The Mansel Arms
I am lucky to have the privilege of drinking at the Champion Pub of Wales. Hosts Glynn & Gemma are wonderful and provide a homely proper pub with a great bunch of locals. I am secretary of The Cask Ale Club at the pub, so on a weekly basis, I will be posting here my favourite ale of the week as sampled in the pub bar. There is always a good selection, and the food is magnificent. When in Carmarthenshire, make sure you pay a visit.
ALE OF THE WEEK 22nd AUGUST 2023.
Nuttycombe Brewery are based in Devon - see their website at https://nuttycombebrewery.com/
Glynn had got a fantastic ale, dedicated to the band and fans of The Bar-Steward Sons of Doonican, a comedy/folk band based upon that wonderful purveyor of knitwear on Saturday night television back in the day, Val Doonican.
The ale is a very drinkable 4.2% ABV brewed with melon hops, and was beautifully quaffable. A light session ale, perfect for a summer’s evening.
CHEERS!
As regular visitors to this little page on the website might have guessed, I haven’t had any new guest ales not featured here already at The Mansel for a wee while, for the simple reason that there either haven’t been any, or if there have, they have gone before I got the chance to sample them!
With a trip to Swansea CAMRA Ale Festival pending 31st August, it will be nice to try something different, but on our little holiday at Lake Vyrnwy Hotel last week, although they don’t serve cask ales, they do serve some very nice bottled beer from Snowdon Craft Brewery, Mochdre, Colwyn Bay. Of note were the IPA, light and refreshing, and the bitter, dark and hoppy.
We had a lovely time there. Photo below of the stunning sunset from the balcony where ale was being partaken of!
6th JUNE 2023
One of my favourite ales at our recent Cask Ale Festival, St. Austell Brewery Proper Job made a welcome return as the guest ale at The Mansel last weekend. A 4.5% IPA with a hint of grapefruit on the palate, this is an extremely enjoyable and satisfying beer on a hot June evening whilst watching the traffic file past the pub,
24th MAY 2023
Last weekend, our Ale Club hosted the first of two Cask Ale Festivals being held at The Mansel Arms in 2023. There were sixteen casks and four ciders on, and accompanied by some beautiful weather, singers, and Morris Dancing, it was a success.
My favourite ale of the festival was the Three Tuns brewed in Bishop’s Castle, Shropshire, Cleric’s Cure, a very drinkable 5% ABV India Pale Ale, very hoppy with a lovely sweet aftertaste.
Ale of the Week for 8th May 2023 is St. Austell brewery’s wonderful pale ale, Tribute, a beer which has become pretty widespread in bottles around the country, but which is still far better tasted in the cask.
A delicious 4.2% ABV full of zesty, fruity taste, with Cornish Gold malts at its core.
A real treat this weekend.
ALE OF THE WEEK 24th APRIL 2023
Spring is sprung in West Wales, and as part of the new Welsh regular range of ales at the pub, this weekend, we had Spring Fever, a lovely fresh session ale at 4.3% ABV. As my Ale Club Committee colleague, Clive Morgan said, a delightfully simple ale. Nothing fancy, just honest and good. Good body and goes down a treat.
ALE OF THE WEEK 10th APRIL 2023
The new guest ale regime continues at The Mansel, and this week was a huge treat. At £4.10 a pint, this wonderful classic ale was worth every single penny. This is also the week in which Glynn & Gemma were (once again) presented with the award from CAMRA as Carmarthenshire Pub of the Year 2022.
It is a bitter brewed with traditional English hop and malt varieties. Aromas of nuts & winter berries combine with biscuit, caramel malt notes. What struck me was the very pleasing bitter taste which hit me after swallowing, enhancing the experience.
Portobello Brewery is an independent sited in West London (of course!) and you can visit their website at www.portobellobrewing.com
Interestingly, I had a conversation with a friend in the pub who didn’t think that another London brew fitted in with the local Welsh ale ethos. I disagree. Drinkers such as I appreciate variety and are extremely happy to support other traditional brewers. There is room for both. Brewed with
ALE OF THE WEEK - 3rd APRIL 2023
The Ale of the Week feature makes a welcome return, and I hope we will be able to bring a weekly update from now on. To explain this column’s absence, our wonderful landlords have in recent weeks, been preparing for an overhaul of the pub. The main feature, and one I and the Cask Ale Club are proud to support, is the move to local brewed and distilled fare as the regular drinks, thus supporting local businesses and keeping money within West Wales. Thus, we have Evan Evans Cwrw, Rhymney Export, and Glamorgan Brewery’s Jemima’s Pitchfork as the three regular cask ales, all of which have been featured in this section of the website.
