CWMBRAN-BASED brewery Brew Monster has opened up its first bar in the heart of Cardiff after crowdfunding more than £100,000.

Earlier this year the company, based at the Avondale Business Park, launched a fundraising campaign to raise £50,000 to expand its operation - and smashed its target by more than 200 per cent, raising more than £100,000.

This means it has been able to open a new bar in Cardiff's High Street - just yards from Cardiff Castle.

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Managing director Glenn White said the brewery wanted to expand the business to expand on its early success with a tap room.

“Cardiff is a big market for craft beer in south Wales, said Mr White. “Because the tap room worked so well, it was about selling directly to market and cutting out the middleman.

“It’s a chance for people to come in and learn about our beers. It’s about engaging with our customers as much as possible.

“Opening this bar allows us to go that step further than we could with the tap room."

The bar is now open to the public, after a test evening for friends and family.

Mr White said: “This area of Cardiff is particularly up and coming. We want that two-way thing. We want customers telling us what they want and feeding that back to us.

“It’s so much more effective if we are speaking directly to our customers.

“We are really thankful for everyone who has supported us. It's always nice to see when you have put so much work in to something.”

South Wales Argus:

The inside of the new bar opened by Cwmbran-based brewery Brew Monster bar in Cardiff. Picture: Glenn White

Bar manager Richard Lewis previously ran a pub at Sophia Gardens for 15 years, and said he was excited at the opportunity to come on board.

“For the last year I was at the Head of Steam and then Glenn came in for a chat,” he said. “It sounded really interesting and something I wanted to be involved in.

South Wales Argus:

The inside of the new bar opened by Cwmbran-based brewery Brew Monster bar in Cardiff. Picture: Glenn White

“It has been a slow build in Cardiff but you find a lot of people are more willing to try craft beers than even just a year or two ago, and people’s knowledge of beers has grown a lot in that time.

“This time last year if you served people some of the beers on the bar we have now, they would have brought them back, but now the whole dynamic of the business has changed.

South Wales Argus:

The opening of Cwmbran-based brewery Brew Monster's new bar in Cardiff. Picture: Glenn White

“We will be looking at also serving Welsh spirits and one or two brands that people that are not in to craft beers can recognise without being alienated.

“The new bar makes it easier to do swaps with other local breweries, giving us even more variation on what we can offer.”