Wales
Bunch of Grapes
Pontypridd, Mid Glamorgan
The Bunch of Grapes is located in a hard-to -find part of Pontypridd. Despite this drawback, increasing numbers of drinkers and food lovers are beating a path to the door of the freehouse.
Nick Otley (left) has owned the venue for the past six years and under his stewardship the Bunch of Grapes has blossomed. It has won numerous awards for the quality of its cask beers and food, as well as receiving glowing reports in several local and national publications.
Micro fuels growth
The pub's cask ale reputation rose to new heights around 18 months ago when Nick and members of his family started their own micro-brewery - Otley Brewing Company.
The brewery's first ale Otley 01 is now the best-seller at the Grapes. Nick remarks: "On a quiet week, we will get through
seven 18-gallon casks and more than 10 during a good week."
The growth in popularity of 01 is such that sales doubled over the summer months compared with the previous summer.
Nick's cousin Charlie Otley is head brewer and the duo are forever experimenting and adding new beers to their portfolio such as a wheat beer, a blueberry-flavoured beer and 08, so- called because it has an abv of 8%.
Half of the microbrewery's 10-barrel production capacity now goes to free traders with 90 outlets supplied far and wide.
The Grapes has two Otley cask beers on offer together with three rotating guest ales.
Nick explains: "We seek out unusual and interesting beers from all over the UK.
"We also like to promote other microbreweries, especially those in Wales, whenever possible."
Exploring new avenues
Nick and head barman Lee Bayliss (right) are currently exploring ways of increasing the number of ales on offer from the present
figure of five.
Space on the bar and in the cellar is
limited so they are planning to go back to cask ale's roots and have two beers dispensed by gravity.
Last year, cask beer sales increased by nearly 40% - so if the plan goes ahead, then sales are almost bound to
continue their upward growth.
