A redundancy after more than 25 years at a plastics factory saw a couple invest in starting their own micro-brewery - only to see Wales lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Daniel and Bethan Jones took the plunge to open their new venture - Bragdy Cybi - after Daniel was laid off as plant manager following the closure of the Rehau factory in Amlwch.
They started to brew small batches in January and had planned to launch its new brewery over the May bank holiday but plans were put on hold due to coronavirus.
While the timing has been far from ideal the couple are taking orders on Facebook and hope to be able to offer online sales soon.
They remain optimistic about the future as lockdown measures are eased.
Talking about his change in career, Daniel said: “I started on the shop floor in Blaenau Plastics and ended up being the plant manager at the Amlwch factory.
“I’ve enjoyed every minute of working for the company and have made a great many friends there.
“I had an interest in brewing and this gave me the opportunity for Bethan and I to invest the redundancy money in our own business.”
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“I began by attending a number of courses on brewing and began to plan how to turn this into a business with help from Business Wales, Cywain and Menter Môn.
The first batches produced in January 2020 proved popular and demand for their beer grew.
“When the beer production began to take over the house it was time to look for a premises and create a microbrewery. With help from Mon CF we found a great building before lockdown started and began installing our 200 litre capacity brewing equipment,” said Bethan.
The new micro-brewery is producing three core beers during the COVID pandemic; Cwrw’r Borth is a fruity IPA, Cwrw’r LLan a malty Bitter and Cwrw’r Bae a popular Blonde.
They plan to add further beers to their range including a popular blueberry stout they have called Stowt Dulas after the island village.
Bethan said: “We seem to be battling against the odds to keep our heads above water, but our business plan is robust and we know that people will want to drink our craft beers.
“While they will be available in restaurants when the Covid crisis is over, we have opened a store with strict social distancing rules to allow Holyhead shoppers to try our range of products,
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“We had planned on having a grand opening and a tap room but all that’s on hold for now. In the meantime, with all the food and drink festivals cancelled for the foreseeable, we hope people come to our shop one at a time to buy bottles of beer to take home.
“We are incredibly grateful for the support we’ve had from local people and we’re confident that we will be stronger once the lockdown is over.
“It’s not the best time to be starting a business but we’ve already invested so much money, time and effort into this venture we have to be optimistic and look to the future,”
The couple are also taking orders on facebook and hope to be able to offer online sales soon.