The Buckley family is to celebrate 245 years of family brewing in Wales in 2012.
The family, now led by Simon Buckley, has brewed beer in West Wales since 1767.
The family owns the Evan-Evans brewery in Llandeilo, where they brew the international award-winning Evan-Evans beers and the famous Archers brands, which are due to be re-launched to the English market in early 2012.
Simon Buckley, Chief Executive of Evan-Evans, said: “2011 has been a wonderful year for us, winning a top international brewing award for our premium beer Evan-Evans Cwrw.
“And our Cardiff flagship pub, The Cricketers was voted best food pub in Wales!
“Now we turn to our year of celebrations and our new range of beers.
“A beer festival, December 5-14, is set to mark the beginning of a year of celebrations with the brewing of five new beers and the launch of a new heritage beer brand, WH Buckley.
“We have been working hard for the last two months to create five very special beers to start off this year of celebrations.
“The beers have tested the skills of our brewing team to create a wonderful mix of beers that reflect our rich brewing heritage.
“We have created two new strong ales, an original Welsh stout and a delicious winter porter. We also have our two ‘seasonal specials’ and what is, in my mind, the star beer, the WH Buckley Celebration Ale.
“We believe this to be a unique beer range that no other brewer in Wales can offer.
“The new beers will be available in the free trade over the next few weeks throughout South Wales and will be followed in 2012 by further seasonal beers.’
“This year has been an incredible year for us as a company and we intend to build on our success with the launch of a series of new beers both under the Evan-Evans and Archers labels.
“There will also be a new brand, which we are launching to mark this landmark in our history, the WH Buckley heritage label.
“WH, was my great uncle Bill, and was the last President of Buckley’s Brewery when he died in 1985. He was a larger than life character, master of foxhounds, and West Walian through and through. He had an incredible love for life and travelled the world as a professional soldier.
“The WH Buckley brand has been named after him and we will build a brand portfolio of beers that will expand in 2012 as we celebrate different events through the year.”
The beer list is:
New Beers for 2012
- Evan-Evans Original Welsh stout 4.4%;
- Evan-Evans Winter porter 4.5%;
- Evan-Evans Santa’s Tipple;
- Archers Strong Ale 5.5%,
- Archers Santa’s Glow 5%;
- WH Buckley Celebration Ale 4.5%
