BREWERY FOCUS A day with Dorothy Goodbody

The Wye Valley success story

The Wye Valley Brewery is of The Barrels and its Formation nudging 10,000 barrels a Beer Drinking Team. More of them year and employs a total later. Brewing at The Barrels of 18 people. An increased to over 90 barrels a week and was involving seven-day undoubted success story working with each 22-barrel batch but it has been a long taking 13 hours to get into fermenter. haul for Peter Amor who The Amors cast around for left the comfort of somewhere bigger and found Corporateland back in Bulmers were getting rid of the nine- 1982. acre Symonds Cider site at Stoke Lacy on the road up to Bromyard. Symonds could trace their history Wye Valley By Roger Putman back to 1727, which makes Brewery Ltd Bulmers’ 1887 look very Stoke Lacy, inexperienced, but it was taken over Bromyard, eter had worked for Guinness as by Greenalls in 1985 and despite the HR7 4HG, UK Pa brewer and latterly in logistics squandering of hundreds of management for Bulmers in thousands on new plant the Tel: 01885 490505 Hereford. He set up the Abbey Warrington brewers failed to make a www.wyevalleybrewery.co.uk Brewery in Retford with a partner go of it and sold out with its from Whitbread long before the days Scrumpy Jack brand to Bulmers in of the Beer Orders, Progressive Beer 1988. Production gradually moved Duty and Direct Delivery Schemes. away and Wye Valley moved there in After his business partner gave up 2002. Amor moved the brewery to the The cider plant had a number of Nags Head pub in Canon Pyon, a green industrial sheds fronted by a plant down can be a bit of a village about ten miles west of pretty mock half-timbered visitor headache.” Hereford. By 1987, he had moved centre and copious car parking. One Jimmy joined BRi under Jim his brewery to the old Lamb Hotel in of the sheds houses the brewery, Murray and Simon Hadman in 1994 the centre of Hereford and another the services and a third after getting a post-grad diploma rechristened it The Barrels. Today might one day house a Wye Valley from the Watt. He moved to Hall and the company owns two pubs, the bottling plant. The outside tank farm Woodhouse at Blandford in 1997 other is the uniquely-named Rose has now gone leaving rather stark and five years later was to be found and Lion at Bromyard. These two concrete bases but at least the views running Munton’s mash filter 100% wet pubs consume some 10% across the rolling Herefordshire operation at Stowmarket producing of Wye Valley volume and provide countryside to the Black Mountains malt extracts mainly for the food useful retail profit thus showing the beyond have been restored. The site industry. He moved to Herefordshire contribution that owning a pub can drops away from the road and in 2003. Stoically, he rides his make to the proto microbrewer. somewhere amongst the foliage I bicycle into the brewery daily, a Peter’s son Vernon joined the was assured there was an activated round trip of 24 miles which he has business in 1996 after gaining a sludge effluent plant which to do in all weathers as he has sold degree in mathematics and spending discharges into the stream at the his car! twelve months getting his hands bottom of the hill. dirty with brewing staff at Youngs in “It is far too big for our needs,” Focus on sales London. Vernon is now MD and Head Brewer Jimmy Swan told me, Vernon Amor admits that previously Peter is a very hands-on Executive “It is nice to have limitless steam he and his father had been too Chairman and enthusiastic licencee and refrigeration but turning the focused on production and winning

The BREWER & DISTILLER INTERNATIONAL ¥ Volume 3 ¥ Issue 2 ¥ February 2007 ¥ www.ibd.org.uk 44 Engineering Manager Milo Ingram has been at the plant since the Symonds days. Today he is helping out cask racking as they were a man short.

