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What better way to settle the nerves ahead of a massive sporting weekend than with a midweek afternoon trip to the pub.

How about an afternoon in the pub with the Welsh rugby captain? And he’s buying!

Alun Wyn Jones took a break from training for battle on Tuesday to sample his brand new beer.

Ale Wyn, launched by SA Brain & Co, is a red IPA launched in collaboration with Jones.

And so we took the opportunity to talk to him and Brains’ head brewer Bill Dobson about beer.

(Image: South Wales Echo)

What flavours are in the beer?

Bill: We chose a few different hops to go into this beer. You wanted fruity hops, with a bit of a punch in there.

We ended up with a hop called Amarillo and a hop called Waimea.

Are you pleased with those?

Alun Wyn Jones: Very much so. I think I was able to play with and smell them in their raw form.

When we did the malts and all the other bits and bobs, we got to the point where I was happy with the chocolatey coffee tones.

I’m very happy with it.

If I’m really critical, Bill, I would have liked it a bit more red!

(Image: South Wales Echo)

B: You were passionate about the redness of the beer. This is all natural ingredients.

We used the right malts to try and give us the right colour and also those flavours that you liked.

A: Bill gave me a thorough tour of the brewery. I went into the lab and all sorts.

I didn’t realise they could have a lab for a beer, to be honest. That was a bit of a shock.

But we got to the end of the tour, and then they said we’re going to try and potentially get me to make my own.

They got me to choose what I wanted, the hops, the malts.

I gave them a pretty broad difficult brief and that’s what we came up with.

So you’re a real ale man?

A: To be honest, I’m not a big ale beer drinker, but I thought if I was going to do it I’d try and do something that I liked.

Hence, it was good that we saw the raw ingredients because I didn’t know what it was going to come out like. I put pressure on this gentleman.

B: That’s the bit I’m used to. We’re used to doing collaborations with people so you take people’s ideas and thoughts and then turn them into a beer.

So at the end of the day, that’s my job. I can’t play rugby, I can brew beer.

We’re used to playing around with lots of different flavours and things.

It’s the first time we used one of the hops, the Waimea.

It’s always interesting to try something new as well. It’s got a bit of uniqueness from the ingredient we hadn’t used before.

If you’re not a huge ale drinker, did you want to make something for people who also aren’t huge ale drinkers?

A: Yeah, I think you can have a beer with food, without. Some people like the odd pint as well.

We sort of came to the conclusion where it was probably not going to drink a lot of it, but when you do you try and enjoy it.

I enjoy my coffee, partial to the odd bit of chocolate so I tried to go for those flavours in the beer.

I wasn’t really up to scratch on what beers went well with food, so it was ‘these are what I like, over to you, Bill’.

I think what we’ve come up with, or what Bill came up with, has been pretty spot on.

On the red colour...

(Image: South Wales Echo)

A: Pretty obvious, really.

B: That was the number one stipulation.

A: I did say to Bill at the start it had to be red. He did give me a pretty staunch reply ‘I’m not dyeing it’. I’ll run with his knowledge. I think it’s close enough.

B: We weren’t dyeing the beer red or anything gimmicky like that. That was the discussion we had.

Can you remember your first pint of Brains?

A: It would probably have to be with my dad or my grandfather a long, long time ago.

It was probably a can with my grandfather and dad over Sunday lunch or something like that. That would probably have to be it.

(Image: South Wales Echo)

How do you unwind after games?

A: It’s tough these days because we obviously play quite a lot of games, six-day, five-day turnarounds, etc.

It can be tough but if I get an opportunity, I’ll have a glass of wine with a meal, potentially have one beer in the changing rooms or I’ll have a lager with the boys after the game, sometimes just to take the edge off a win or a loss.

I know we’re still professional athletes, but there’s always space for everything in moderation, particularly on a win.

Sometimes you’ve got to share that moment in the changing room. Having a beer isn’t really going to harm you in the long run.

And what’s your favourite tipple?

A: I’m going to have to say Brains ale. Obviously now we know what it is! But it’d have to be something like a Corona on a summer’s day or something like that.

B: He only gets to drink in the summer, you see.

A: Exactly!

poll loading What would you rather be drinking this weekend? 0+ VOTES SO FAR Brains Ale Wyn Italian Prosecco French red wine Pint of Guinness A can of Irn Bru Cup of English tea

In terms of looking ahead to Saturday, how are you looking forward to your first home game as captain?

A: I’m not really looking at it as anything about me. It’s about the team.

Look at us on the weekend, it was a team performance that got us to the win and the team is hopefully going to do that again on the weekend.

It’s going to be a definite tough ask with the form England have shown and the way they displayed at the weekend.

They’ll probably say they were under pressure on the weekend, but you look at the physicality and the clinical nature which they finished that game off, it proves why they’ve got so many wins on the run.

What would your message be to fans? Would it be to make as much noise as possible?

A: I’m in no position to tell a fan how to support us. What I’d say is keep doing what you’re doing, it means a lot to the team.

There’s always a team behind the team. We've got our off-field guys looking after us.

But I think we’re very fortunate to have a pretty special home stadium with a very large, passionate, supporting crowd.

If they keep doing what they’re doing, it’s going to give the team the extra edge, I suppose, that we always try and have.

You’re known for passionately singing the Welsh national anthem, what’s going through your head when you’re singing it?

A: I’ve said before, sing it like the last time you sing it, which is true.

But, more to the detail of it, you talked about the fans, it’s probably the one time where, obviously outside of the game, where as a team and supporters we’re connected for those two or three minutes.

It’s not 23 on the park and 75,000 in the stands. We’re altogether. It’s pretty special.

To be able to join the fans and they join you, that is a pretty good opportunity.

Alun Wyn Jones looks ahead to Wales v England...

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Ale Wyn (ABV 5%) is a deep red IPA created in collaboration with Alun Wyn Jones, with a blend of Carared and Rye Crystal malts and hints of dark chocolate and roasted coffee. Waimea and Amarillo hops bring bold citrus and pine flavours for a “balanced and satisfying bitterness”.

The ale is available now in Brains' Cardiff city centre pubs, and will be available for the rest of the RBS Six Nations tournament.