Wonder if they will serve old Brains recipes ales in there (hint Strong Ale, 6.5%) – hope they keep it going as a pub and not a shell just as an exhibition.

Welsh Bloggers Outside the Pub by Welsh Icons (Dom)

Historic Cardiff Pub Saved for the Nation

Following the decision to close the Vulcan Hotel, Cardiff, the property’s owners Marcol Asset Management Limited, have agreed to donate it to St Fagans: National History Museum in order to preserve the building for the Nation.

The Vulcan was built in 1853 to serve the new, mainly Irish, community in Adamsdown then known as New Town. The exterior of the two storey building is virtually unchanged, the lower half of the façade being tiled in green and white and the upper floor faced in brick.

With the agreement of Marcol and licensees Gwyn and Sandra Lewis, the tenants, SA Brain & Co Ltd, today (Friday 4th May) closed the Vulcan. St Fagans staff will now move in to measure, photograph and document the building, before dismantling and placing it in storage.

The Vulcan by DJLeekee
Scott Waddington, Chief Executive at Brains said:

“It is with regret that we confirm that the Vulcan pub has closed as of today. As we have previously stated, and despite attempts to attract more customers, the pub is no longer commercially viable for either Brains or the tenant who operated the pub.

“We have found ourselves the target of negative publicity as a result of us having to sell a pub due to a compulsory purchase order to accommodate the St David’s 2 development some four years ago. In essence, we had no other option than to sell the pub. We have kept the pub trading over this period despite declining customer numbers and therefore income. The uncertainty surrounding the future of the premises has also made justifying any significant investment in the pub unrealistic.

“Brains continue to invest in the City, with some of the most recent refurbishments being Greenwood & Brown, The Duke of Wellington and The City Arms which has recently won CAMRA, Cardiff pub of the year.

“The Vulcan is an important part of our history, which is why we have been working with its owner, Marcol, and the National History Museum, to relocate the building to St Fagans and preserve the history of the pub for the future.”

Gwyn and Sandra Lewis, licensees, added:

“We, and our family, would like to thank all the customers who have supported the pub since we took over two years ago. We look forward to visiting St Fagans and will have good memories of the short time we were at the Vulcan.”

Mark Richards, Deputy Director General of Amgueddfa Cymru – National Museum Wales said:

“The Vulcan hotel will be a welcome addition to the collection of historical buildings at St Fagans. We are grateful to Marcol for donating the building and giving us the opportunity to save and preserve this important part of Cardiff’s heritage for the nation and to tell some of the area’s rich history.”

“We are also very grateful to Brains for their willingness to assist us as we ensure the historical accuracy of the fittings used in the Vulcan before we eventually rebuild at St Fagans.”

Due to current commitments, work on rebuilding the Vulcan is not expected to start for several years. In the meantime, Museum curators will work on an interpretation strategy to decide on how and which period to display the building.”

An appeal will be made for photographs, objects and stories relating to the Vulcan and its history.

Background on The Vulcan pub:

1853 The Vulcan opens

2008 Brains sells The Vulcan to Marcol (Compulsory Purchase Order as part of the St David’s 2 development plans)

2009 Brains agreed to operate the pub until May 2012

2009 – 2012 Marcol, National Museum Wales & Brains discuss the relocation of the Vulcan to St Fagans Museum.

Bath was a joy as usual and dinner in the The Garricks Head was very good – but I think the company helped.

anyway this week it’s all about cider in Cardiff –

Cider and Perry Festival - City Arms Cardiff

as Arfur from Brew wales explains.

The CAMRA Pub of the Year for Cardiff, the City Arms in Quay Street will be holding a cider and perry festival, starting on Wednesday 25th April and continuing throughout the weekend, finishing on Sunday 29th.

There will have 8 different ciders and 4 varieties of perry for customers to choose from alongside their usual range.
These guests will be alongside our resident ciders including Stowford Press, Aspall’s, Friel’s, Thatcher’s Katy, Thatcher’s Gold, Savanna Premium Dry and Orchard Gold Cider. The new ciders will be limited edition so make sure you get your hands on them whist they’re around!

Unusually ciders and a perry from Llanblethian Orchards of Cowbridge will also be available, unusual in that most of this award-winning hand-crafted cider is normally only ever sold at beeer and cider festivals and not in pubs:

Llanblethian Orchards Stoke Red dry single variety cider 5.3%
Llanblethian Orchards Bramley mix 5.3% , a blend of Stoke Red and Bramley apples to produce a medium-sweet cider
Llanblethian Orchards Hendre Huffcap and Blakeney Red Perry 6.8%

On Thursday 26th April, live music will be on in the pub.

Now this is my problem.