BELOW: The front of the Wye Valley visitor centre with (inset) signage to attract passing motorists to buy all sorts of Dorothy Goodbody memorabilia.

prizes for the beers and sales could Devon and the Lake District leaving into the supermarkets is have been building faster. So with these in the capable hands of Beer an uphill struggle. We are Jimmy in the brewing seat and Peter Seller. working with Branded Drinks to at the pub, the sales team was Competition continues to be tight expand sales, they will want a cut in enhanced. 2005 sales were up a with Hobsons at Cleobury Mortimer an already low-margin sector but healthy 21% on 2004 and at the time nearby and a number of smaller they are experienced in finding a of my visit (August 2006) another start-up micros but Sharps from way into that market,” he concluded. 23% has been added. The core Cornwall now have a depot in Most of the bottles form the delivery area for five flat drays, Bristol and Wickwar are making Dorothy Goodbody range. Dorothy which can carry up to 52 firkins at a aggressive inroads. is depicted as one of the pin ups time, stretches between “Given a choice of Progressive which might have adorned the nose Birmingham, Shrewsbury, Beer Duty or Direct Delivery I of a Boeing B17 bomber, she was Swindon/Oxford and Bristol. The would pick the SIBA DDS scheme apparently the daughter of a large map in the sales office showed every time as it gets us into Punch local hop farmer and might a series of tongues up to Manchester, and Enterprise,” said Vernon have been obliging to into North Wales, mid Wales. West enthusiastically. “What’s the point of young gentlemen. Wales and down to Cardiff. These having cheaper beer but not being Obviously double areas are called ‘trawls’; customers able to get it to market? entendres abound in the are called and Manchester loads go “Around 6% of output goes into advertising blurb! Peter on a Monday, North Wales on bottle. All brands are bottle- Amor thought the name Tuesday etc. Wye Valley has conditioned. We have smart PSL Wye Valley Stout would abandoned direct deliveries to labels put on by Thwaites but getting have been too boring so

The BREWER & DISTILLER INTERNATIONAL ¥ Volume 3 ¥ Issue 2 ¥ February 2007 ¥ www.ibd.org.uk 45 BREWERY FOCUS

Wye Valley people

TOP LEFT: Vernon (left) and Peter Amor in the cellar of the Barrels pub.

ABOVE: Head Brewer Jimmy Swan samples an FV.

ABOVE RIGHT: Brewer Simeon Davis dips the hop back.

LEFT: Matt Ingram jugs in the finings before racking.

Dorothy was introduced to promote while Butty Bach (‘little friend’ in effluent from, a number of local a Wholesome Stout (4.6%ABV) still Welsh) at 4.5% offers a sweetness houses including The Plough pub brewed with flaked barley but and lower hop rate (Goldings, next door. Today only Barbara without the Irish Northdown hops Bramling Cross and Fuggles) to the Symonds who has a cottage on the since the yard in Kilkenny was market down in the Valleys. brewery site has such services. She grubbed up a few years ago. There is Hops arrive from Charles Faram provides an array of flower pots a tasty Golden Ale at 4.2%ABV with in Freshpaks and as soon as a pack is which makes the Wye Valley empty 80¡EBC crystal which won a medal opened the rest is placed in a chest cask yard probably the prettiest in at Munich and Country Ale which, at freezer converted into a refrigerator. England! 6%ABV is also put into cask as a The smell on opening was divine! winter ale. This just goes to show what you are The ‘F’in FMA There are a host of specials from losing with ambient storage even on The Stoke Lacy brewery was the Tippling Philosopher to a beer top of the inevitable oxidation of the designed by Victor Firth. Victor was celebrating the birth of the founder hop compounds. There is no dry one of Peter Amor’s old chums from of the Morgan motor car in Stoke hopping and typically 30% of the Guinness and he became the ‘F’in Lacy village in 1881. He built the hops are added late into the hop project management company FMA. first of the famous three wheeled back. The brewery was planning its Amor dragged him out of retirement cars in nearby Malvern in 1910. first green hop brew from the 2006 in France to put together a 40-barrel Visitors to the shop are able to buy Fuggles harvest. Should the brewery. Victor’s dedication is the surplus pump clips and hefty moisture be calculated at 60 or 80%, commemorated in the Victor J. Firth blocks of beer mats from a very what happens if the bittering is over Bar in the Brewery Visitor Centre. colourful display amongst the T- done? Brewer Swan thought it best Hi-line in Burton on Trent shirts and bottles of Dorothy. to ring round for advice and err on provided a copper and pairs of 20- the side of underdoing it in a beer barrel, 30-barrel and a single 40- Three main cask brands named St Michael’s Ale after the barrel FV. The 1000kg mash tun There are three main cask brands local hospice and 29th September came from Bedford Stainless which, selling virtually equal volumes. All (Michaelmas). All pale malt comes curiously, operates out of Doncaster. have some 10% of malted wheat to from Crisps and Fawcetts supply the Alan Ruddock did the grain handling help the head along. Wye Valley specialists. with an elevator from the materials Bitter is a 3.7%ABV trad bitter with Water is Welsh Water from the store in the basement to a batch crystal malt, a handful of flaked village supply and Brewer Swan hopper above an efficient AR2000 barley and 35BU from Target and titrates daily samples as sources can two roller mill and up again to a grist late Goldings. 4.0%ABV Hereford swap without notice. Murphys AMS case. The case was to have been sited Pale Ale has a colour of only 7¡EBC is added to hot water tank and DWB above the mash tun but luckily it so obviously no crystal but a to the grist. Interestingly, Wye Valley wasn’t, as Wye Valley has had to bitterness of around 25BU from found the old cider plant had increase its capacity and there would Target and late Styrian Goldings supplied water to, and treated not have been enough head-room. So