At the weekend, Glynn puts on a weekly “guest ale”, priced at £4.10 a little bit more than the regular casks proce of £3.80, but all are exceptional value. This weekend just past, we had my favourite ale, the one and only Fuller’s London Pride. Brewed at 4.1%, it has home-grown hop varieties - Target for bittering and Northdown, Challenger and Goldings for aroma, with crystal malts combined with spring-harvested Pale Ale varieties Concerto and Propino, to give the beer depth and balance.
It is a unique brew. Quite ubiquitous now given the wide availability in bottles in supermarkets, it is still best tasted from the cask. Unmistakeable and simply beautiful, a very strong start to the new guest regime at The Mansel!
ALE OF THE WEEK 9th JANUARY 2023
Because I spent much of Christmas in bed with Mr Lurgy, I was unable to imbibe as much as I usually enjoy at The Mansel until the back end of last week, but this was a real treat on Saturday, a traditional ale brewed by Robinsons in Stockport, Cheshire and insppired by those ‘eavy metal ‘eroes, Iron Maiden, in turn inspired by the Charge of the Light Brigade.
The ale is a premium British bitter with a gorgeous lemon aftertaste which is light on the palate. At 4.7%, it is a little bit stronger than a typical session ale, but still light enough to enjoy five or six in a pleasant couple of hours sat beside a scorching wood burner on a cold winter’s evening.
ALE OF THE WEEK
19th DECEMBER 2022
It’s a measure of how busy I have been, and how ready for a break I was, that the Ale of the Week segment hasn’t been updated for a few weeks. Does that mean I haven’t partaken? Don’t be so bloody silly, but a mixture of some ales we have highlighted before at The Mansel and playing a couple of games of darts away where the ale situation is as dry as the Gobi Desert have not helped.
Anyhow, this was an absolute pleasure. Purity are a brewer from Alcester in Warwickshire, and just the sort of business we love to support. UBU, pronounced Oo Boo, is a gorgeous 4.5% distinctive ale brewed with Pale, Crystal, Black and Wheat malts, with Pilgrim, Chinook and Cascade hops. A delight to drink, you really should take yourself off to their website at https://puritybrewing.com/
ALE OF THE WEEK 21st NOVEMBER 2022.
The first new ale of the week for a month owing to old favourites being served at the local. Calon Lan is a wonderful 4.0% amber ale from those lovely chaps from Purple Moose in Porthmadog.
ALE OF THE WEEK 17th OCTOBER 2022
This week’s Ale of the Week was a real treat and imbibed to its fullest over the course of Wednesday night (our team won the inaugural Mansel Arms Quiz, so thanks Kev, Rhodri, and Mrs Wife) and Thursday when we got stuffed at darts by the Missing Link otherwise known as Cefneithin RFC “A”, and Saturday evening for a quiet few.
Crop Circle, a delightful 4.2% light coloured ale is brewed by Hopback Brewery in Salisbury. You can visit their website at https://www.hopback.co.uk/ It is easily one of the most drinkable ales Glynn & Gemma have put on this year. Light, but with a sharp, crisp, aftertaste, it is an eminently quaffable session ale and went down very well with all of us.
ALE OF THE WEEK 10th OCTOBER 2022
BOSS BREWERY - FOGGY JACK
This week’s Ale of the Week was a pleasant surprise. It is the brand-new beer from our friends in Swansea, ‘dem yoof in Da Hood, Boss Brewery.
Foggy Jack (Jack being the nickname provided by SW Wales locals to residents of Swansea) is a 4.5% Pale Ale which is intentionally cloudy in its appearance. It is brewed with Enigma and Pacific Gem hops and is, in truth, more of a bitter than a pale ale, but I was very taken with this beer. It is extremely drinkable and was certainly something a wee bit different, so happy days, indeed.
On Friday, the Ale Club took itself off to its annual trip to Carmarthen CAMRA Real Ale Festival in St. David’s Hall. Mrs Wife & I thoroughly enjoyed imbibing a massive range of real ales and, in her case, very enjoyable ciders in the company of village locals and ale Club members.
Beers imbibed were:
1. Clogwyn Gold by Conwy Brewery 4.0%
2. Cwrw Gorslas by Glamorgan Brewing Co 4.0%
3. Sussex Best by Harvey’s 4.0%
4. Town Crier by Hobsons 4.5%
5. Ilkley Pale by Ilkley 4.2%
6. Shropshire Gold by Salopian 3.8%
So, as usual, a few pints of some steady session ales. The days of my getting a few strong ales down my neck have long gone.
The event was extremely well organised a fantastic fun with a band Backtrax playing some live rock and roll classics. They were fun.
