Since opening in 2009 the Waen Brewery has grown and flourished. In 2010 and 2011 they
won Gold and Silver medals for their beers in the SIBA Wales and West Competition and
qualified for the National Championships at their first attempt. Their now internationally
known Blackberry Stout has been on BBC2, featured in two Beer Writer of the Year
winners' Top 50 Beers in the Publican's Morning Advertiser and has a page all to itself in
Melissa Coles's recent book, 'Let me Tell You about Beer'
The Brewery was started in 2009 by Sue Hayward and John Martin (Sue being the head
brewer) and very quickly out grew its original site in Penstrowed near Newtown. The new
unit is in Llanidloes and it supplies pubs in Wales, Shropshire, Midlands, South East, South
West and South England and Central London, where it is sort after in the speciality Real Ale
pubs and bars.
As well as judging at beer competitions around the country, Sue is now also working with
the Project Venus Project, a group of female brewers (Brewsters) who get together to
collaborate on recipes and take turns to host the brew day in their brewery. The beer is then
distributed through the host brewery's supply channels. Publicity went up a notch when a
Brewster from Molson Coors joined the group, and Sue's Project Venus brew is already
being snapped up, even though it's not actually being brewed until October 2012! It will be
on offer at Birmingham CAMRA beer festival as a special request has already been made.
At the new unit in Llanidloes not only can you see a working brewery in operation but you
can take some award winning real ale home with you! 3, 5, 10 and 20 litre bag in boxes and
mini casks are all for sale – and with no middle man the price is good too! There is also a
new bar in the brewery which is open from lunch time to 6pm every Friday and for brewery
tours and visits.
Sue and John are shortly to be upgrading to a larger plant to keep up with national supply
and is looking forward to a prosperous (and busy!) 2012....
3 Long Bridge Street
The Waen Brewery
