White Hart Thatched Inn and Brewery, Carmarthen

Official site of the White Hart - www.thebestpubinwales.co.uk

Official site of the White Hart - www.thebestpubinwales.co.uk

Popped in here on a local recommendation and was very impressed by what I found. Located somewhat off the beaten track (though only 5 minutes or so drive from the A48), the building was built in 1371 and became a drovers inn (an interesting history of the pub is available on their website). Certainly the exterior looks impressive, with thatched roof and leaded windows. The characterful multi-roomed interior is chock full of knick-knacks (think a slightly more restrained take on the Black Boy, Winchester); the land lady says that people now bring stuff for them to put up! She was also at pains to state that none of it was for sale. It’s done well as the place fell characterful without descending into parody. The main draw for me was the brewpub aspect. Two of their three ales were available and both were really quite good – I don’t usually expect much above perfunctory in these circumstances so well done them. The family that run the place and brew the beer are all larger-than-life characters, quite literally in some cases. Apparently the six year old daughter is unofficially the youngster brewer in Britain! They are currently in the process of brewing their first batch of cider too. Food is available and apparently there are also some animals at the rear though I missed this. The wooden hand-carved chairs and bar front are really quite impressive too. Overall, this is a bit of a hidden gem (the tongue-in-cheek website url does at least have something to back it up) and I would heartily recommend a special trip here.