ALE OF THE WEEK 5th OCTOBER 2022
There has been a couple of weeks lag in updating this part of the website, this owing to the fact that the ales I have been supping have appeared here before. But, come last night when Mrs Lazland dragged me to the pub where she was participating in Ladies’ Darts Night, behold a brand new ale from our friends at Rhymney Brewery celebrating the accession to the throne of King Charles III.
I think His Maj would enjoy it as well. A very drinkable 4.7% bitter, it went down probably far too well!
ALE OF THE WEEK 19TH SEPTEMBER 2022
Ale of the Week this week is the rather lovely IPA Mosaic, brewed by our friends Grey Trees in Aberdare, South Wales. The brewery are responsible for one of the stronger ales The Mansel serves regularly, namely Afghan Pale Ale, which at 5.4% is perhaps a little strong for yours truly to drink on a regular basis. Mosaic on the other hand at 4.2%, with just a hint of citrus and grapefruit hits all the right notes for me.
ALE OF THE WEEK 12TH SEPTEMBER
On Tuesday, whilst Mrs Wife enjoyed another evening of Ladies Darts, us chaps got on with the serious business of getting ourselves match fit for the forthcoming Cask Ale Club trip to Shropshire, my old home county. Three days and some twenty-odd ale houses to visit. Annual leave has been taken to wash away the inevitable cobwebs.
The ale on display was the mighty fine Caldey Lollipop, named after the holy island, just off the cast of Pembrokeshire still inhabited by monks, and they do still brew there. This ale is, in fact, brewed by Tenby Harbour Brewery, and it is a ridiculously quaffable IPA weighing in at 4.5%. You can get this at https://harbwr.wales/product/caldey-lollipop/ and I would very much recommend it.
ALE FESTIVAL 2022
Our esteemed Chairman, Wynne Bach gives his approval to the fare on offer to thirsty punters.
The happy helpers, from L to R, Wynne, Linda, Paul, yours truly, and Clive. The boys & girls did good!
The Covid pandemic seemingly a distant memory, The Mansel Arms opened its doors to cask ale lovers from across West Wales, in addition to the usual motley crew of lovelies I drink with regularly. The festival is held against a background of increasing concern for a pub industry already hit hard by Brexit, extended (in Wales) lockdowns and restrictions during the pandemic, and now facing ridiculous increases in energy costs and supply prices, and not forgetting that SMEs do not have even the limited protections of households. Already, beers have increased by 10p a pint, and this is understandable when profit margins are being squeezed so tightly.
Thankfully, despite a wide range of other attractions over the August Bank Holiday, the real ale drinkers supported the pub marvellously and everyone had a great time. The weather was kind, which allowed the music acts to play outdoors (even if they did finish a tad early). Several casks put on Friday had completely run out by Sunday afternoon, and our Cask Ale Club attracted 13 new members, which was fantastic.
We had a veritable cornucopia of ales to tempt the punters with, and here is the list:
1. Oakham Ales JHB 3.8%
2. Skinner’s Betty Stogs 4.0%
3. Purple Moose Elderflower Ale 4.0% (very popular with the ladies especially)
4. Fullers London Pride
5. Wadworth 6X 4.1%
6. St. Austell Tribute 4.2%
7. Shepherd Neame Spitfire 4.2%
8. Evan Evans Seadog 4.3%
9. Salopian Flags Over Idaho 4.4%
10. St. Austell Proper Job 4.5%
11. Boss Brewery Let The Dragon Roar 4.5%
12. Wye Vallet Butty Bach 4.5%
13. Tenby Harbour Caldey Lollipop 4.5%
14. Purple Moose Dark Side of the Moose 4.6% (well, this IS a prog site!)
15. Tiny Rebel Cwtch 4.6%
16. Ringwood Forty Niner 4.9% (the liveliest beer I have ever served)
17. Oakham Ales Yonder 5.2%
18. Salopian Hubbub 5.3%
19. Thornbridge Jaipur 5.9% (very popular fruity stronger ale)
20. Boss Hammerhouse 6.0%
On to the ciders:
1. Gwynt y Ddraig Autumn Magic 4.0% (VERY popular fruity cider with blackberries)
2. Thatcher’s Stan’s Big Apple 5.0%
3. Henry Westons Family Vintage 5.0%
4. Gwynt y Ddraig Black Dragon 7.2%
5. Weston’s Old Rosie Cider 7.3%
6. Henry Westons Vintage Cider 8.2%
So, for those of you, especially reading this from foreign climes, unfamiliar with Real Ale Festivals, one of the time-honoured traditions is for the drinkers to select their festival ale favourite. Last year’s winner, Betty Stogs, was once more on offer, but could it repeat last year’s triumphant win?
