BrewDog open their first bar in Wales

As I write this I have a very sore head.

On Friday, BrewDog, the Scotland based brewery, opened their first bar in Wales. Situated on Cardiff’s Westgate Street, a stone’s throw away from the world famous Millennium Stadium, it’s in a great location right in the heart of the city. We arrived at around 8pm by which time the place was already bustling with punters, excited to be present at the opening of BrewDog’s first bar in Wales.

The bar has the same ‘American drive-in’ style of menus as other BrewDog bars throughout the UK. The staff are not only friendly, but incredibly knowledgeable, happy to offer tasters of beers the customers are interested in, and perhaps more eager to offer their own personal recommendations.

Prices are reasonably steep, with most drinks on the menu at around £4. It’s well worth it though; as any beer lover would expect, the drinks are absolutely fantastic. A selection of BrewDog favourites sit alongside a number of guest beers, forming an impressive amount of tipples to try. Brixton Porter, a stout manufactured by BrewDog, became an instant favourite, a heavy beer with hints of coffee and chocolate.

In terms of décor, the place is full of nice touches that’ll make you crack a smile. From the WiFi password (welovebeer, in case you were wondering) scribbled onto the wall in chalk, to the excessive use of neon, to the candlesticks placed inside obscure ale bottles, it’s obvious that the guys at BrewDog had as much fun making this place as we did hanging out there.

At around 9pm, when the bar was absolutely heaving, and those present were starting to feel a little merry, BrewDog co-founder James Watt stood on the bar to explain the ethos of the company much to the delight of those present. The bar staff then handed out free glasses of Punk IPA, the brewery’s signature beer, to those present. This was a big contributing factor towards the sore head that I mentioned at the start of this article.

Watt then mingled with the punters, and was happy to chat to everyone whilst handing out more free glasses of beer. When he came over to our table I tried not to geek out too much, but he was more than happy to discuss some of the company’s more outlandish dealings, such as the ‘protest beer’ they sent to the Kremlin to speak out about Russia’s gay rights laws, and ‘The End of History’ their 55% abv. beer which was packaged within stuffed animals.

After a good few hours of drinking, we finally stumbled off home. Unfortunately, the bar was so busy that we didn’t get a chance to try out the food on offer, or play any of the board and card games, which are free for customers to use. Once the buzz around the place has died down, I’ll definitely be going back to sample all it has to offer.

For great craft beer on tap, Cardiffians should look no further.