Brewery collaborations usually mean a new recipe and a limited run. Brains has done something simpler and, in its own way, more personal. For a limited edition, its Black stout has become Cardinal Black, in a tie-up with the Welsh rock band of the same name.
The occasion is the release of the band’s third album, Second Sign of Life. The word “Cardinal” has been added to cans of Brains Black, the brewery’s smooth, full-bodied Welsh nitro stout, and the limited edition is on sale through the Brains Brewery website.
Why a brewery and a band
The real subject of the collaboration is the pub. Cardinal Black cut its teeth playing pubs and venues across South Wales, including Brains establishments, before going on to play some of the world’s best-known stages. A film released alongside the cans explores Brains’ 144-year history and the relationship between Welsh pubs, live music and the communities that have supported both.
Tom Hollister, the band’s frontman, put that link at the centre. “Pubs have always played a huge role in music, particularly in Wales,” he said. “They’re where bands, like ours, find their feet, where audiences first find them and where some of the best nights of your life happen!”
He added: “We’ve been fortunate enough to play some extraordinary places around the world, but you never really forget those early gigs or the people who gave you a chance when you were starting out. To see our name alongside Brains on something so synonymous with home is a lovely full-circle moment.”
A brewery with long roots
Brains was founded in 1882, and S A Brain and Co has stayed in family ownership ever since. It describes itself as one of Wales’s leading independent brewers, and in 2019 it moved into the Dragon Brewery in Cardiff Bay, an investment the company describes as a sign of its commitment to keep brewing in the heart of Cardiff.
Nick Payne, managing director of Brains Brewery, said the two names shared an instinct: “make something with character, make it properly and never forget where you came from.” He added: “Brains has always been proud of its Welsh roots, and it’s brilliant to work with a band that carries that same pride into everything it does.”
What it means for drinkers
For anyone who drinks Brains Black, the stout in the can is the familiar one. What has changed is the story on the outside, and the reminder that the pub has long been more than a place to buy a pint. It is a stage, a meeting place and, for many musicians, the first audience they ever had.
That matters at a time when Welsh venues have been under pressure, as we reported when Welsh hospitality warned it faced a fight to avoid being taxed out. Putting a band’s name on a stout will not change the economics of a pub, but it does make the case for why local venues are worth backing. Independent food and drink keeps finding new ways to tell that story, from Tom Simmons reinventing his Cardiff favourite in Pontcanna to independent brewers launching new beers.
The limited edition Cardinal Black is available now from brainsbrewery.com. Details and image via Brains Brewery.
