16 Welsh craft brewers you need to try right now

Wales’s craft brewing scene has continued to raise its game over the last few years with more and more modern-style breweries making a name for themselves.

Often taking inspiration from the USA, Belgium and Germany, these breweries are producing bang on trend hoppy pale ales and IPAs, mouth-puckering sour beers, crisp lagers and boozy imperial stouts.

Read more: The Cardiff shop which stocks 500 types of beer and is run by a former record label owner

Here are some of the best in Wales which you need to try now.

Polly’s, Flintshire

One of the most highly-regarded craft breweries in the UK, Flintshire’s Polly’s has been producing modern hoppy beers since 2018.

Originally based in a former stable where the owner’s family horse Polly used to live, it’s certainly one of the more quirky inspirations for a brewery name.

From pale ales, to IPAs and DIPAs, Polly’s beers lean towards the hazy New England style. They’ve recently introduced a core range with beers including Rosebud, a juicy IPA with plenty of tropical fruit.

Wild Horse, Conwy

Located in the seaside resort of Llandudno, this north Wales brewery was established in 2015.

Inspired by the US craft beer scene, Wild Horse focuses on hop forward hazy IPAs and pale ales. Their flagship hazy session IPA, Nokota, is brewed with American hops to give it a fruity and balanced flavour.

Crafty Devil, Cardiff

Owned by best mates Adam Edinborough and Rhys Watkins, who originally set up the brewery in their garden shed in west Cardiff, Crafty Devil has since expanded to a bigger site in Canton alongside two bars in Cardiff and Penarth.

With an emphasis on hoppy beers, Crafty Devil’s headline beer is Mikey Rayer, a clean, crisp and hoppy session pale ale.

Wilderness, Powys

One of the most unique Welsh craft breweries, mid-Wales’s Wilderness has a big point of difference as they don’t specialise in hoppy beers.

Wilderness founder James Godman instead focuses on mixed-fermentation beers, which utilise a variety of yeasts and bacteria, incorporates locally sourced fruit and are often aged in former wine or spirit barrels. Their rioja barrel aged pale ale Fragile Self Confidence is complex, funky and very delicately sour.

Beer Riff, Swansea

Beer Riff produces pale ales, lagers, porters and sours from their small Swansea Marina-based brewery. Handily, you can enjoy one of their beers from their tap room which is situated on top of the brewery and has views over the marina.

Beers on offer range from their crisp Furr lager to their big, boozy Overactive Imagination Imperial Stout, which is conditioned on coffee beans, Madagascan vanilla, and cacao nibs.

Drop Bear, Swansea

Drop Bear actually makes alcohol free beers such as Yuzu Pale Ale and Tropical IPA. But they’ve picked up numerous accolades for their brews including Great Taste Awards, World Beer Awards and European Beer Challenge gold medals.

Founded by Joelle Drummond and Sarah McNena in 2019, Drop Bear has also recently become Wales's first ever B Corp certified brewery due to their social and environmental credentials. Next year they plan to build one of the world’s first dedicated alcohol-free breweries.

Tenby Brewing, Pembrokeshire

Located on the south west tip of Wales, Tenby Brewing has been producing a wide range of beer styles since 2015. 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 Sandbar, the brewery’s very own craft beer bar and street food venue.

Geipel, Conwy

Perhaps unusually for a Welsh brewery, Geipel is a lager specialist based in a barn on a hillside in rural north Wales. Their beers include Aloha from Bala, a dry-hopped pilsner named after the brewery’s “local beach resort”, Bala Lake.

Lucky 7, Powys

This small batch brewery based in Hay-on-Wye follows the mantra of “a glowing beacon of hop”. Their beers include NEPA, a New England pale ale with plenty of citrus and mango and Dragonfly, an IPA made with classic US hops with a balanced bitterness.

Grey Trees, Rhondda Cynon Taf

Located in Aberdare, Grey Trees’ name comes from the translation of the village where it was originally based, Llwydcoed.

Founded in 2011, Grey Trees beers lean towards more traditional styles including their Afghan Pale Ale, which was named CAMRA Champion Strong Bitter of Britain 2019 and Digger’s Gold, which was named CAMRA Champion Beer of Wales 2018.

Untapped, Monmouthshire

Untapped started out as a two-man operation in 2009 by friends who borrowed other breweries’ kits to make their beers. They’ve since moved to a bigger space in Raglan where they produce both traditional and modern style beers including Whoosh hoppy extra pale ale and Sundown traditional golden ale.

Rival, Cardiff

Cardiff-based microbrewery Rival is owned by father and son team Duncan and Sam Higgitt. Producing a range of styles from crisp lagers, to hoppy IPAs and tangy sour beers, the brewery recently produced an exclusive “Butch” beer for the Roath-based provisions store and cafe, Glory Stores, which will raise money for LGBTQ+ charities.

Flowerhorn, Cardiff

With their psychedelic branding, Flowerhorn brewery certainly stands out. Founded in 2019, this Cardiff brewery has a Fairwater-based taproom where you can find their core and seasonal range of beers which include Capo citra pale ale and Bits orange juice IPA.

Big Hand, Denbighshire

Based in Wrexham, Big Hand is owned by an uncle and nephew who gave up their careers as a project manager for Network Rail and a secondary school teacher to set-up the brewery. Since they opened in 2013, Big Hand has racked up a number of awards for their core beers which include Oren, a soft and fruity pale ale, and Havok, a West Coast hopped bitter.

Vale of Glamorgan Brewery, Vale of Glamorgan

Vale of Glamorgan Brewery produces modern twists on traditional ales, from their multi-award winning Dark Matter blackcurrant porter to Miami Weiss, a dry-hopped American wheat beer.

Tiny Rebel, Newport

The only Welsh brewery to win Champion beer of Britain, Newport-based Tiny Rebel are probably Wales’s best known craft brewery.

Their core beers include Cali, a juicy pale ale with tropical and pine flavours, and Cwtch, a Welsh red ale that’s hopped with Citra.

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