Councillors delay decision on whether brewery can open yard to drinkers

Nicholas Thomas – Local Democracy Reporter

Councillors will need another two months to decide whether a brewery owner can serve customers outdoors.

Brew Monster has applied for a change of licence to open its brewery yard, on Lon y Twyn, Caerphilly, on weekends between 9am and 9pm.

But at a licensing sub-committee meeting on August 9, councillors heard objections from several neighbours who said they feared noise disruption.

Police

Two council officers, from environmental health and licensing, also told the committee they objected to the brewery’s plans.

Brew Monster founder Glenn White, however, defended his customers and told the committee he would bring in more staff if his application was successful.

The meeting also heard from a Gwent Police officer who said the force had not received any callouts related to crime, disorder or antisocial behaviour at Brew Monster in the past year.

The three councillors who sit on the licensing sub-committee – Teresa Heron, Shane Williams, and Walter Williams – were originally supposed to announce their decision by August 16, but have now adjourned that decision until October 3.

The Welsh Government awarded Brew Monster £180,000 to renovate the former Plumbsave building in Lon y Twyn, Caerphilly, in 2020, and the site is both the firm’s brewery and one of its bars.