On Friday we tucked in to some samples of the all new Butty Bach Steak & Gammon Pie! The samples went down a treat in the Wye Valley Brewery office and we look forward to these being available on the shelves of our local stores! More information to follow...these are definately worth keeping an eye out for!

HPA review!

Roger Protz is one of the world's best known beer writers, and he has recently tasted and reviewed our new bottled beer HPA! To read his review, visit http://beer-pages.com/notes/beer-of-the-month-2010-02.shtml. Roger has named HPA his Beer of the Month for February and awarded it four stars! Roger has written 18 books about beer and pubs and he also edits CAMRA's Annual Good Beer Guide.

HPA launch party!

To celebrate the launch of HPA in bottle, we threw a launch party on Monday night at The Barrels in Hereford. We were joined by Pete Brown, Beer Writer of the Year at the prestigious British Guild of Beer Writers Annual Awards 2009, who thinks it's a really great beer (he even named HPA his favourite beer of 2009!). We welcomed staff, customers and suppliers along and everyone was able to have a taste of our newest bottled beer.

The photo shows Pete Brown (right) and Peter Amor (Chairman of Wye Valley Brewery).

HPA to kick off 25th anniversary celebrations

2010 will be the 25th year of brewing for Stoke Lacy based Wye Valley Brewery, and they plan to celebrate by brewing even more excellent beer.

Wye Valley Brewery has come a long way since Peter Amor started brewing in 1985 in the old stable block at The Barrels, Hereford. Since then the brewery has moved to Stoke Lacy, increased its tied estate and invested in a state of the art bottling facility.

Wye Valley Brewery will start its 25th year on a high, with the launch of its popular cask beer HPA, in bottled format. Numerous other events are planned including the release of a special Limited Edition bottled beer in March and a race night at Hereford Racecourse in August where customers and staff will celebrate the brewery’s 25th anniversary in style with real music and real ale! Also, the brewery’s Herefordshire barley project will be realised and the first all Herefordshire beer will be produced, using local hops and local barley.

Fundraising throughout the year will benefit the brewery’s selected charity for 2010, Riding for the Disabled.

Said Peter Amor, Chairman and founder of Wye Valley Brewery, ‘It is obviously very gratifying to have come this far. It really is a collective achievement and our success is down to the dedication of the whole team at the brewery.’

Brewery Invests in Feature Film

Hereford’s Wye Valley Brewery is investing in A Stranger’s Smile. An independent feature film written and directed by Hereford born and based filmmaker Ian Hudson. The 90 minute film will be shot in HD Digital and go on national release in the autumn of 2010.

A Stranger's Smile is the story of our heroine Elicia, a photographer, who, while shooting a series of street portraits for an exhibition, encounters and photographs writer Aiden Dean. Intrigued by him she follows him to a cemetery where she sees him place flowers on a grave on which is the epitaph ‘Lizzie 1980 to 2008'. Elicia's curiosity draws the reclusive Aiden out of his private world, but by doing so she uncovers a haunting secret about the supposed suicide of his wife Lizzie. Elicia discovers that police detective Antony Myles is still investigating Lizzie's death, believing she was murdered. Also, a warning to Elicia not to get too close to Aiden from Lizzie's friend Martha, adds weight to her growing suspicions about Aiden's involvement in Lizzie's death. Elicia is determined to find out the truth, but her curiosity and her feelings for Aiden, places Elicia's life in jeopardy.

The film’s writer & director Ian Hudson: 'This is an important step towards getting the film made. I instinctively wrote the Wye Valley Brewery’s HPA and Dorothy Goodbody’s Wholesome Stout into the story. They are the drinks the central characters Elicia and Aiden drink on their first date. When I approached Peter Amor (Chairman of Wye Valley Brewery) and Vernon Amor (Managing Director of Wye Valley Brewery), to ask them if it was alright to name their products in the film I aroused their curiosity and they have brought the brewery on board as an official investor.’

Adding:
'I've been drinking Wye Valley Brewery beers all my adult life, they are the best beers I have every tasted. So this is a natural creative & business opportunity.'

Wye Valley Brewery Chairman Peter Amor: 'I have known Ian Hudson for over 20 years and have seen his career develop, always being impressed with his hard work and attention to detail. He is impressively dedicated to his craft. Having spent time with Ian discussing the project and learning of his vision for the film I am pleased to say that the Wye Valley Brewery is backing him in this venture; that I know will be a success.'

The films official website can be found at www.astrangerssmile.com.

Pictured left Peter Amor, right Ian Hudson.

Brewer for the Day

The Cross Inn, near Maesteg has stocked Wye Valley Brewery beers, specifically Butty Bach for many years. As the product is so popular in their pub, they decided to come to the brewery and brew it for themselves!

The day started early with a 6am meet in the brewhouse for mashing in! Dai and Gill helped Paul with all stages of the brew and look forward to selling 'their' brew of Butty Bach in The Cross Inn, in the not too distant future!

Pictured Gill & Dai Morgan with Wye Valley Brewer Paul.

Flavours of Herefordshire Winner

The Three Horseshoes Inn, Little Cowarne, recently won Pub of the Year at the Flavours of Herefordshire Awards 2009, this category was sponsored by Wye Valley Brewery.

Said Vernon Amor, MD of Wye Valley, ‘We are thrilled that The Three Horseshoes have won this award, it’s a great accolade for Norman, Janet and Phil. It’s an excellent pub serving top quality beer and food, well worth a visit. They have sold our beer since 2000 and it's still selling well today!’

Pictured left, Vernon Amor, MD of Wye Valley Brewery and Phil Whittall, Head Chef at The Three Horseshoes Inn, Little Cowarne, Nr Bromyard.