style lager. It's packed with flavour and comes in at 4.5%. You will find Lighthouse a change to the clean style lagers as it offers a gentle but unmissable hoppiness of Saaz and Bobek.” Yes, I know. It was a lager - but it was a gift and it was palatable. Not really to my taste but crystal clear. July 2018

The brewery: “The idea of starting a microbrewery had been discussed many times. We were already running two busy pubs in the Gower, so forming a microbrewery was the natural next step.The company was formed in September 2011. We acquired a 5 barrel brew plant in October and renovated our building. Walls, floor, ceiling... the lot. The brew plant was installed in November, with haste to try and hit our goal of brewing on the 11th of the 11th of the 11th!  We managed it. Our 1st brew ( Brew1 )  was completed at around 4pm on 11/11/11. Not a date we'll forget in a hurry.“ The beer: “Gower Power, like all of our ales, is brewed with traditional floor malted barley and packed full of a choice quality hops, to give a powerful Welsh example of a true British classic – Indian Pale Ale. At 5.5% abv you will certainly feel 'The Power'! Gower Power has a huge following, and we think that's it's fans are right to be so passionate about this beer. It's a cracker. Packed a...

The brewery: “The idea of starting a microbrewery had been discussed many times. We were already running two busy pubs in the Gower, so forming a microbrewery was the natural next step.The company was formed in September 2011. We acquired a 5 barrel brew plant in October and renovated our building. Walls, floor, ceiling... the lot. The brew plant was installed in November, with haste to try and hit our goal of brewing on the 11th of the 11th of the 11th!  We managed it. Our 1st brew ( Brew1 )  was completed at around 4pm on 11/11/11. Not a date we'll forget in a hurry.“ The beer: “Gower Gold is a thirst quenching golden ale. It has refreshing citrus flavours and the lovely aroma of the cascade hops. Brewed since December 2011, this beer has become an all round firm favourite. Gower Gold clocks in at 4.5% abv and is available all year round…….Gower Gold is perfect on any occasion, but we think it's extra special with Fish or a Curry .. Perfect for a warm summer’s night on a ca...

The brewery: “Tomos Watkin first operated from a small brewery in Llandeilo, Carmarthenshire and later opened a larger brewery in Swansea.  Tomos Watkin now brew a wide selection of beverages from their brewery in the Swansea Enterprise Park.  They have two distribution centres based in Fforestfach Industrial Estate, Swansea and Van Road, Caerphilly.” The beer: “"koo-roo-bràrve"Cwrw Braf is a clean-drinking, amber-coloured ale with a light bitterness and gentle hop aroma.A session bitter yet, with all the flavours and quality you would expect from a Tomos Watkin premium ale.” We were delighted to finally get to meet up with fellow caravanner Paul during our stay at the lovely Llwynifan Farm Caravan park near Llanelli. Paul arrived on site with an esky full of Welsh ales, none of which I’d had before. This was the first and overall my favourite. A good no nonsense bitter, I would have happily drunk this all night if there wasn’t so much other ‘research’ material to get throug...