Bill Dobson, Head Brewer, and Ben Gill, Assistant Brewer, hosted a BFBi tour of the new (3 years young) brewery based on Pacific Road, Cardiff, South Wales.
Bill has been Head Brewer with Brains since 2007 and Ben Gill joined Brains in August 2021, previously Production Brewer with Tiny Rebel.
The building was originally a dental equipment supplier and has been converted to suit the needs of Brains’ new 50hl brewery. With a mix of small (50hl) vessels and larger (250hl), the brewery is able to produce a wider portfolio of their own brands, together with copacking smallpack and keg beer and cider products.
The challenges of covid brought about a restructuring of the business, with Marstons taking a 25 year lease of Brains’ pubs, enabling the brewery to concentrate on brewing. 2022 is seeing the brewery build on a busy 2021 summer.
Under a lean team, the brewery is able to undertake 24 brews/week and works on a 24 hour shift system over 3 days.
An end of tour return to the bar enabled us to sample a range of cask and keg ales and lagers. Thank you Bill (and Ben)!