Alas, not. The winner was a local West Wales beer brewed by our old friends at Evan Evans, namely Seadog, a 4.3% golden ale. A very high 44% of voters chose this as their favourite, and do you know what? I didn’t even try it! My personal favourite was Oakham Ales Bishop’s Farewell, a wonderful 4.6% beer which was ridiculously easy to drink.
What a wonderful weekend in a simply wonderful pub. It is pubs such as The Mansel which make a community stronger, brings people together, and supports local businesses and our wellbeing.
As secretary of the Cask Ale Club, my thanks to all who supported the festival, to my fellow helpers, my lovely wife who ferried me to and from the pub, and especially Glynn & Gemma, our genial hosts – long may they be in situ.
ALE OF THE WEEK 22nd AUGUST 2022
Ale of the Week this week is the second appearance on this page of a brew by our lovely friends at Mantle Brewery, Cwrw Teifi, or in English, Tivi River Beer.
It is a lovely copper coloured bitter and, at 4.5%, perfect for a few pints on a warm Tuesday evening whilst Glynis played darts with her fellow ladies at The Mansel. A very smooth taste and a rejoinder to those who believe that cask ale cannot be an easy drink and insist upon that shockingly bad nitro-keg beer because it is “smooth”.
Next week, we have a Ale of the Week special, as it is the Mansel Arms real Ale Festival, with 20 beers on offer, all of which you can be served by yours truly on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday night!
Ale of the Week 15th August 2022
Last Tuesday afternoon, Mr Laz took his suitcase to Carmarthen railway station, and embarked on a journey to Stratford, East London which was the location for the 2012 Olympic Games, the stadium for which is now the home of West Ham Football Club. I was teaching on Wednesday & Thursday a bunch of colleagues in the strange and mysterious world of corporate tax evasion.
I stayed at the Premier Inn in Westfield Shopping Centre, an altogether ghastly huge conglomerate of corporates bunched together for the pleasure and delight of the masses, and what a lot of mass personages there were. On Tuesday I ate at the hotel, an insipid curry, and on Wednesday night ate at Caffe Concerto, an alleged Italian restaurant which was, in truth, as Italian as Rishi Sunak’s left bollock. The lamb shank was as insipid a meal as I have had the “pleasure” of eating.
About the only ray of sunshine in this concrete monstrosity was The Cow, a Youngs pub, where I really should have eaten as well as drunk in. Unlike most of the corporate venues in such locations, you could get a decent pint of real ale, and I stuck to London Original, a delightful fruity pale ale at a very drinkable 3.7% ABV.
Youngs, by the way, no longer brew any beer. They are effectively a property pub-owning outlet, and the beer itself is brewed at Eagle Brewery in Bedford, in turn owned by the Carlsberg Marstons conglomerate. Therefore, I would not normally choose to drink in what is effectively a pubco, but needs must.
HMRC, that employer who I so proudly serve, have chosen to shut all of their local offices, thus imbecilically getting rid of virtually all of their experienced staff, and build 13 Regional Centres in a homage to the corporate world, so they are surrounded by Costa, Tesco, Wetherspoons, and so on and so forth, ad nauseum. In most of the places we go to, you can at least walk to some semblance of civilisation and locally owned pubs and restaurants, but this is not so easy in Stratford. Next time, though, a tube journey to somewhere else to eat and drink will clearly be called for. Chinatown, perhaps?
Over to Suffolk this week for the first time on this particular slot. Arriving in The Mansel on Thursday to be greeted by an old favourite, namely Abbot Ale brewed by those fine chaps in Bury St. Edmonds where they have been brewing since before William the Conqueror times.
I quite enjoy a bottle of their IPA when not imbibing at home, although I know that this is a taste not shared by other real ale aficionados. Abbot, though, is a different matter. It is a pretty strong ale as far as sessions go at 5%, and is a full-bodied beer with more than a hint of caramel within.
Taken from the brewery’s own tasting notes, pale and amber malts contribute to a mouth-filling and satisfying Horlicks and biscuity maltiness. Challenger and First Gold give a base note of herbal hop and Fuggles as a late hop contributes the main fragrant fruity and floral and spicy notes. Fermented slowly to give just enough fruity esters Abbot Ale provides a complex, satisfying and warming experience.
What he said! Thoroughly enjoyed five pints of this as a great evening of darts ensued, during which I beat our team’s star player, Duane.
ALE OF THE WEEK 8th AUGUST 2022
ALE OF THE WEEK 1ST AUGUST 2022
This week saw a pleasant English surprise at The Mansel, namely that wonderful Kentish Strong Ale, Bishops Finger. It is interesting in that if you buy the ale from the shops, or direct from the brewery, in bottles, it weighs in at a decidedly interesting 5.4% ABV. However on draft it is, certainly when you are having a quiet four pints on a Saturday evening before supper, a rather more manageable 5%.
