EP-226 Gareth Williams and Bradley Cummings of Tiny Rebel Brewing

Like all of the UK, Wales has a long, rich history of brewing. Its pretty much had the same fortunes too – peaking in the late 1800s then declining thanks to temperance, world wars and consolidation throughout the 20th century.

But at some point in the early 2000s, the different country’s paths diverged. While Scotland got Harviestoun and then Brewdog, and the UK gained Dark Star, Roosters, Thornbridge and others, Wales didn’t catch on to modern craft beer for a long time.

In fact, it still only has handful of well-regarded craft breweries, of which my guests today are easily the best known.

Founded in 2012 in a garage in south Wales, Tiny Rebel have had a meteoric rise, buoyed by some incredible and unlikely successes. In 2013 they won gold, silver and bronze in CAMRA’s Champion Beer of Wales competition and their flagship red ale, Cwtch, went on to win them Champion Beer of Britain in 2015, making Tiny Rebel the youngest brewery ever to do so.

That triumph, which caught them completely by surprise, was a watershed moment and put them on course for where they are now – a towering brewery and tap that looks like it’s straight out of San Diego but is actually in an industrial park in Rogerstone, just outside Newport. There they brew 17,000bbl (20,000hl) a year, with Cwtch and their juicy pale ale Club Tropicana taking up most of the tanks. It has become a local landmark, welcoming hundreds of drinkers every day who get through around 1,100bbls a year. They’ve just broken ground across the road too, where they will build a £3m sour facility and distillery.

Like all fast growing and successful businesses they have had their controversies along the way. Such success breeds suspicion and recently there were wild rumours of a sale to Molson Coors that proved completely unfounded. Their nostalgic branding has also got them in trouble with industry watchdog The Portman Group, and their heavy use of adjuncts resulted in ire from less well humoured beer geeks.

We talk through all that when I sit down with founders Bradley Cummings and Gareth Williams. But what is most remarkable is humour and sense of fun that pervades the conversation. Some may be uneasy with what they do, but they are very easy in themselves and rightly proud of what they have achieved.

This is Brad and Gazz of Tiny Rebel Brewing. Listen in.