Bryncelyn Brewery was a

brew pub Craft beer is a beer that has been made by craft breweries. They produce smaller amounts of beer, typically less than large breweries, and are often independently owned. Such breweries are generally perceived and marketed as having an emphasis o ...

in 'Wern Fawr Inn', a

pub A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...

located near

Ystalyfera Ystalyfera is a former industrial village and community in the upper Swansea Valley, on the River Tawe, about northeast of Swansea. It is an electoral ward and a community in the unitary authority of Neath Port Talbot, Wales, comprising a re ...

, in south Wales. Brewing was begun in July 1999, and the brewers are Will Hopton and Robert Scott. The brewery produces three-quarters of a UK brewer's barrel of beer at a time. The

ale Ale is a Type of beer, type of beer brewed using a Warm fermentation, warm fermentation method, resulting in a sweet, full-bodied and fruity taste. Historically, the term referred to a drink brewed without hops. As with most beers, ale typicall ...

s have been consistent and frequent winners of awards at beer festivals since the brewery's inception. Brewing stopped in 2017.

Beers

The first beer produced was Buddy's Delight; this was done in nine-

gallon The gallon is a unit of volume in imperial units and United States customary units. Three different versions are in current use: *the imperial gallon (imp gal), defined as , which is or was used in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Canada, Austral ...

(one- firkin) batches. The brewery then expanded to 27-

batches and began producing five beer types in 2000; by 2002, this had further expanded to one barrel and twelve recipes are brewed, with brewing taking place up to four times a week. Bryncelyn's three regular beers are Oh Boy, a

bitter Bitter may refer to: Common uses * Resentment, negative emotion or attitude, similar to being jaded, cynical or otherwise negatively affected by experience * Bitter (taste), one of the five basic tastes Books * '' Bitter (novel)'', a 2022 nove ...

; Buddy Marvellous, a strong

mild ale Mild ale is a type of ale. Modern milds are mostly dark-coloured, with an alcohol by volume (ABV) of 3% to 3.6%, although there are lighter-hued as well as stronger milds, reaching 6% abv and higher. Mild originated in Britain in the 17th century ...

; and Holly

Hop A hop is a type of jump. Hop or hops may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Hop'' (film), a 2011 film * Hop! Channel, an Israeli TV channel * ''House of Payne'', or ''HOP'', an American sitcom * Lindy Hop, a swing dance of the 1920s and ...

, a

golden ale Pale ale is a golden to amber coloured beer style brewed with pale malt. The term first appeared around 1703 for beers made from malts dried with high-carbon coke, which resulted in a lighter colour than other beers popular at that time. Diff ...

. A further nine beers are produced on an occasional or seasonal basis. The

Good Beer Guide The ''Good Beer Guide'' is a book published annually by the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) listing what it considers to be the best 4,500 real ale outlets (pubs, clubs, and off-licences) in the United Kingdom. Details The content of the guide i ...

describes Oh Boy as:

''An enticing hop and fruit aroma, a golden color and a taste full of hops and fruit. Good bitterness and underlying malt add to the flavor, with a long, hoppily-bitter finish.''

Bryncelyn's beers are usually available only at the Wern Fawr Inn, but can be purchased for take-away in polypins and frequently appear at beer festivals in Wales.

Buddy Holly

The names of Bryncelyn's beers all feature the

motif Motif may refer to: General concepts * Motif (chess composition), an element of a move in the consideration of its purpose * Motif (folkloristics), a recurring element that creates recognizable patterns in folklore and folk-art traditions * Moti ...

of references to the singer & guitarist

Buddy Holly Charles Hardin Holley (September 7, 1936 – February 3, 1959), known as Buddy Holly, was an American singer and songwriter who was a central and pioneering figure of mid-1950s rock and roll. He was born to a musical family in Lubbock, Texas ...

; the name "Bryncelyn" itself means " Holly Hill" in Welsh. Pump clips and associated artwork for the brewery also feature Holly's image or references Holly in some way: * Oh Boy refers to the song " Oh, Boy!" * Holly Hop refers to the

instrumental An instrumental is a recording normally without any vocals, although it might include some inarticulate vocals, such as shouted backup vocals in a big band setting. Through semantic widening, a broader sense of the word song may refer to instru ...

of the same name * Peggy's Brew refers to the song "

Peggy Sue "Peggy Sue" is a rock and roll song written by Jerry Allison and Norman Petty, and recorded and released as a single by Buddy Holly on September 20, 1957. The Crickets are not mentioned on label of the single (Coral 9-61885), but band members Jo ...