The ale itself is a rich, fruity bitter, not too sweet based upon Crystal malt. It is a deep ruby colour and extremely satisfying on the palate.
Shepherd Neame is based in Faversham, Kent, the so-called Garden of England, although these days in summer, it is probably better described as the Desert of England. Whilst we still get our regular dousing of the wet stuff in West Wales, Eastern & Southern England have not seen any rain at all this last month. A favourite of mine is their Spitfire bitter, and hopefully we will see that at the local shortly!
ALE OF THE WEEK 25th JULY 2022
This week’s Ale of the Week is a somewhat difficult affair to write about.
Whilst playing darts last Thursday, five pints of Moho were imbibed, and this, of course, has been featured on these pages before.
On Saturday afternoon, I got bloody soaked in the manner only people walking dogs in the lashing rain in West Wales can get. A change of clothes, and a decent drying, and I was ready for Mrs Wife to give me a lift for my evening constitutional.
My first pint was another Moho, but the cask ran out then. I tried a pint of Rhymney Best, which was described as a pale ale, and at 4% struck me as being perfect. I couldn’t drink it. At first I thought it was off, but Glynn assured me it wasn’t and it was simply my palate which could not stand a caramel infused sweet ale. It was far too sweet for me and I could not finish my I was then invited to try out the second new cask he put on, an ale from my old county of Shropshire, no less. It was Lemon Dream, and the name is true to the core of this golden ale. It is brewed using organic lemons, and the taste of these is infused. It was not really to my taste, although might have been better on a hot summer’s day, as opposed to a wet and windy West Wales shitty day.
So, it was back to Rhymney Export, which has also featured on this page before, to have a traditional ale. Not the most successful of new ale weeks. I shouldn’t be so damned fussy, I suppose.
ALE OF THE WEEK 18th JULY 2022
This week it is a pleasure to return to Wye Valley Brewery, but this time enjoyed at the local!
Butty Bach is a delicious, smooth premium ale at 4.5%, so just enough to have an edge, but not too much to spoil your enjoyment.
They brew it using Maris Otter and Crystal malts together with locally grown Fuggles, Goldings and Bramling Cross hops. The end result is a rich and sweet delight to the palate.
ALE OF THE WEEK 11TH JULY 2022
Rather gorgeous product from Wye Valley Brewery.
We are off to a different part of the world for this week’s hoppy delight update. The brewery is Wye Valley, based in the beautiful county of Herefordshire, where my good friend Jared resides (hi mate - not long until Magenta!). The beer was sampled last week whilst I was on a business trip to Birmingham. On Tuesday night, I took my boss Woody (a lager and crap keg cider aficionado, sadly) to Brum’s finest ale house, The Wellington, where there are usually about 15 draft ales on tap.
HPA is a wonderful pint, just about right for a session at 4%. It combines locally grown Target and Celeia hops with Maris Otter pale malt to give the brew its pale straw colour, citrus hop aroma and a balanced bitter finish.
Hereford Pale ale. As wonderful as the county and delightful on the palate. Absolutely wasted on Woody, but part of a thoroughly enjoyable evening with a top bloke.
Cheers!
ALE OF THE WEEK 4TH JULY 2022.
EVANS EVANS CHWERW CYMREIG
On Saturday evening, I took my lovely wife to Y Talbot in Tregaron (see Restaurant Review page) again for a supper to celebrate her impending birthday on the Sunday. As with the visit which I reviewed the other week, this featured another gorgeous meal, one of the best pork bellies I have had in quite a while.
However, no visit to a restaurant which serves the finest ale would be complete without sampling said hoppy delight, and I was delighted to sample two pints of a special pale ale brewed by my old friends at Evan Evans to celebrate the fact that the Eisteddfod (pronounced IceTethVod) is being held in Ceredigion this year. For those readers who are not familiar with Welsh culture, Eisteddfod is a competitive festival of music and poetry, and has, in recent years, morphed into a national celebration of Welsh identity and a tourist beacon.
So, Chwerw Cymreig (pronounced coo roo cum raig and means Welsh Beer) has been brewed specifically for this grand occasion. It is a delightful lightly hopped 4% ABV session ale, and one of the nicest pints I have had in recent weeks. I am lucky that Glynn at The Mansel is a master cellar man, but I have to say that whoever is in charge of this critical duty at The Talbot is his equal.
When we visited The Talbot, the races were being held in Tregaron, and there were a couple of parties from Yorkshire in the restaurant who had visited the venue. They gave a wonderful atmosphere to the restaurant, so with suitable ambiance, a cracking pint of ale (and Merlot for Mrs Wife), and delicious food, just about the perfect evening, really.