The BREWER & DISTILLER INTERNATIONAL ¥ Volume 3 ¥ Issue 2 ¥ February 2007 ¥ www.ibd.org.uk 46 the grist has to be conveyed again up to the mashing stage and through a Brewing at Wye Valley horizontal hydrator with the hot water entering under pressure through something which looks like a watering-can rose. The hop-back cost £700 and was rescued after the King & Barnes auction where nobody wanted it but at exactly 40- barrel it is exactly what WV needed. Unusually WV cut to FV gravity in the hop-back and vigorously rouse the surface with a paddle to ‘bury’ the copious volumes of dry hops. The hop bed is not sparged for fear of dislodging break into the FV. A final 80-barrel FV was added by Holvrieka last year. “You can set your watch by the 80,” said Brewer Swan, “the smaller vessels are much more prone to suffering from draughts.” The ‘80’is filled by a double mash day when Simeon Davis, the brewer The Alan Ruddock AR2000 malt mill. The mashing machine. has to start at 0330hrs. The mash tun can easily turn down to 20 barrels to fill the smaller vessels with shorter brews. The FVs are skimmed by floating an inverted trough onto the surface which supports the end of a pipe to a Flotronic pump which pushes the yeast into drums for liquid storage in a cool room behind the two baby wort heat exchangers (one for glycol to trim during the summer). Yeast is Whitbread B and is obtained about four times a year from McMullens in Hertford. The skimmed beer stays in fermenter for seven days before transfer to either a ABOVE: Inside the Bedford Stainless mash 40-brl or 30-brl racking tank which tun. started life as yeast-storage vessels at Wrexham. RIGHT: The Wye Valley copper.

New Microdat washer BELOW: The hop back was originally at Cask racking is interesting. WV have King and Barnes at Horsham. replaced an old 40-piece-per-hour Neubecker washer with no fail-safes BELOW RIGHT: A view across the FV room. and some microbes with a brand-new The 80-brl Holvrieka vessel is at the top left. Microdat which will turn out 120 The racking vessels are opposite on the right. firkins or 80 kils every hour. The trade in the larger size is building steadily and about a quarter of the weekly volume is in kils. The Microdat lifts the cask up to the moving platform with four positions before lowering it down again for manual key-stoning. The first station is external washing and shive-hole finding followed by a 22 second pre- wash using a jet nozzle to pulse (two seconds) scour the cask belly with spent detergent recovered from the next head. Here a spray pulses Holchem neutral detergent into the cask at single-use concentrations. A 100 casks would consume just one

The BREWER & DISTILLER INTERNATIONAL ¥ Volume 3 ¥ Issue 2 ¥ February 2007 ¥ www.ibd.org.uk 47 BREWERY FOCUS

The new Microdat cask washer

ABOVE LEFT: The Microdat washer pictured with the inspection panels open. ABOVE RIGHT LEFT: The external wash and pre-wash heads. LEFT: The handy movable control panel. RIGHT: The plant schematic on the panel.

