For the second year in a row the Cwrw brand has landed an award at the world-renowned Great British Beer Festival in London.
The Llandeilo-based company was awarded a third (bronze) medal for its flagship brand Cwrw in the Best Bitter category. Cwrw also took a bronze award last year and once again finished ahead of all other Welsh beers in the category.
Last year, Cwrw scooped the Gold True Taste of Wales award.
“So we are delighted to be able to say to our customers that they are drinking the finest bitter in Wales,” said Simon Buckley, Chief Executive of Evan-Evans.
Mr Buckley said: “This latest award, at the premier UK beer festival, is yet another feather in our cap and a testament to the quality of the Cwrw brand, which now stands up there as the national drink of Wales.
“To be voted one of the top brewers of Best Bitter in the UK, out of a total of nearly 700 brewers, is a great achievement for the brewing team in Llandeilo. We are extremely proud of the achievement and I am delighted for the team which works so hard at Llandeilo to make sure that our brands are such a success – and so popular the length and breadth of Wales and beyond.
“This Best Bitter category is the one which really matters at the UK festival. It is the most important in the industry as it represents what our everyday customer drinks.
“We now feel confident that we are certainly one of the best, if not The Best cask ale brewery in the Principality.
“We offer more choice of beer than any other brewer, brands that are well brewed and with the heritage of being brewed by Wales’s oldest brewing family.
“Cwrw is fast becoming a household name in Wales. The bottled version of the beer is a massive success. Within five years Cwrw will be the National Drink of Wales.
“The British award is important as it really comes from the consumers and the product is judged on its merits in independent tasting sessions.”
Mr Buckley, 52, added: “This year has been a great year for us at Evan-Evans. Over the next few months we will be developing our range of bottle and guest beers, and launching our new Forces Charity Beer, Heroes Lager.”
- Cwrw is the Welsh name for beer.
- Simon Buckley’s family have brewed in Wales since 1767.
- Evan-Evans has a reputation for brewing the highest quality cask-conditioned beers.
- Evan-Evans is Wales’s largest specialist brewer of cask ale.
- The company started brewing in 2004 to produce specialist cask ales for the Welsh and national guest ale market.
The brewing heritage of the Buckley family stretches back to the early 19th century after the Rev James Buckley married the eldest daughter of Henry Child who had founded Childs Brewery in Llanelli. It was set up to slake the thirst of the town’s tinworkers, who were rapidly increasing in numbers.
Simon was the last Buckley to brew at Llanelli before moving to London in 1984. Buckleys Brewery had the distinction of being the only Welsh brewer to hold a royal warrant. In 1991 it became Crown Buckley when it was taken over by a subsidiary of Guinness. It was sold to Brains in 1997 and the Llanelli Brewery closed a year later.
Evan-Evans was founded in Llandeilo in 2003 and began brewing in 2004.
It is named after William Evan-Evans who married into the family four generations ago.
Welsh results from the Great British Beer Festival at London’s Earl Court – Cwrw, a 4.2% ale made by Evan Evans at its Llandeilo brewery, was awarded joint bronze in the Best Bitter category, won by Timothy Taylor’s Landlord.
Snowdonia Ale, brewed in Porthmadog, won joint bronze in the Bitter category, while Ysbrid Y Ddraig, a 6.5% concoction made in Brecon, won bronze in the Speciality Beer competition.
The overall Champion Beer of Britain prize was picked up by Nottingham- based Castle Rock’s Harvest Pale brew, described as a “wonderfully refreshing and complex beer”.