ALE OF THE WEEK 27TH JUNE 2022
Something a little bit different this week at the June BBQ.
Last Friday, The Mansel held its annual June BBQ. Burgers were had and this was accompanied by the introduction to the Welsh masses of three brand new ales from Boss Brewery, who have featured quite recently on Ale Of The Week. There are two more to follow, and they form part of the “Copperopolis” range of beers.
On Friday, we were introduced to Hammer House, a 6% strong pale ale, Hard Graft, a 5% stout, and above Engine House, a 5.5% IPA. I stuck to the latter, on the reasonable basis that stout really does not agree with me (I will not go into the gory details!) and that a number of pints of 6% barking juice might not be conducive to a pleasant evening with the missus.
As it happened, I only had a couple of pints of Engine House, It was a refreshing beer, but I found it far too sweet for my taste with the citrus fruits and grapefruit tang. I therefore reverted to an evening of Jemima’s Pitchfork (see below). Hopefully, when the darts is on on Thursday, we will have the remaining two, namely Copper Works, a 4% Welsh Pale Ale, and Furnacemen, a 5% golden ale.
Hopefully, further details next week.
ALE OF THE WEEK 20TH JUNE
From our very good friends at Glamorgan Brewing Co., this is a gorgeous golden ale using Eldorado, Chinook, US Cascade, and Bramling Cross hops. It is named after Welsh heroine Jemima Nicholas who rounded up and captured 12 worst for wear French soldiers using her pitchfork at the 1797 Battle of Fishguard. This is a really light and refreshing session ale.
ALE OF THE WEEK 13TH JUNE 2022
Boss Blaze, craft ale from Swansea.
This week’s ale of the week is Boss Blaze, brewed by Boss Brewery who are situated in Plasmarl, a part of the city of Swansea.
I was actually drinking Bass last Tuesday, but at our Cask Ale Club Committee meeting, Glynn, our esteemed landlord, got a round in for us, and it was this. I had a couple.
Blaze is a golden ale, and maybe a tad too sweet for my usual taste, containing as it does citrus & honey. It weighs in at 4.5% ABV, so at the top end of a session ale.
You can see the brewery website at https://bossbrewing.co.uk/
It is one of those modern beers designed to appeal to a younger audience with differing palates, and that is not stated as a moan at all – anything that can be done to prolong the amber nectar commercially is okay with me. A craft ale and certainly a decent quality one.
Ale of the week 5th June 2022
Mr Bass. A mighty fine ale.
So, following the trauma of a whole week and a day without a pint of ale, this owing to a rather nasty chest infection and a rather determined doctor telling me in no uncertain terms that drinking was not permitted with the pills she gave me for said infection, I entered the wondrous bosom of The Mansel yesterday evening to be greeted by a sight not often seen in Wales, that being the sign on the tap advertising the fact that Bass Premium Ale was being served.
Mr Bass and I have a very long and happy association. It was the pint on sale at The Oak and The Bell in Oswestry (the latter having recently reopened after a period of closure), two of the finest pubs in a town renowned for its drinking holes. I often said that when I die and go to heaven, if the patron saint of bars was not there to welcome me with a complimentary pint of Mr Bass, then I would go to the “other place” in order to sup a pint of the finest the Burton River could offer.
The pint we drink now is not the same as it was. It is brewed under license by Marstons, and this is for a massive conglomerate, Anheuser-Busch InBev, who are responsible for such god-awful monkey piss such as Becks. Indeed, I have provided here a link to an interesting blog discussing this https://www.petebrown.net/2018/11/12/bass-ale-is-back-i-wish-i-was-more-delighted/
It is, despite all this, still a good beer, and its appearance in my local brought back some lovely memories of days idled away in my old hometown.
ABV 4.4%, and the experts describe it as richly fragrant with a hoppy bouquet, having a complex nutty, malty taste and a bright chestnut hue.
Cheers!
A nice pale ale, and (see below) my last pint for a week…..
This week’s Ale of the Week will be the last for a couple of weeks, I am afraid. This is because the trip which prompted me to drink this stuff also kindly gave me a bacterial infection for which the doctor very kindly gave me antibiotics which apparently do not agree with alcohol as much as your reviewer. Thus, no beer for a whole week – messages of sympathy to the usual place, please.
Anyhow, there are two pubs I usually go to when in Birmingham, and last week it was The Shakespeare, a pub part of a small chain a stone’s throw away from the main railway station. It always has a selection of three to four real ales.
This is brewed in St. Austell, Cornwall and is a session ale at 4.0% ABV. Cornish malts provide the base to this pale ale. British Fuggles and Goldings hops, along with the Australian variety, Galaxy. It is a very nice, fruity, beer.