The 10¡C cask store at Sutherland’s SPA Soft system so that Wye Valley and (inset) a a cask is associated with a batch. bar coded delivery label SPA Soft also deals with order taking, as been superimposed invoicing and takes the drudgery out on the racking label so of duty calculations. the cask can be tracked As a delivery is being assembled, a to the Newton Inn. Note second label is generated which is the two bar codes above manually attached before loading. the owner’s plate. This has the delivery run and the pub name visible to the drayman who makes sure it gets to the right place. Returning casks are recorded to remove the cask details from the pub record. Of course, casks do get picked litre of detergent in this previously critical stage in his up by other brewers but Kegwatch single-use system. There production. generally get the strays back home is a final spray rinse to again…eventually. I was assured that wash out the detergent and Bar coded casks SIBA take very seriously any a 13-second steam. The Cask filling has four Briggs taps allegations of microbrewers filling supply pumps are fitted rescued from Batemans with a pair each others casks. It is more difficult with pressure gauges and filling six casks on a pallet with four to explain a Trenstar transponder will alarm if the pressure or pints per barrel isinglass already discovered welded to the Wye Valley temperature drops and should a jugged in. A fork-lift truck removes plate on one of their old Allied casks! cask fail to locate and falls off, the the filled casks to a recently-added As weekly peak production climbs finely balanced machine ‘windows’ 10¡C cool store and places another towards 300 barrels there will have to will open and operations will stop six in the adjacent station. All WV be some serious thinking about until the operators manually reset the casks are bar-coded, most of the further plant expansion but luckily cask in position. Not the cheapest 5,800 casks still have two codes WV have plenty of room and option says Swan but he is happy fitted. The cask is recorded before buildings in which to increase with the control he now has over a filling and details uploaded to Barrie output.

The BREWER & DISTILLER INTERNATIONAL ¥ Volume 3 ¥ Issue 2 ¥ February 2007 ¥ www.ibd.org.uk 48 BREWERY FOCUS

The Wye Valley Formation Drinking Team and Polish hops

I visited Wye Valley just before the annual charity beer festival at fund-raising exercise for local charities, the event was a sell-out The Barrels pub. There were 60 beers all crammed into one of the with 400 tickets taken each day. Despite a transfusion from Wye old brewery rooms and Bevex pythons fed a long row of taps set Valley, all the firkins were empty by Monday evening and the Team up where the old brew plant used to be (it moved the Teme Valley had managed to raise £8,700 to help 17 local charities. Over Brewery after the Stoke Lacy plant was commissioned). £100,000 has been raised since the first event took place back in The large pub yard was sheltered by awnings to protect the 1988. expected beer enthusiasts over a four-day August Bank holiday Before the public was admitted, SIBA judged its Western Beer weekend. Staged by The Barrels Drinking Formation Team as a Competition. Although the quality in the early rounds was patchy it was difficult to choose the overall winner from the seven gold medal winners. The Championship was eventually awarded to new starter Purple Moose Brewery for Cwrw Eryri or Snowdonia Ale which was the 3.6%ABV ‘Session Beer’ winner brewed in Portmadoc by Lawrence Washington from Cheltenham and his wife Jenni from Glasgow. I later discovered the beer is bittered with Pioneer, an English Hedgerow variety which, according to Faram’s Paul Corbett, has been very much under-rated and is probably the most intensely aromatic English variety available. The winning beer had a Styrian Goldings and Lubelski added at the end of the boil for aroma. Paul told me: “This is the first time we have tried Polish hops at Faram’s and although I think most people would agree that they have quite a delicate, noble aroma and when they are used at a higher addition rate the results have been superb.”

LEFT: The SIBA competition judges about to make their momentous decision. From the left; Paul Corbett (Charles Faram), Mike Desquenses (Banks & Taylor), Mark Wallington (SIBA Finance Director), Chris Grimmett and Andrew Whalley (York Brewery).

The Barrels pub in the centre of Hereford.

The BREWER & DISTILLER INTERNATIONAL ¥ Volume 3 ¥ Issue 2 ¥ February 2007 ¥ www.ibd.org.uk 50