Neuadd Arms Hotel, Llanwrtyd Wells

This is a large old hotel in the centre of Llanwrtyd which claims to be the smallest town in Wales (shurely a village then?). It's also the home of the Heart Of Wales microbrewery which the Landlord who is the brewer said was partly a hobby. As you enter there is a Resident's room on the left and a carpeted lounge on the right which leads to a separate dining room. This lounge has a few hand pumps with Felinfoel Double Dragon (the only guest ale) and anything that there is not enough room for in the main bar which is situated further down the entrance corridor on the left. This is a delightfully scruffy, dog-eared and rustic room with a black and red tiled floor, bric-a-brac and boards listing the winners of the annual crazy sporting events that are a feature of this town. In the middle of the room there is a chandelier constructed from a section of a horse-drawn plough. On my visit there were nine Heart Of Wales beers and the Felinfoel Double Dragon. The Heart Of Wales rail line is not for the impatient as when I broke my journey here it was four hours until the next one. That suited me fine as I had time to try the Irfon Valley Bitter (£2.40), Aur Cymru (£2.50), Bitter (£2.60), Welsh Black (£2.70), Cambrian Heart (£2.80), Innstable (£3.50) and High As A Kite (£5.00). The last two are 6.8% and 10.5% ABV so justifiably more expensive. Nearly all of these were excellent but the Innstable wasn't too clear. Despite all of this I really liked this place and especially the public bar. The beers are old school and varied but the majority of Welsh microbrewers are old school. This is one where I will definitely return.

Official site of the Neuadd Arms, contains events list - www.neuaddarmshotel.co.uk

Official site of the Neuadd Arms, contains events list - www.neuaddarmshotel.co.uk

Excellent friendly hotel/pub. Own micro brewey at back. So excellent real ales. Beer festival in November. If like me you hate plastic pubs then visit this gem. Dogs welcome.