" * CHH are the initials of ''Charles Hardin Holley'', Buddy Holly's birth name *

Rave On! "Rave On", also written "Rave On!", is a song written by Sonny West, Bill Tilghman and Norman Petty in 1958. It was first recorded by West for Atlantic Records, which released his version in February 1958 (as Atlantic 45-1174). Buddy Holly recor ...

refers to the song of the same name * Feb 59 refers to Holly's

death Death is the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain an organism. For organisms with a brain, death can also be defined as the irreversible cessation of functioning of the whole brain, including brainstem, and brain ...

on 3 February 1959. * May B Baby refers to the song "Maybe Baby" * That'll Be The Sleigh refers to the song " That'll Be the Day" Says brewer and publican Will Hopton about Holly, "He was such a talented fellow and he died at 22. He was such an influence on such a lot of different groups and individuals. Elvis was good performer but Buddy wrote most of his own music." Hopton sees the beer theme as a way of paying tribute to the performer.

Awards

Bryncelyn's beers frequently place highly in blind tastings performed at festivals. Buddy Marvellous was awarded the

Champion Beer of Wales The Champion Beer of Wales is a beer award presented annually by the Campaign for Real Ale at the Great Welsh Beer & Cider Festival in Cardiff, Wales. The award is selected by a multi-tier system. First, individual branches of CAMRA nominate beer ...

title in 2002, and Oh Boy that title in 2003. 1999 * Carmarthen Beer Festival: Buddy's Delight,

silver medal A silver medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of, or plated with, silver awarded to the second-place finisher, or runner-up, of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc ...

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

Beer Festival: Buddy Marvellous, silver medal 2001 * Cardiff Beer Festival: Oh Boy,

gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have bee ...

2002 * Carmarthen Beer Festival: Oh Boy,

bronze medal A bronze medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of bronze awarded to the third-place finisher of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The outright winner receive ...

* Great Welsh Beer & Cider Festival: Buddy Marvellous, gold medal 2003 * Great Welsh Beer & Cider Festival: Oh Boy, gold medal; Buddy Marvellous, bronze medal 2004 * Carmarthen Beer Festival: Oh Boy, silver medal * Great Welsh Beer & Cider Festival: Buddy Marvellous, bronze medal 2005 * Great Welsh Beer & Cider Festival: Oh Boy, bronze medal; Buddy Marvellous, champion

; Oh Boy, champion

best bitter Bitter is an English style of pale ale that varies in colour from gold to dark amber, and in strength typically from 3% to 5.5% alcohol by volume. History The term "bitter" has been used in England to describe pale ale since the early 19th cent ...

2006 * Mumbles Beer Festival: Oh Boy, gold medal * Great Welsh Beer & Cider Festival: Holly Hop, champion bitter. 2007 * Great Welsh Beer & Cider Festival: Holly Hop, silver medal; Buddy Marvellous, bronze medal; Oh Boy, champion best bitter; Holly Hop, champion bitter; Buddy Marvellous, champion strong mild/old ale. 2008 * Great Welsh Beer & Cider Festival: Buddy Marvelous, runner-up mild; Holly Hop, runner-up bitter; Oh Boy, runner-up best bitter The Wern Fawr Inn has itself been awarded the title of "Pub of the Year" in 2005 by the

Neath Neath (; cy, Castell-nedd) is a market town and Community (Wales), community situated in the Neath Port Talbot, Neath Port Talbot County Borough, Wales. The town had a population of 50,658 in 2011. The community of the parish of Neath had a po ...

and Port Talbot branch of CAMRA, as well as "Regional Pub of the Year" for South and Mid Wales by a ballot among all branches of CAMRA in the area.

References

External links

Official site

Bryncelyn Brewery
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Beer Me!
1999 establishments in Wales Breweries in Wales Neath Port Talbot Buddy Holly