The Greyhound Inn, Llanrhidian, is home of the Gower Brewery in South West Wales.
Back in July last year, after months of rain the school holiday's were starting and we feared the worst - Weeks indoors with kids going slightly crazy.
But the sun actually came out and we grabbed the tent, headed for the Gower and pitched up. We had cracking weather in the end, a great holiday, and discovered an excellent pub that also happened to brew its own beer.
On the first Sunday we went to get a meal at a local pub, recommended by someone on the camp site, only a little drive and certainly worth it even if its further than the closest pub to the campsite.
The Greyhound Inn at Llanrhidian turned out to be home of the Gower Brewery, and I managed to have a chat with one of its co-owners the landlord Chris. A genuinely nice guy who is obviously passionate about the beer they are brewing there. The other co-owner I believe is another local landlord also called Chris (another reason why I should have written this when it was fresh in the mind)
The kids enjoyed themselves in a nice clean wood play area, and we all enjoyed the food, quality pub food, well priced, and nice to see good choices and properly cooked and well portioned children's meals (mine eat well!).So whilst a bemused bar staff watched me photo, create and upload to Untappd, I started with their Gower Power, an IPA that is 5.5% abv. Classically smooth, with a good spice hit, moderate hop profile, orange in the colour and on tongue, a very promising start.
Next up I tried the Gower Gold, a golden ale, 4.5% abv, which was singing out of the barrel fresh. Wonderful citrus aroma from the Cascade hops, juicy tropical fruit, with grapefruit sharpness.
This was a cracking find, made my lunch, no, made my day supping this in the beautiful sunshine in a beer garden.
The best news, many months later, was that my local Spar shop has started stocking this in bottles so I can sup it much more regularly.Anyway, back to that day. Their bitter on pump was called Brew #1, 3.8% and as suggested by the name, this from the recipe that was their first ever beer. A classic bitter, nowt wrong with that.
I also had Sampson's Jack, another bitter but stronger at 4.2%, and this was straight from the cask. Dry and fruitier than Brew #1.
Overall this pub would have been a great find for us on our holiday, good food, pleasant environment, large outside area with a clean and safe kids area.
It was just it was a massive bonus for me that it houses a great microbrewery, producing some really good beers, and one excellent one in 'Gold'. That I now can buy it at the end of my street is great also.
Hopefully the Gower Brewery will continue to expand, perhaps putting more of their range into bottles (and into my Spar!), and getting their beers into some of the number of new craft beer establishments in Cardiff, you can only wish them the best of success for the coming year.
