With pubs currently closed (*silent cry*) due to the coronavirus situation, we recently faced the upsetting prospect of having to pour gallons of perfectly good real ale down the drain. As we had already brewed hundreds of casks that would usually go to local pub and restaurant landlords, we faced no alternative but to waste them.
But then, inspiration struck. Why not give the beer away in return for a donation to a good cause? And what better cause then our incredible NHS? With help from our very reduced workforce and a few family members that got roped in too, we got busy setting up a makeshift bar in our brewery shop. With casks stacked on top and lines connected, we set about spreading the word of our cask ale giveaway throughout Swansea, and beyond.
After a few shout outs on our social media pages, a few curious people began to arrive. What started as a few dribs and drabs quickly escalated into crowds lined up (with 2m spacings of course) all the way around our car park! Over the next two days, we moved our makeshift bar rack outside into the car park, where keen customers waited patiently for beer. People brought all manner of wacky and wonderful clean containers to fill up – from empty milk cartons to camping water butts, plastic tubs, jam jars and more. We were blown away by your resourcefulness and generosity and with a suggested donation of £5 per large container, our donations box started to fill up as quickly as our casks emptied.
In just two days we got through a whopping 172 9gallon casks of real ale, including our OSB, IPA, Pecker Wrecker, Cwrw Braf and Cwrw Haf beers. We honestly expected to empty a few casks but ended up giving away gallons of beer. The charity giveaway was an unprecedented success and we were so thrilled with the amount of support from our lovely customers. We had people knocking on our shop doors at 8:30 in the morning asking for beer and our little brewery shop has never been busier.
We’d like to warmly thank all those who came to fill their containers with real ale, and because of the popularity of this event we are now considering holding monthly cask ale parties when the current situation has blown over. Thanks to you lovely lot we raised a huge £2,200 for the NHS in just two days. Free beer for a good cause? What could be better.