It always takes two or three times longer for my beer to arrive than I think it should (and every other beer company ever does)

The longest I have waited was 4 weeks and thought they had sorted out issues, fair enough on one occasion when two bottles were broken – they sent new ones within two days.

Most recently I took up their shareholder offer of Lost Dog + Paradox Jura Pack

Paradox Jura is a one off limited release 15% imperial stout aged in Jura whisky casks. Lost Dog is our collaboration with Lost Abbey – a 11.2% Imperial Porter aged in rum casks and comes in a stunning presentation box.

Iam a big fan of Jura whisky – so thought I would give it a go

When i bought it was quoted as

Shareholder only exclusive offer.*
*Please note this is being shipped from Brewdog HQ, and no other items from the shop can be added to this pack as a result. It will also take longer to ship, as a result. We are aiming for 2-3 business days for these awesome craft beers to be delivered to you. It is our way of ensuring you get your paws on these awesome beers. Enjoy Scamps!

2-3 business days – not bad I thought – a new record for them.

I ordered on Thursday 16/02/12 19:51:10 – so maybe wednesday I would get my beer – I emailed them on thursday and got the reply “Should be delivered today or tomorrow at the latest.” – no tracking no reason why.

I got the beer on the 28th Feb – but with no explanation why from brewdog customer service

maybe it’s because I get it delivered to the outpost that is Central Cardiff (Rob seems to get stuff sent to Newport quicker than me)

I know they won’t give a shit about this post as they are too busy being punk and filling sperm whales with beer in collaboration with Watney Combe & Reid or what ever their new marketing ploy is

anyway Iam writing this drinking one of their beers – so Iam the fool really.

VASILEOSTROVSKY IMPERIAL RUSSIAN STOUT 6.5% ABV

NETHERGATE IPA RESERVE 4.7% ABV

NØGNE Ø BITTER 4.5% ABV

TITANIC NINE TENTHS BELOW 5.9% ABV

ZULULAND ZULU BLONDE 4.5% ABV

>>>>

ACORN OLD MOOR PORTER 4.4% ABV
Acorn Brewery, South Yorkshire
ARUNDEL NEW HORIZONS 4.6% ABV
Arundel Brewery, West Sussex
ATLAS WAYFARER 4.4% ABV
Orkney Brewery, Orkney
BANKS’S SUNBEAM 4.2% ABV
Banks’s Brewery, West Midlands
BATEMANS SMOKEY JOE 4.8% ABV
Batemans Brewery, Lincolnshire
BRAINS CLOCK TOWER 4.3% ABV
Brains Brewery, Cardiff
CAIRNGORM RED MOUNTAIN 4.2% ABV
Cairngorm Brewery, Highlands
CALEDONIAN COFFEE PORTER 4.3% ABV
Caledonian Brewery, Edinburgh
CONWY LEMON ALE 4.2% ABV
Conwy Brewery, Conwy
DALESIDE MONKEY WRENCH 5.3% ABV
Daleside Brewery, North Yorkshire
ELGOOD’S SNAKE SLAYER 4.5% ABV
Elgood’s Brewery, Wisbech
EVERARDS GALLANTRY 4.8% ABV
Everards Brewery, Leicestershire
FRANKLINS BRIGHTON ROCKS 4.0% ABV
White’s Brewery, East Sussex
FULLER’S CHISWICK BITTER 3.5% ABV
Fuller’s Brewery, London
GREENE KING LIBERTINE 5.0% ABV
Greene King Brewery, Suffolk
HAWKSHEAD WINDERMERE PALE 3.5% ABV
Hawkshead Brewery, Cumbria
HIGHGATE BEE-ZONE 4.0% ABV
Highgate Brewery, West Midlands
HILDEN SCULLION’S IRISH ALE 4.6% ABV
Hilden Brewery, County Antrim
HOLT TWO HOOTS 4.2% ABV
Holt Brewery, Manchester
HYDES OWD OAK 3.5% ABV
Hydes Brewery, Manchester
INVERALMOND DUNCAN’S IPA 4.4% ABV
Inveralmond Brewery, Perth
JOHN MARTIN’S PALE ALE 5.0% ABV
John Martin’s Brewery, Belgium
KELHAM ISLAND WILD RIDER IPA 5.5% ABV
Kelham Island Brewery, South Yorkshire
LANCASTER PEARL 3.8% ABV
Lancaster Brewery, Lancashire
LYMESTONE FOUNDATION STONE 4.5% ABV
Lymestone Brewery, Staffordshire
MAULDONS WHITE ADDER 5.3% ABV
Mauldons Brewery, Suffolk
MOORHOUSE’S APA SPECIAL 4.8% ABV
Moorhouse’s Brewery, Lancashire
NETHERGATE IPA RESERVE 4.7% ABV
Nethergate Brewery, Suffolk
NEWMANS SPRING COTTAGE BISCUIT 4.2% ABV
Celt Experience Brewery, Caerphilly
NØGNE Ø BITTER 4.5% ABV
Nøgne Ø Brewery, Norway
O’HANLONS FLAGSHIP 4.2% ABV
O’Hanlons Brewery, Devon
OTTER PILGRIM 4.8% ABV
Otter Brewery, Devon
PHOENIX MARCH HARE 4.4% ABV
Phoenix Brewery, Manchester
RCH PUXTON CROSS EXTRA 5.0% ABV
RCH Brewery, Somerset
ROBINSONS ENIGMA 4.3% ABV
Robinsons Brewery, Cheshire
RUDGATE IPA 5.2% ABV
Rudgate Brewery, North Yorkshire
SALTAIRE CREAM STOUT 4.0% ABV
Saltaire Brewery, West Yorkshire
SKINNER’S RIGGIN’ ALE 4.5% ABV
Skinner’s Brewery, Cornwall
SMUTTYNOSE MURRIKAN MILD 4.2% ABV
Smuttynose Brewery, New Hampshire, USA
SPRINGHEAD WILLY’S WHEATBEER 5.0% ABV
Springhead Brewery, Nottinghamshire
THWAITES LOGAN’S RUN 4.3% ABV
Thwaites Brewery, Lancashire
TITANIC NINE TENTHS BELOW 5.9% ABV
Titanic Brewery, Staffordshire
VASILEOSTROVSKY IMPERIAL RUSSIAN STOUT 6.5% ABV
Vasileostrovsky Brewery, St Petersburg, Russia
WADWORTH SWORDFISH 5.0% ABV
Wadworth Brewery, Wiltshire
WHARFEBANK WISPA IPA 5.1% ABV
WharfeBank Brewery, West Yorkshire
WOLF WHISTLE 4.7% ABV
Wolf Brewery, Norfolk
WOODEN HAND PIRATE’S GOLD 4.0% ABV
Wooden Hand Brewery, Cornwall
WOOD’S HOPPING MAD 4.7% ABV
Wood Brewery, Shropshire
WYCHWOOD KING GOBLIN 6.0% ABV
Wychwood Brewery, Oxfordshire
ZULULAND ZULU BLONDE 4.5% ABV
Zululand Brewery, Eshowe, South Africa

