Indie Beer Fest Wales: 150+ beers in Swansea

Swansea is about to get a lot more interesting for anyone who likes a proper pint. Indie Beer Fest Wales lands at Down By Here on High Street from Thursday 12 to Sunday 15 November, and it is being billed as the biggest celebration of Welsh brewing culture ever put on. It is a brand-new four-day festival, put together by Welsh Breweries, SIBA, and Down By Here, and it follows on from an earlier version over in Haverfordwest.

The headline figure is the one that will do the most talking: more than 150 beers on pour, keg and cask, from more than 35 independent Welsh breweries. That is a lot of ground to cover in one weekend, and the organisers have built in a bit of structure to help you do it. Friday, Saturday and Sunday each run a daytime session from 12:00 to 17:30 and an evening session from 18:00 to 23:30, so you can drop in for a few quiet ones at lunch or settle in for the night. Thursday is set aside for the trade, with a session from 18:00 to 23:30 aimed at pubs, bars and hospitality professionals.

And it is not just about the beer. Every evening session comes with live music, and the line-up is genuinely eclectic. Thursday opens with MWSOG, a seven-piece Welsh collective that blends traditional Welsh music with 70s acid folk and psychedelic rock. Friday hands over to Around About Dusk, whose folk, jazz and blues sound takes a fair amount of inspiration from New Orleans. Saturday pairs Night On The Sun with Zed Motel, a four-piece formed in 2022 that leans into psychedelia, grunge and progressive rock. Sunday closes things out with Gaudy Orde, a six-piece South Wales band that plays ukuleles, bass, clarinet, spoons, washboard and cajón, fronted by Jeff Japers, a UK Musical Comedy Award winner who has been writing comedy songs for more than two decades.

Every ticket gets you a branded pint glass and a beer token to get you started, and if you need to change your plans, refunds are available up to seven days before the event. Tickets are sold through the festival's own site and Humanitix.

It is worth a word on the venue, because it is a good part of the draw. Down By Here sits at 210 High Street, less than 150 metres from Swansea train station and opposite Oldway Student Accommodation, so it is easy to reach without a car. It is a proudly LGBTQIA+ inclusive space with a zero-tolerance policy towards discrimination, and it is almost entirely accessible, with an accessible toilet and ramped access at the main entrance. The building itself has a bit of history, too, having lived previous lives as the Red Cow Inn, Champers Wine Bar and Elysium Gallery & Bar.

For context on the organisers, SIBA, the Society of Independent Brewers and Associates, has been representing independent breweries across the UK since 1980, when it was known as the Small Independent Brewers Association. Based in Ripon, North Yorkshire, it launched the Indie Beer Campaign to champion high-quality craft and cask beer, which is exactly what this festival is built around. Whether you are a serious craft beer hunter or just fancy a few pints with some live music, it is a weekend that is hard to argue with.