History

In the shadow of the Mynedd Maen at Upper Cwmbran, in Gwent’s Eastern Valley, lies the home of Cwmbran Brewery. Development started in 1994 and the brewery was first licensed in 1996 as Cottage Spring Brewery, this was changed to Cwmbran Brewery in 1999 to avoid confusion with Cottage Brewing Company of Somerset The brewery is built alongside the brewer’s cottage. A mountain spring supplies the water used for brewing.

Despite the difficulties of breaking into what continues to be a diminishing market, the brewery has gained a visable foothold. Unlike some other microbreweries out to make a fast buck before disappearing, brewer Martin Lewis and his business partner, a fellow former drayman, Keith Gullick, adopted a completely different attitude with a long-term strategy. The idea was to produce a range of beers in the long term, but initially starting with just one, that local people would like i.e. a local beer for local people, a concept that was commonplace decades ago when many communities had their own breweries.
Cwmbran Brewery has not only broken into one of the most competitive of markets, it has put down strong roots with a solid customer base of regular outlets, including several JD Wetherspoon pubs. Bottled beers from the brewery can now be found in selected Sainsbury and Tesco stores

Exciting developments
Not people to let the grass grow under their feet, Martin and Keith have plans to develop the business further. Gordon Brown’s introduction of progressive beer tax has had a stimulating effect on the small brewing sector enabling microbreweries to invest in their business and compete more effectively with larger players.