I was down that London on shed business and managed found time to pop into the Euston Tap for a quick half – sometimes the choice there does your head in.. this was the list they had yesterday

15/2/12 Draught Beer
Keg

Fürstenberg Edel Export 5.3% £3.50/pint
Tempest Canyonaro 5.9% £2.40/half
Orchard Pig cider 4.2% £3.60/pint
Summer Wine Lime Saison 6% £2.40/half
Thornbridge Versa-Weisse 5% £3.90/pint
Williams Bros Profanity Stout 7% £2.50/half
Schlenkerla Märzen 5.1% £2.50/half
Camden Bleeding Hops 6.2% £3.80/pint
Thornbridge Tzara 4.7% £4.00/pint
Great Divide Titan IPA 7.1% £3.70/half
Camden Gentlemen’s Wit 4.3% £3.20
Jever Pils 4.7% £4.00/pint
Nøgne Ø IPA 7.5% £3.80/half
BrewDog Winter Porter 6.2% £2.25/half
Timmermans Peach 4% £3.00 half
Anchor ‘Our Special Ale’ 2010 5.5% £3.50/half
Victory Prima Pils 5.3% £3.00/half
Lovibonds Amber 3.4% £3.10/pint

Cask

Bristol Beer Factory Stout 4% £3.20/pint
Liverpool Organic Styrian 4.2% £3.20/pint
Liverpool Organic Shipwreck IPA 6.5% £4.00/pint
Thornbridge Pollards 5% £3.60/pint
Revolutions Beat Red 4.5% £3.30/pint
Fyne Ales Hurricane Jack 4.4% £3.20/pint
Fyne Ales Vital Spark 4.4% £3.20/pint
Roosters Wild Mule 3.9% £2.90/pint

but I went for a Thornbridge Pollards – a 5% milk stout that has a amazing coffee aroma that tastes like cold coffee but milky – it’s stunning – I hope they bottle it.

It’s a collaboration with Thornbridge and Pollards Coffee Suppliers hence the name – if you can try it then just try it.

Picture from ratebeer as I did not managed to get a shot of the clip.

other notably beers this week but they could not compare to the Thornbridge for overall flavour.