ALE OF THE WEEK 16TH MAY 2022
A Yorkshire classic!
For a change, this week I was drinking a classic English ale in my West Wales local, and it is one of my all-time favourites, Timothy Taylor’s Landlord, a classic pale ale at 4.3% which you can see from the link has, apparently, won more awards than any other beer, so pride of place to Yorkshire, then!
This is the type of ale which really makes me happy. Full of flavour and hops, but eminently drinkable in a quiet four to six pint session. Here is the link to the brewery. https://www.timothytaylor.co.uk/beer/landlord
Next week, by the way, will certainly feature another English brew, this because I am on my travels with work, this week to Birmingham. It is almost a certainty I will end up at The Wellington, so full report to follow!
ALES OF THE WEEK 9TH MAY 2022
OLD CASTLE PALE ALE
I had a choice for Ale of the Week for today because Glynn our landlord always provides us with an embarrassment of riches.
On Thursday evening, I was quaffing Rhymney Bevan’s, but as that fine brewery has featured here recently, I decided to go for a wonderful pale ale from one of my favourite microbrewery’s, namely Tinworks which is located on The Trostre Estate in the famous old mining and steel town of Llanelli, still home to the (now) regional rugby team Scarlets.
The founder of Tinworks, Mathew Stevenson, came to The Mansel to give us a talk and a taproom takeover just before lockdown kicked in. A really enthusiastic young man and deeply knowledgeable about his trade, this business is precisely the kind of local industry that we are dedicated to supporting at both the pub and our Real Ale Club.
This delicious pale ale was my beer of choice on Saturday evening. This ale is a simple malt with a lovely bitter taste followed by citrus fruits. It is extremely drinkable, and the 5 pints I had went down extremely well.
The hops and malts used are Chinook, Cascade, Pale Ale Malt, Munich Malt, and Caramalt. This was the brewery’s first product.
A lovely pint. Please do visit the brewery website at; https://www.tinworksbrewery.co.uk/
TAPROOM TAKEOVER 27TH APRIL 2022 SIMON BUCKLEY OF EVAN EVANS
BREAKING NEWS
FOR THOSE OF MY READERS BASED IN USA & CANADA WHO WISH TO TRY SOME TRADITIONAL WELSH ALES, HELP IS AT HAND! BY MID-SUMMER, SO HOPEFULLY JULY AT THE LATEST, EVAN EVANS BEER WILL BE AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE ON AMAZON AS AN INTERNET BEER SHOP.
FURTHER, SEE THE UKRAINE PAGE FOR DETAILS OF HOW YOU CAN ENJOY AN EUROPEAN BEER WHILST HELPING THE BRAVE CITIZENS OF THAT COUNTRY IN THEIR FIGHT AGAINST PUTIN.
Simon Buckley is a well-known West Walian businessman and character. He is the founder of Evan Evans Brewery in Llandeilo, and the former owner of Buckleys Brewery which was based in Llanelli and was sold to Brains Brewery of Cardiff in 1997. On Wednesday 27th April, he came to The Mansel to give Cask Ale Club members a talk, take questions, and, most gratifyingly, provide free tasters of five different ales produced by the brewery, so this week is a multiple Ale Of The Week on Lazland!
As is usual with Simon, there were some hard-hitting and forthright political views expressed in his presentation. I have not included much of this as this site is an avowedly non-political space.
From his presentation, I took the following points:
· Brewing is a very precise science. It combines chemistry & microbiology and it is crucial to get the balance right
· The brewer needs a knowledge of flavour
· Lower gravity ales are more popular in South Wales. This is owing to the industrial heritage of the area. Drinkers wanted to quench their thirst when finishing work in a steel plant or coalmine, not to get drunk
· The family has brewed since 1767 when Henry Child moved to Llanelli. The Reverend James Buckley married his daughter and their son, James Buckley, started the brewery and purchased several local hostelries (Rev. James, incidentally, is still brewed by Brains Brewery)
· The brewery once employed 245 people and was the only Welsh brewery to hold a Royal Warrant (so, “Purveyors of fine ales to Her Majesty The Queen”)
· The brewery was a village within the town of Llanelli – the employees all lived in company properties on site
The present business, Evan Evans has won more international brewing awards than any other brewer in Wales. The company expends a lot of money on what it sees as a crucial component of its success, namely branding.
Cwrw is one of the top three bitters in the world, Organic Gold was voted Top Organic Beer in the world in 2013, and Hop Picker was chosen by Wetherspoon’s as its Top Autumn Beer of 2018.
Not all of the brewery’s beers are branded in Welsh, because UK-wide appeal is needed.
Malts five the beer its sweetness flavour, and hops the bitterness, and these need to be married precisely.
