WHO WE ARE
We are Sue and John and we live in Trefeglwys with our two children Oscar and Hermia, and our sheep, pigs, ducks, cats and our dog Hemp. Oscar and Hermia like to do their bit in the brewery, Oscar is a dab hand with a bottler and Hermia likes to keep things in order with a broom and can often be found scrubbing out the fermenter!
Here we have some rather staged photos, taken by Oscar (apart from the one of himself!)
HOW IT STARTED
Two years ago myself and my husband decided to bite the bullet and start a microbrewery, brewing hand crafted real ales. It was something we'd wanted to do for a long time, but we hadn't quite plucked up the courage to actually do it! We had already, in a rash moment, bought a second hand brew plant, but were lacking a few key pieces of kit. This we sourced from various people, mostly local suppliers in Newtown. Boys & Boden have been a huge help with everything from paint brushes to insulation jackets for our fermenters! At the beginning of 2009 we applied for, and were awarded, a Powys County Council start up grant which enabled us add to the brewery equipment. We wanted to install the plant at our home on The Waen in Trefeglwys but decided that perhaps a trek two miles up a large hill was not the easiest journey for prospective customers... We spotted the unit at Red Kite Manufacturing and set our hearts on it and after accosting Dave Simmonds at Red Kite, managed to persuade him to let us rent part of the unit (he didn't need much pursuading when he knew what we'd be producing!!) After completing a brewing course with Dave Porter, a very well respected brewery consultant and brewer himself, we returned to start the installation process. We have been brewing at home for many years but this was going to be on a much larger scale.
The unit at Penstrowed In the beginning..... Oscar Hard at work!
01686 627042
info@thewaenbrewery.co.uk