Brains Craft Brewery (Brains Brewery)
Barry Island IPA
6%
Cardiff, Wales

Brains is a big deal in Wales, owning over 250 pubs and was first founded back in 1882 and it sponsors Welsh rugby team the Crusaders. Brains Craft Brewery is their craft brewing element of the business that was first started in 2012. Where as Brains make more “traditional” ales the craft brewery produces some more interesting brews.

The website lists more than 20 different varieties. I spotted the Barry Island IPA whilst in a local supermarket and the bottle and name caught my attention. I did some digging and found out that Brains Craft Brewery is part of the Brains group, didn’t take much investigating. The Barry Island IPA is a collaboration brew with Simon Martin (aka Mr Real Ale Guide). It was the combination of my love for IPA and the cool cartoon label that caught my attention.

The beer itself is pretty light and despite it being 6% ABV you can barely tell. It is very easy to drink although there is a bitter after taste. It uses three different American hops but isn’t as hoppy as I’d like. When you drink an IPA, especially an American IPA you expect really BIG flavours but I would say this particular IPA is a bit of a let down. From my first whiff I wasn’t a huge fan however the taste was slightly better than the smell.

Considering the size of Brains you’d expect far more from this Barry Island IPA.

OVERALL: 2/5