‘Moreish’ Wye Valley Brewery Wins at the BBC Food and Farming Awards!

At a star studded awards ceremony taking place at the BBC Good Food Show, Birmingham NEC, Wye Valley Brewery, has been awarded the inaugural Best Drinks Producer award at the BBC Food and Farming Awards 2010. This was the first year a Drinks Producer category had been included in the awards and it received a flood of entries but it was cask beer that took centre stage as Wye Valley Brewery was recognised as Best Drinks Producer from all types of drink producers nominated from across the country.

The BBC Food and Farming Awards have been described as ‘the Oscars’ of the food world. The awards ceremony was presented by Sheila Dillon, from the Radio 4 Food Programme. Chefs Raymond Blanc and former Blur member turned cheese maker Alex James also made guest appearances. However the real star of the show were the fantastic food and drink celebrated at the event and the passionate producers behind them.

Vernon Amor, Wye Valley Brewery Managing Director accepted the award from Oz Clarke. Vernon commented ‘We are really thrilled to receive this prestigious award. Our brewery is a traditional family business and this year we celebrate our 25th anniversary. Receiving this award in recognition of all our hard work and care producing great beers for real ale lovers in our region is definitely the highlight of a great year!’

The judges were impressed by Wye Valley Brewery’s commitment to selecting local Herefordshire hops, their dedication to quality through traditional production methods, plus their support of pubs and links with the local community. Showing that cask ale is every bit as complex in flavour as fine wine, the judges commented that you could taste the local terroir in Wye Valley beers and also praised their ‘moreishness!’

The awards programme will be broadcast on BBC Radio 4 at 9am on November 26th. For more information about the BBC Food and Farming Awards, see www.bbc.co.uk/foodawards.

Looking forward to some festive cheer...

Our cask special Christmas brew is named ‘Christmas Whiskers’ in honour of the charity beard our drayman Andy Jones grew to raise money for St Michael's Hospice this time last year. The pump clip features Andy sporting his charity whiskers and a rather festive red suit and hat. This 4.5% ABV beer is a copper coloured best bitter. Full bodied and satisfying with a spicy blackcurrant finish, it is perfect to be enjoyed with all your favourite Christmas pies and puddings. Roll on December - we can't wait to tuck in!

New Venue Proved Great Success for 2010 Birmingham Beer Festival

The new venue for this year's Birmingham Beer Festival proved a fantastic success and was well received by all the visitors. 206 ales and 40 ciders sold through almost down to the last pint and the festival managed to raise an impressive surplus in excess of £1,500 for CAMRA's ongoing campaigning work supporting community pubs and promoting real ale. Approximately 70% of visitors through the doors were non-CAMRA members so this is a great event to bring real ale to the attention of a wider audience. The Wye Valley Team had a great time at our popular bar. The event organisers promise to be back at 2nd City next year and for years to come and we'll certainly be there too!

Best Drinks Producer award for Wye Valley Brewery!

Wye Valley Brewery scooped best Drink Producer at the Flavours of Herefordshire Awards 2011. Our Herefordshire roots remain extremely important to us, so we were thrilled to receive this award in our 25th Aniversary year! It added an extra celebratory vibe to our presence at the Flavours of Herefordshire Food Festival and we were able to raise a glass with plenty of our loyal followers over the course of the weekend.

Salutation Inn at Ham - CAMRA South West Pub of the Year!

Congratulations to the Salutation Inn at Ham for being named CAMRA South West Pub of the Year. Despite being publicans for only 3 years, Don and Sue have clearly got the knack of what it takes to run a great pub. This cosy country pub is dedicated to offering a regularly refreshed selection of local real ales - in which Wye Valley Brewery's HPA and our monthly special cask beers are regularly featured. The Salutation Inn now goes on to the 'Super regional' stages of the CAMRA Pub of Year and we wish them the very best of luck!