Britain's best kept brewing secret!

The hopyards of the Midlands of England produce the majority of the hops grown in the UK, but most of our beer drinkers are unaware that they exist. The brewers of Herefordshire and Worcestershire have come together to proudly boast that the hops on our doorstep and the growers who produce them are the best in the world.

Along with other Herefordshire, Worcestershire & Shropshire brewers we have launched an initiative for local brewers to produce at least one beer each containing ONLY hops grown in our region. 

The beers are available in pubs throughout the Midlands NOW and we have presented the enterprise directly to the public at The Bromyard Hop Festival and Ludlow Food Festival and in October at The Green Hop Festival at The Talbot, Knightwick and in November at the Flavours of Herefordshire Food Festival.

Keep an eye out for eye catching point of sale in the form of beer mats, pump clip crowns and leaflets detailing local growers and brewers. http://www.thehopshires.co.uk/

Gold for The Barrels

We are very proud to announce that Wye Valley Brewery’s flagship pub, The Barrels, has not only won a Gold award in the Heart of England in Bloom, Pub & Hotel category, it has also been crowned overall winner (in its category).

This follows on from their success last year in the Heart of England in Bloom competition, and this year in the City of Hereford in Bloom, Hotel and Grounds competition.

Geoff Evans, the Gardener for Wye Valley Brewery pubs, stated, “This is a great accolade for The Barrels and it really puts Hereford on the map in the regional element of the national Britain in Bloom competition”.

Gold for Butty Bach

We are proud to announce that Butty Bach was judged Gold medal winner at the Ludlow Food Festival.

Every year The Ludlow Food Festival runs an ale Trail sponsored by Wye Valley Brewery, and the beers are judged by the people taking part and by a panel of professional's. This year Butty Bach was judged Gold by the professional's!

Butty Bach was served by The Charlton Arms, which is just to the south of Ludlow and overlooks the River Teme. More about The Charlton Arms here.

26th Charity Beer Festival

For 26 years The Barrels (Wye Valley Brewery's flagship pub) in Hereford has held a charity beer festival every August bank holiday weekend.

Thousands of pints were consumed by the hundreds of customers who came to enjoy many excellent beers and ciders from various British brewers, including Herefordshire’s very own Wye Valley Brewery.

The beer festival is run by volunteers and benefits local charities. In its first year the festival raised £1,000 for local charities, this year they raised a huge £17,500, donations included £2,000 to St Michael’s Hospice who are currently raising money for their redevelopment project.

Over the last 26 years The Barrels Charity Beer Festival has raised well over £350,000 – a fantastic contribution to local charities. 

The Hopshires

A brand new website has just launched to promote the hopyards of Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Shropshire. These counties produce more than half the hops grown in the UK, but most beer drinkers are unaware that these farms even exist.

For more information about The Hopshires click here.

The Barrels makes Top Ten Pub

We were delighted to see that The Barrels made The Guardian's Top Ten Microbreweries and Pubs: readers tips feature in Saturday's paper. 

The feature focuses on craft beers, real ales, breweries inside pubs, and tempting bar snacks.

The article praises 'fantastic Wye Valley beer at amazing prices' and suggests trying 'Hereford Pale Ale in summer or the stronger Butty Bach in winter'.

For the article visit The Guardian website.