This is the second in my Shed Week series of guest posts, this one is a drinking acquaintance of mine (we don’t meet up enough but he invites me to festivals.., more Arfur please!)
He’s not a sheddie but he knows about something that is very close to my heart (after sheds) Real ale, Welsh ale in particular, oh and the odd bit about cider.. and as their are so many good pub sheds on readesheds, I thought why not ask him to post something, So here is Arfur Daley from Brew Wales
First a confession, I’ve never owned a shed in my life. However that is not to say that I don’t appreciate them, it’s just that I’ve lived in flats/terraced houses with no room for them, but I am an avid reader of Uncle Wilco’s blogs and enjoy reading something different from the usual political or beer blogs that seem to dominate the Welsh blogosphere.
A few Welsh breweries started life in sheds, a few of them still brew in sheds! The McGivern Brewery of Wrexham brews in a shed (no Uncle Wilco I don’t know what type/make/model!), producing both draught and bottled beers.
A lot further south a former cow shed (yes I am getting desperate!) is home to the WARCOP brewery, just outside of Newport, on the Gwent Levels. Most of the breweries in Wales are, however based on not too picturesque industrial estates where security overrides aesthetic wooden planking.
The Welsh Cider scene is a different matter, Dave Jones, editor of the RATS website http://www.the-rats.org/ has produced his own cider in the past. Nothing available at the moment, but Dave wanted a name for his cider that represented the area where he made his cider. Similar to a protected or designated area that French Cidermakers and Wine producers use, Swan Cider Château Shed was born. Dave sources his apples from various orchards and each apple is lovingly processed by his staff (his wife!) before being milled, pressed and fermented in his shed. Château Shed is made in very small quantities but did make an appearance at the Welsh Cider Festival at the Clytha Arms a few years ago.
Well there you have it, the Welsh brewing and cider shedosphere, there may be more out there but they have not come to the attention of Brew Wales.
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