At least as early as the 6th century, theDruidic legendary personCeridwen is associated withcauldrons andintoxicating preparations of grain in herbs in many poems ofTaliesin, particularly theHanes Taliesin. This preparation,Gwîn a Bragawd, is said to have brought "science, inspiration and immortality".[1]
TheAnglo-Saxon Chronicle for 852 records a distinction between "fine ale" and Welsh ale, also calledbragawd.[3] Bragawd, also called braggot, is somewhat betweenmead and what we today think of asale. Saxon-period Welsh ale was a heady, strong beverage, made with spices such ascinnamon,ginger andclove as well asherbs andhoney. Bragawd was often prepared inmonasteries, withTintern Abbey and the Friary ofCarmarthen producing the beverage untilHenry VIIIdissolved the monasteries in 1536.[4] The drink is said to have been still in production by a few families in Wales at the beginning of the 19th century.[5]
In the Laws ofHywel Dda, meanwhile, a distinction is drawn betweenbragawd andcwrwf, withbragawd being worth twice as much.Bragawd in this context is afermented drink based oncwrwf to which honey, sweetwort, and ginger have been added.
John Gerard'sHerball or Generall Historie of Plantes of 1633 says of the plant ground-ivy: "The women of our Northerne parts, especially about Wales andCheshire, do turne the herbeAle-hoof into their Ale; but the reason thereof I know not...".[6]
Alexander Morrice mentions "Welch Ale" in hisTreatise on Brewing (1802).[7] The beer was made from pale malt, hops, sugar andgrains of paradise. The author says that he saw the brewing process inCarnarvon, conducted by an old women.
Welsh beer is noted as a distinctstyle as late as 1854, with a recipe made solely frompale malt andhops described in a recipe book of the time.[8]
Wrexham was one of the first places in the UK to brewlager.[9] Homesick German immigrant brothers from Saxony started the process in 1882. Its demise came in 2000, when the site ofWrexham Lager was sold and subsequently demolished.
In the 1930s,Felinfoel Brewery was the first brewery in the UK to produce and sell beer in cans.[12]
The largest brewer and packager of beer in Wales by far is the Budweiser Brewing Group (BBG) Brewery in Magor. The brewery was built in 1979 by the Whitbread brewing group and is now operated by the Budweiser Brewing Group, part of AB-InBev the world's largest brewer. The brewery is one of the largest in the UK producing over 5 Million hectare litres every year.[13]
In 2012,CAMRA predicted that the number of microbreweries in Wales is set to carry on rising as the pub industry deals with continued closures.[14]
This is adynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help byediting the page to add missing items, with references toreliable sources.
^"that Wulfred should give the land of Sleaford to Meohamsted, and should send each year into the monastery sixty loads of wood, twelve loads of coal, six loads of peat, two tuns full of fine ale, two neats' carcases, six hundred loaves, and ten kilderkins of Welsh ale; one horse also each year, and thirty shillings, and one night's entertainment."
^Brian Glover (2007).Brains: 125 Years. The Breedon Books Publishing Company Limited.ISBN978-1-85983-606-4.
