Ale and hearty

The author practising what he preaches

LAST Friday it was my pleasure to present the Awards for the 2010 Champion Beer of Wales Competition at the Great Welsh Beer and Cider Festival hosted by CAMRA. It is a perfect example of positively promoting and encouraging independent breweries in Wales.

There were around 160 different cask ales and over 40 ciders. For some brewers it was a unique opportunity to test new and daring brews. The incredible varieties of cask ales were very tasty and there was something for everyone. The festival was a brilliant chance to showcase our individualistic Welsh brewing sector to a broad cross-section of local consumers. I was lucky enough to grab a glass of the 2010 Gold Metal winning beer at the Festival, brewed by Otley Brewing Company from Cilfynydd, near Pontypridd. The beer, named “0 Garden”, has a distinctive orangey taste to it and uses orange peel, coriander, cloves and of course, Breconshire Water. Otley’s is a family run business with a total of only seven staff that started in 2005 and has gone from strength to strength since.

In my Caerphilly constituency the Celt Experience, run by Tom Newman, is the only brewery within the last couple of hundred years to grow all its ingredients, including hops, in Wales. This is encouraging for the Welsh market specifically as it shows that although hops and some grains are difficult to grow in our climate, it can be done and the future for local sourcing looks brighter. The specialty beer was available for only one week in October at two select pubs. In 2010 the Celt Experience hopes to produce about 200 casks of the pure Welsh ale.

I am looking forward to co-chairing the Cross Party Group on Beer and the Pub this evening, which is quickly raising the profile of the brewing and hospitality industry in Wales. Recently, the co-chair Nick Bourne and I wrote to all the local authorities in Wales encouraging them to use Welsh products when possible, showing the importance of local sourcing.

An important point to make about the group is that it does not encourage drinking to excess or binge drinking in any way. We promote responsible drinking of beer in a pub where people can be social and their intake monitored. We strongly agree with the position of the British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA) which is working on initiatives designed to promote responsible drinking of beer, which typically has a lower ABV than other types of alcohol, in pubs.

Jeff presenting an award at the Great Welsh Beer and Cider Festival

In order to maintain a thriving industry, involvement with groups such as CAMRA, BBPA, BII, Pub is the Hub (PITH), and those that stress the potential dangers of excessive drinking like Drinkaware and Alcohol Concern Cymru, is necessary. Without these organisations the sector would be an unimaginably different place – what if real ale had been allowed to die out in the 1970’s?

The beer and the pub industry in Wales, as in the rest of Britain, are important both to the economy and the consumer. In recent years there has been an increase in the number of pub closures in Wales. In early 2009 as many as five a week were closing but it is pleasing to see that the number has now dropped, although pubs continue to close at an alarming rate.

More encouraging is that simultaneously there has been growth in the number of independent breweries in Wales. Over the past several years dozens of new independent breweries have opened in Wales. Although the decline of pubs in Britain is partly related to the recession, so many pub closures show that more needs to be done to encourage and help local pub owners feeling the pinch of the recession, particularly as many pubs are small family businesses.

That is why last week I co-tabled a Statement of Opinion titled ‘Support Pub is the Hub in Wales’. PITH recognises how important pubs are in communities. At our March meeting John Longden, its campaign advisor, spoke about the project, as well as highlight the need for funding for the project across Wales. Currently the project only receives funding for two rural regions to keep open well-run pubs. PITH was able to help The Raven Inn in Llanarmon Yn Lal, Denbighshire. The pub was faced with closure but was saved and renovated by the community in 2009. The focus at The Raven Inn, as with many PITH projects, is on the community as a whole pulling together to create a pub which is a viable community resource. That could mean anything from installing WiFi to putting in a local shop.

Just this week CAMRA released a new book called Real Heritage Pubs of Wales. I’m delighted to see there are two pubs from my constituency included, The Capel in Gilfach and The White Hart in Machen. They are beautiful examples of real heritage pubs in Wales. I recommend the book as a fascinating and essential publication for any pub goers who can appreciate the historical and heritage aspects of these establishments.

Our Cross Party Group encourages and promotes quality Welsh produce and products in some of our most beautiful and historic buildings across Wales – our pubs. So don’t forget to stop in your local, have a tasty pint of Welsh real ale and rest assured that by doing so you are ensuring your pub’s future.