Four Welsh casks changed when they blow, a cider from Raglan, a fire from October, the quiz on Wednesday and a folk session on the first Thursday
The bar and the beers
A flagstone bar with a fire, four handpulls from breweries within thirty miles (the current four are listed on this page), a Welsh cider, a short list of Welsh gins and whiskies, and a pint from £4.40. Open every day from noon; the Wednesday quiz, a folk session on the first Thursday, and the Six Nations on the one screen that only comes out for rugby.
The bar is the oldest room in the building and the reason the rest of it exists. Flagstones worn into dips by the door, an inglenook you can sit inside, a dartboard the league uses on Tuesdays, and four handpulls that Huw changes when they blow and lists on this page the same day. It is the village pub, and residents are guests in it rather than the point of it.
The four casks: one is always from the brewery in Crickhowell two miles away, one is usually from Brecon or Abergavenny, and the other two rotate through Welsh breweries within about thirty miles, with a dark one in winter and something pale and light in summer. The list below is the bar as it is this week with the strength and the price; when a cask blows the line changes within the day. There is a Raglan cider on handpull, two keg lagers for people who want one, a Welsh gin list of six, and Penderyn in three ages. Coffee all day from a proper machine, and the kettle for walkers who want tea and a dry chair.
The fire is lit from the first cold evening in October until the last one in April, and the dog rug in front of it is the most contested seat in the Usk valley. Wednesday is the quiz at eight, £1 a head to the mountain rescue, teams of up to six. The first Thursday of the month is the folk session: bring an instrument or do not. Rugby internationals go on the one screen, which lives in a cupboard the rest of the year. The garden runs down to the canal towpath with eight benches and a tap for dogs; the boot room by the back door has a drying rack, a hose and a map.
On the bar this week
- Crug Hywel PalePale ale · Crickhowell, two miles4.0%£4.40
- Usk GoldGolden ale · Brecon, twelve miles4.2%£4.50
- Blorenge BitterBest bitter · Abergavenny, six miles3.8%£4.40
- Pen y Fan PorterPorter, the winter cask · Brecon, twelve miles5.1%£4.80
- Raglan DryCider, on handpull · Raglan, eleven miles5.5%£4.60
- Cwrw Nos DaAlcohol-free, in bottles, 0.5% · Crickhowell, two miles0.5%£3.60
What is included
- Four Welsh casks, listed on this page
- A Raglan cider and six Welsh gins
- A fire from October to April
- The quiz on Wednesday, £1 a head to mountain rescue
- The folk session on the first Thursday
- The garden to the canal; dogs everywhere in the bar
What it costs
A pint from £4.40, a half from £2.30, the cider £4.60, a Welsh gin and tonic £7.50. Bar food at lunch and evening from £8.50 for a sandwich; a sandwich any time the bar is open. The rooms page has every room's six rates and tonight's picked out; the roast page has the sittings with the covers left.
Questions about the bar
Do you show the rugby?
The internationals and the Six Nations, on one screen in the bar that comes out of a cupboard for the purpose. No other sport, no other screens.
Can I bring my dog in?
Yes, in the bar and the garden, on a lead when food is going past. Water bowls under the bar, a towel from the boot room if it is raining, which it is.
A room with the rate on the page, a roast with the covers left, a bar with the village in it.
The rooms page works tonight's rate out from the clock, the roast page shows what is left in each sitting, and one form books either, a table, the barn or Christmas. Nia replies within the hour while the bar is open; nothing is charged until we confirm.