Antur Brew Co Tour-At-Home
It's fair to say that beer-wise, I was spoiled for the last few decades by living in London - a city that even now is knee-deep in new and exciting beers and breweries. Our new home in Wales may not have the sheer density of breweries, but it has a decent spread of the traditional (Brains still going despite a turbulent recent period) and the craft (the Portman Group's favourite, Tiny Rebel).
While there's a destinct lack of railway arches, there are still small, exciting brewers setting up here too, and it's to one of those that we go today.
Antur Brew Co set up during the pandemic, opening their doors on the northern edge of Bannau Brycheiniog (the Brecon Beacons) in 2022. Despite starting out during a very tough period for brewers, they've already outgrown their original premises and are in the process of relocating a few miles down the road to a larger space.
I actually picked up these beers last year, and although they're well within date I wasn't sure if it was fair to review them - I've been bitten before by reviewing old beer, but these have stood up well to my poor time management.
New England IPA is a 6% beer, in a classic craft style. It's almost orange, slightly hazy and with an open head. The aroma is just jam packed with rich, sweet tropical fruit - mango and orange citrus, with a touch of that hoppy resinousness lurking in the background.
In the mouth, it's nicely balanced - the fruit is still there but it doesn't become too 'fruit juice'-like. There's everything you expect in the style; a rich, almost sticky sweetness contrasting deliciously with the bitterness from all those hops.
Session Pale Ale is a easy-drinking 4.5% beer. It's a golden beer, with a generous, open textured head on it. The aroma is light and fruity, with underripe pears and pale honey.
That honey note continues in the mouth too; clean, gently sweet and quickly balanced by a subtle bitterness. The texture is almost foamy, as the beer seems to just dissolve and fade away leaving you reaching for another sip - the very definition of a good session ale.
Helles Lager is a 5% lager that continues the traditional that all craft outfits feel they have to have a lager in the range. It's quite a deep golden colour, and the head is fleeting. The nose is gently malty with some subtle spice notes, but there's not a great deal of floral hops in evidence.
In the mouth, the grain comes through more strongly; a decent body, but not overly sweet and more of that almost peppery spice lurking underneath. There's a pleasantly bitter finish, but still slightly lacking the floral hop flavours one might expect.
New Alt is an Altbier-inspired beer at 5% - the name being a subtle enough pun ('alt' comes from the German for 'old') that I can just about forgive it.
It's a lovely deep copper colour - almost edging into red; the nose is sweet, with dark honey and forest fruits and just a touch of yeast underneath.
In the mouth, the sweetness becomes more malty and that's balanced by a fairly substantial bitterness that is remarkably lingering, almost drying. With all that, there's still an almost cherry-like fruit edge to it all. It's delicious.
This is a tasty collection of beers, and it's nice to see they haven't gone down the traditional path of "three pale ales and a lager" - we definitely don't see enough Altbier here!
I'm looking forward to heading down to check out the new brewery once their move is complete.
This post was originally published 17th March, 2024. It was last updated 17th March, 2024.