Local brewer Little Goat is busy bottling ahead of their first appearance at foodie festival favourite the Cowbridge Food and Drink Festival, which will take place over the Easter Bank Holiday Weekend (17-18 April).
Based in Ynysmeudwy, the home-based brewery – which produces a range of core beers and limited-edition bottles and brews – is very much a family affair, set up and run by Mark Wallace and son-in-law Steffan James, and supported by Mark’s wife Annette and their daughter Eleri who is married to Steffan.
Established in 2018, the team has created a thriving business during difficult times, which all began when Mark was asked to supply a cask of his well-liked home brew for a friend’s wedding.
Speaking about a rollercoaster few years, Steffan says:
“It really did all begin with that one cask, and even we can’t really believe how things have taken off.
“My father-in-law’s home brew has always been a firm family favourite but the wedding cask led to us being asked to produce a birthday cask and we were then approached by the local landlord so it started to snowball – in a very good way – and we just thought we had to go for it!
“We started in the garden shed and we’re still there now with our very own microbrewery – we’ve had to follow all the procedures and gain the relevant licences to become an official business of course but the essence is still very much the same; it’s a family affair and we all muck in.
“It’s so much about the family that the business is named after my four year-old daughter Mabli (Steffan and Eleri now also have eight-month old Idris) – my wife used to say that as a baby she ‘bleated like a little goat’ and there came the name!”
A pharmacist by profession, Mark has now reduced his workload to two days a week to focus on brewing; civil servant Steffan works a four-day week to be able to work with Mark on both the brewing side, bottling and stocktaking as well as preparing for and staffing festival events over the weekend.
Annette and Eleri are also on hand to help with all administration, labelling and packaging of the products.
“Covid was tough, as for everyone of course”, continues Steffan.
“There were no festivals so we really had to think about what we could do to keep things going – we had lots of cask beer to shift so opened our own bottle shop here, bought milk cartons to make home deliveries and set up a collection service on site; and we’re still doing that now.
“We were both just amazed and delighted with how things took off.
“We were so pleased for the pubs who had struggled when they were able to open again but that changed things again a bit for us as the home deliveries were understandably fewer.
“It’s why it’s so important for a business like ours to have festivals back up and running. It’s our first time at a major festival such as Cowbridge Food and Drink and we’re hoping it’ll be a real showcase for our products, providing a new platform to lead to even more opportunities.
“We’re taking eight varieties with us – from lager to pale and traditional bitter – to cover all tastes so there should be something for everyone.
“After a tough start, we’re just looking to keep building the business, pushing things a little further afield and eventually making it a full-time concern.”
Cowbridge Food and Drink Festival event organiser Polly Wilson added:
“As a festival we really do champion our regional, artisan producers and it’s great to have Little Goat with us this year for the first time. We’re looking forward to a cracking event and sampling everything Little Goat has to offer!”
Little Goat Brewery will be at the Cowbridge Food and Drink Festival from 17-18 April.
