29 October 2024
And Pembrokeshire is no different. From the Preseli mountains to the Tenby coast, there is much to inspire and Pembrokeshire has enjoyed a major brewing and distilling renaissance in recent years. It’s home to an array of microbreweries and distilleries creating a vibrant drinks scene that’s definitely worth a sample.
While some simply brew and supply local shops and restaurants, others offer tours and immersive tasting experiences, events, outdoor bars and bottle shops, so you can always find the right experience for you. Here’s a quick guide to finding your perfect Pembrokeshire tipple.
Breweries
Bluestone Brewery
Bluestone Brewery is at the foot of the Preseli mountains and the start of the magical Gwaun Valley. With Carn Ingli towering above, it has a real sense of a land time forgot. But there’s nothing old fashioned at Bluestone - it’s the first brewery in the world to be given the Green Key Accreditation, an international award that recognises environmentally sustainable businesses. There’s a zero-waste brewing process – spent malt and yeast go to the farm animals, hops to the local gardening club and wastewater sent down to a reed bed filtration system. Their beer is packed in compostable cardboard, the brewery has a wildflower roof and offers a crisp-packet recycling point.
There’s a bottle shop, taproom and outdoor seating, where they often hold events and live music, so keep an eye on their website for things coming up.
Gwaun Valley Brewery
A mere five or so miles down the road from Bluestone Brewery, Gwaun Valley is a traditional microbrewery producing award-winning real ales. They also host regular acoustic music sessions, which are worth dropping in for.
Harbwr Brewery
Offering brewery tours and a restaurant tucked down a narrow lane just above Tenby harbour, their signature beers have creative names like North Star, Caldey Lollipop, M.V. Enterprise, and RFA Sir Galahad – which come from well-known and much-loved Tenby boats, as a tribute to the harbourside location.
Every so often, a snippet of conversation at the brewery or a sight down at the harbour captures the brewers’ imaginations and a new seasonal or special beer is born, including the very recent Tamar’s Tusk Arctic ale, in honour of Tenby’s Tamar class lifeboat and Wally the Walrus who set up home on launch ramp of the RNLI station!
Bluestone Brewing Co, St Davids
Opened in July 2021, this microbrewery on the St Davids peninsula is situated on the working family farm, Tyriet. The company takes pride in being environmentally friendly and all of the bi-products from brewing are re-used on the farm or fed back to their animals. The water used to make their beer comes from their own well and they even generate their own solar power!
They produced some incredible beers from the start with their four signature brews named after recognisable places nearby. You can’t get much more local than that!
Even better, in 2020 they opened their first ever restaurant. Having always liked the idea of having their own place and somewhere they could really showcase their beers, pizza seemed like the perfect pairing! An opportunity came up in St Davids and Grain was born. In December 2023, Bluestone Brewing expanded again and opened a second restaurant in Carmarthen. Beer and pizza - absolute perfection!
Pembrokeshire Cider Co.
If you’re more of a cider person, there’s plenty on offer from the apple-press too. Brewing under the shadow of the great Pembroke Castle, these ciders are inspired by the rich history surrounding the microbrewery. Combining the art of cider-making with the heritage of Pembroke Castle, each bottle is infused with a unique blend of craftsmanship and historical significance. With utmost respect for tradition and an unwavering commitment to quality, the Pembrokeshire Cider Co. invites you to celebrate this fusion of past and present. They have a range of flavours, from dry to medium, carbonated to still, and even do a mixed berry and fruit option for those lovely summer afternoons.
Tenby Brewing Co.
Set up by two friends who ditched the corporate rat race to open their own brewery, Tenby Brewing Co. has proven immensely successful thanks to its range of full flavoured beers. Their hoppy flagship tropical pale ale is Son of a Beach and they’ve also produced a limited edition collaboration s'mores imperial stout, Once more unto the Beach.
If you find yourself in Tenby, then drop into Tap and Tan, the brewery’s very own craft beer bar and street food venue, or Hwb in Narberth, where you can buy food from one of four kitchens alongside 18 beers on tap.
Distilleries
Cinammon Grove Gin
This small, award-winning family distillery opened in 2016 and was the first gin distillery in Pembrokeshire. Combining botanicals with fresh pure water straight from their own well, their distinctive gin is hand bottled and labelled – a truly handcrafted product unique to Pembrokeshire.
Pembrokeshire Gin Co.
A Tenby-based, multi-award-winning craft distillery, two of their flavours made it onto the Great Taste Winners list this year. The Rosemary & Citrus Gin is made with four different citrus peels and is a light and easy-drinking gin which is extremely versatile. The other winner, Welsh Cake Gin, was also awarded a Masters Medal at the 2020 Gin Masters, and a Silver medal in the same competition… The results speak for themselves!
Still Wild
Another Great Taste Winner in 2021, these artisan Vermouths are cold-distilled to retain the natural flavours and fragile aromas of the delicate wild botanicals, which are foraged by hand from around the county.
Tir & Môr
Made by the team at Lobster and Môr in the quaint village of Little Haven, this gin is as happy in the kitchen as it is on the bar – from dressing a decadent ceviche to marrying with a little Vermouth Bianco and enjoying with an olive, Martini Style. Serve with tonic and kitchen herbs, or the thinnest citrus ribbon you can cut.
Barti Rum
Borne from the stories of unruly seafarers, Barti rum was inspired by Pembrokeshire’s most infamous pirate, Barti Ddu (Black Bart), who rose to fame in the pirate world, wrote the pirate code, and captured over 400 ships during his short reign as a pirate captain.
It’s spiced with exotic flavours of vanilla and clove reminiscent of the precious cargos plundered by Barti Ddu, complemented with orange and hand-picked Pembrokeshire Laver, a type of seaweed characteristic of Welsh coastal produce.
St Davids Gin
You can rest easy when drinking this gin, because the company is a corporate supporter of the RSBP, contributing 5% of net sales to fund projects on and around Ramsey Island, a wildlife haven in Pembrokeshire and where lots of their hand-picked botanicals come from.
As we say here in Wales – iechyd da (yaki-dar). Good health!
There are so many tipples made with love and passion right here in Pembrokeshire, you’re bound to find a new fave – let us know by tagging@visitpembrokeshire on Instagram.