Facebook users might wish to “follow” or “like” Boy Brewer – this is an employee of the brewery who joined when he was 19.
The beers produced have no artificial flavours, for dark beers the malts are roasted, and they only use British hops. There is a bit of a myth surrounding certain waters used and their mystical powers to produce a magical ale, but, in reality, they use good old Dwr Cymru (Welsh Water), a consistent town supply, and specific minerals are added as required.
In addition to the cask ales brewed, the company also produces:
1. 1.5 million bottles of beer a year
2. The largest range of gluten-free beer in the UK
3. A blended cider, Redhog
4. A keg lager, Liberty (this is sold in The Mansel as an alternative to the corporates)
5. They are now producing new smooth brew products to compete with the likes of Worthington Creamflow
6. They export beers to Europe
In essence, it is diversity which helps to keep the company growing.
Simon concluded by stating that the future is challenging. He believes that Welsh Government will treat alcohol as the next tobacco, with the crackdowns and taxes that will bring in a “health drive”. In addition, small breweries are being squeezed by the big corporates, and cask ales will become a luxury product stocked by fewer and fewer outlets.
INCREDIBLY, 87% OF THE BEER CONSUMED IN WALES IS BREWED OUTSIDE OF OUR BORDERS. THIS IS WHY IT IS SO CRUCIAL THAT WE CONTINUE TO SUPPORT LOCAL PUBS SUCH AS THE MANSEL WHO MASKE A CONSCIOUS EFFORT TO BUY WELSH.
The company is looking to build a Brewing University, a blend of academia and the physical art of brewing (I will, naturally, be applying for a tasting position!).
So! Now to the all-important tasting session!!
The five ales we were presented with were:
WPA – Gluten-free Pale Ale with an ABV 4.1%
This is a golden beer with not a lot of malt, thus giving it a light flavour. This was extremely popular and, in fact, particularly so in the pub with those unfortunates who previously only drank lager. Its lightness and simple flavours make it a really decent alternative to the chemical muck branded as Carling.
Seascape – stronger gluten-free golden ale 4.6%
This ale contains far more malts so is stronger than WPA. My palate found this a tad too bitter for my taste.
Cwrw – traditional pale ale 4.2%
For non-Welsh speakers, Cwrw is simply “beer”, and this one is my favourite, a traditionally brewed ale using crystal malt and Challenger, Northern Brewer, and Wilmet hops. A deliciously rich malty beer.
Angry Bishop – a dark amber winter ale 4.4%
What struck me drinking this was the full bitter aftertaste, which all agreed was a winner.
Buffalo – a premium American ale! 4.6%
This one won my wife’s affections and eventual vote. Full bodied, and very malty and fruity, it is easy to see that you could easily put away a number of these before realising that you are unable to walk home in a straight line”
25th April 2022
When I arrived at The Mansel on Saturday evening for my weekend constitutional, I was greeted with a veritable cornucopia of real ales. Five of the blessed things, and all of them among my personal favourites.
In the end, I plumped for Warrior, a gorgeous full-bodied malty ale. At 4.6%, it is at the top-end of a session ale, and I have to say that 5 pints in a couple of hours set me up wonderfully for a night of ironing with Saxon belting out full blast from the speakers (accompanied, of course, by a further four bottles of Atlantic Pale Ale).
On Wednesday this week, we have Simon Buckley, the founder of the brewery, coming to the pub for a “taproom takeover”, which will include samples of five different brews.
Full report to follow, but in the meantime here is their website https://evanevansbrewery.com/
18th April 2022
A wonderful light golden ale brewed by those lovely chaps at Rhymney Brewery, which is based at Blaenavon near Pontypool, in the heart of the old Valleys mining communities. It is an amalgamation of six different malts and the delightful fuggles and first gold hops. A lovely hoppy brew which went down pretty well sitting outside The Mansel on a balmy Easter afternoon!
13th April 2022
The head of Buckleys, Simon, is visiting our local next Wednesday to provide a “tap takeover” where we will sample five different brews. Buckleys Best is a regular at The Mansel, and is a traditional bitter with a combination of Challenger, Golding and Fuggles hops.
The perfect session ale to sup with friends in our snug bar.
Cheers!
6th April 2022
Try Time is a lovely rich and full bodied session pale ale brewed in Llantrisant with a slight citrus aroma. Named, of course, after the ultimate rarity, a Welsh International try (Laz puts tin helmet on to avoid inevitable brickbats in The Mansel Arms!).
28th March 2022
Moho is a staple at The Mansel. A delightful session pale ale perfect for any occasion. The brewery is based in the lovely town of Cardigan. Visit the brewery website at https://mantlebrewery.com/