Dark and Handsome

From boxsteam brewery (my first of there’s) a very drinkable and named after Brunel (or me

Milestone Ole English ale

Another beer from a brewery I have not heard of.

This first Hopscotch Festival rejoices in all that is good from north of the border, including a mouth-watering selection of 30 real ales from small, independent Scottish breweries like Inveralmond, Kelburn, Angus Ales, Atlas and Tryst.

photo from bara-koukoug

David is opening a tea shop in the West Lodge by the animal walls in Bute park in Cardiff – I may have to divert my walk to work – so instead of 2 mins from Cardiff Central – a 15 min walk up the stadium walkway may have to do

I ONLY WENT AND GOT IT

So all the waiting is over and the hardest part of starting my Tea Rooms business so far is concluded. I am proud, delighted, elated, humbled and jubilant as I tell you that I have been successful in my tender for the operation of a Tea Rooms as part of the West Lodge redevelopment within Bute Park in Cardiff City Centre.

They will have some competiion as the coffee shop in Bute park is not bad (in the summer) – but at least two coffee shops by the castle have closed recently but we wish him well and look forward to his cakes.

you can follow him on twitter for the latest updates.

The Bridge End Inn in Ruabon, North Wales, was bought in 2009 by Peter McGivern after it was closed for six months, and is now a thriving local, selling beer from the family’s microbrewery as well as ale from more than 100 local and regional breweries.

Real ale campaign group Camra, which gave the award, said the pub was one of the most remarkable success stories in the history of its annual competition – and the first Welsh winner.

Judges said the inn had everything that makes a great pub – atmosphere, decor, service, value for money, customer mix, a warm welcome, and excellent beer.

Mr McGivern said he decided to take on the pub after retiring as a local teacher, and to give an outlet for a microbrewery run by his son Matthew.

Asked how he coped with switching from the classroom to a bar, he told the Press Association: “It’s terribly similar really. It’s all about interacting with people.

“We are a family business and the pub has been a real labour of love.

“What we strived to do was create a pub not focused on food that we would enjoy visiting, putting the product first and offering a wide range of traditional beer styles. As a result we’ve built up a mixed trade of locals and beer lovers from all over Britain.

“We are delighted with this national award, particularly as we were told when first taking on the pub that there was little demand for real ale in the area.”

The Bridge End Inn beat three other finalists to claim the award – the Engineers Arms in Henlow, Bedfordshire, the Front in Falmouth, Cornwall, and the Swan with Two Necks in Pendleton, Lancashire.

a great example with top aroma – could drink this all day – shame it’s just run out

on another note the City Arms is having another of it’s tuesday night Meet the Brewer evenings – this time with Buster from Brecon Brewing on 28th feb 7ish – formerly head brewer at Breconshire

Established in 2011 by Buster Grant, one of Wales’ best known brewers, Brecon Brewing have created a range of beers full of flavour and character inspired by the dramatic locality, working with the local community and reigniting interest in Brecon.

so should be a good night.

Pinterest is a virtual pinboard. Pinterest allows you to organize and share all the beautiful things you find on the web. You can browse pinboards created by other people to discover new things and get inspiration from people who share your interests.

People use pinboards to plan their weddings, decorate their homes, and share their favorite recipes.

I was invited a while back and added a few photos of sheds on there and other stuff i like- and forgot about it – but in the last month I have seen an increasing amount of traffic to my sheds sites – readersheds.co.uk and shedblog.co.uk from pinterest – which is nice.

But I was not using it – so how did photos of sheds from my sites get on there? are other people interested in the sheds? of course they are and they were pinning them.

The principe is very simple – you like something you see on the interweb and you bookmark it (or pin it) – that’s been around since day 9 of the WWW – but for some reason the way that pinterest does it – making the photo/image the main bookmarkable item is what every one likes.

Ok previously it was mainly soccermoms and crafters and cat ladies on there – and a mainly a female audience – but it’s changing and us blokes are having a look in – if you ignore the cute overkill (ahhh cats in jumpers_ – there are some great images on their.

I follow some great artitecture boards and technology boards – it’s very addictive – I wish they did an andriod app so I can pin stuff on the go.

So before you make the leap check if people are pinning your content

a quick way to find out if people have pinned your content is just to go to a source page and replace your url.

pinterest.com/source/readersheds.co.uk/

pinterest.com/source/shedblog.co.uk/

and you will see all the pins people have done – as you can see I have been busy adding some of my favourite sheds that are entered into Shed of the year 2012 over the past few days.

I have added a button to the shed pages – so I can show sheddies if people have added their sheds to boards which may be useful in the future.

When pinterest release their API – then people will do some great things with the content and I think the stats would be very usefull for seeing trends – which could make it an essential tool for business.

If you want an invite just let me know.