It is thought to be the first time that four breweries have joined together in such a deal.
The freehold of the Albion in Conwy, North Wales, was bought from Punch Taverns by freelance IT professional Arthur Wyn Ellis last August for a knock-down price of £95,000. Ellis has spent a similar amount renovating the pub, bringing the total investment to close to £200,000.
Jonathan Hughes, director of Great Orme Brewery, based in Glan Conwy, North Wales, was approached by Ellis with a view to running the pub, and Hughes put the idea of a four-brewery operation to three additional breweries: Conwy Brewery, Bragd’yr Nant Brewery, in Llanrwst, North Wales, and Purple Moose Brewery in Porthmadog, Gwynedd.
Having previously worked together at the Gwledd Conwy Feast food festival, in October, for the past five years, the breweries agreed to the deal, and the Albion is set to re-open on 3 February.
The pub will have four handpumps on the bar — one for each brewery — in addition to a guest beer and one draught cider, the first
of which will be a local Welsh variety.
“It was the usual story of a pub losing its former glory,” said Purple Moose Brewery’s director Lawrence Washington.
“The former landlady was unable to make any renovations but the new investor agreed to pay for them after taking on the freehold.
“There are fantastic original features in the pub, which are Art Deco and Art Nouveau, from the 1920s. It has not got a kitchen so from the outset there will not be much scope for food but, given that the four of us are going to run it, we’ll try to source the highest-quality drink.
“We are just hoping to make a good go of it,” added Washington. “Everyone is getting anxious about it opening now.”