Balancing the new with the old at the Vale of Glamorgan

This year looks set to be a big one for the Vale of Glamorgan (VOG) Brewery in South Wales, as it celebrates its new brewery site and kit by looking back at its history with the launch of a new heritage cask series.

Like a lot of breweries, VOG had an eventful 2022, but the team is bracing itself for another challenging year.

After purchasing the brewery in late 2021, Craig [Edmunds] and Barney [Hibbert] were faced with bringing in new staff, updating the range, upgrading the kit and having to find a new home. VOG is their lead brand, specialising in modern interpretations of classic beer styles using new world hops. The plan was always to brew more keg but cask is the brewery’s bread and butter and passion. So with the brewery finally in a new home, 2023 will see a heritage cask brand fully launched to celebrate the brewery’s past.

The original Vale of Glamorgan Brewery was actually in 1865 by the son of a farmer, a maltster by trade, who saw an opportunity and grabbed it with both hands, but it was eventually sold to a big brewery which shut the doors during WW1. With the resurgence in both nostalgia and the growing consumer demand for provenance, craft and independence the decision was made to go back to the brewery’s roots and start producing a range of cask beers brewed exclusively using British hops and celebrating the ‘classic’ styles of yesteryear – Dark Mild, ESB, IPA, Porter etc.

VOG’s Rich Tidy said: “Since the re-launch of the brewery we’ve seen sales grow both locally and further afield. We’ve responded to the challenges, took on board feedback from our customers and drinkers and realised that we wanted to look back as well as forward. We’re fiercely independent and proud to call ourselves both Welsh and British. We are a small producer and we feel it’s so important that we continue to fly that flag and educate the trade and drinkers about authenticity, true craftmanship and independent breweries. We’re not some global giant with an army of workers and machines. We’re a handful of local people grafting doing something we love. That’s why we decided to support the SIBA ‘Assured Independent British Craft Brewer‘ initiative. Every Vale of Glamorgan Barry Brewery cask beer pump clip or bottle will carry the SIBA Independent Craft Brewer logo.”

But whilst there is a nod to the past, the just over two years, we were delighted, very proud and humbled by the Gold award we have received from SIBA East for our fruit gose, Mangoes Into A Bar. On to the Nationals!”

Bowlers started brewing in October 2020 following a decision by two friends, John Bowyer and Dave Gowler (using their surnames to create the brewery name) to do something a bit different following long careers in banking and IT respectively.

Find out more at www.bowlersbeer.com brewery is also very much focussed on the future as well. In 2022 the team introduced new beers (and branding) to reflect the changes, celebrate their Barry home (through Hotel Barrifornia and Barrybados Pale Ale) and their love for all things 80s (Maverick and Saaz Wars). 2023 will see more of the same.

So it’s very much about balancing the new with the old, or the old with the new.

Find out more at www.vogbrewery.co.uk