Colourful brewery champion calls for more quality - Wye Valley Brewery

Peter Amor, the new chairman of SIBA (Society of Independent Brewers), has a penchant for flamboyancy in his choice of wide brimmed hats and gaily coloured clothing.

It gives him a certain raffish quality. But it certainly isn’t all froth and no substance with Peter. Just like the beer he cradled when we met - Dorothy Good body’s Wholesome Stout – the founder/chairman of Wye Valley Brewery is a formidable ‘brew’. He once abandoned SIBA altogether, in a dispute over its Labour Party support but today is back at the top of an organisation that is now a real force to be reckoned with as it champions independent brewers. Membership grows year-on-year and even Fuller’s, a little controversially, has now joined - although 72 per cent of members still brew less than 30 barrels a week.

“I came back because I love the cask ale industry and I think it has a terrific future if we all work together and produce quality beer,” declares Peter as he savoured his favourite tipple.

Persuaded to rejoin by ex president Carola Brown of Ballard’s Brewery he took over the chair from Titanic’s Keith Bott, at the annual conference. There he passionately pledged to see SIBA become an ever more powerful force in the brewing industry, giving more help to the burgeoning membership and fighting their corner on key issues such as Progressive Beer Duty (PBD), the tax relief for small brewers, and routes to market.

From super brewer to micro

Experience, he says, it what he brings to the table. And with a long, varied career in the brewing industry under his belt - from super brewer to micro- the former grammar school boy from Ilford, Essex, has that in buckets.

Foregoing university, Peter started out with Guinness at Park Royal and a post in the lab, due to his interest in sciences, before becoming an under brewer and then going into the distribution department to direct the delivery of the black stuff throughout the country.

Then, tiring of London, he moved on to Bulmer’s in Hereford to work on transport for a couple of years. With both operations now deceased, Peter has a self-deprecating jibe against himself “every where I have been has closed,” he jokes.

On leaving Bulmer’s after four years he moved to Retford to develop Abbey Brewery with his friend and ex-Whitbread brewer Peter Shepherd. But in 1985 he bought his partner out and moved back to Hereford, whereupon the Wye Valley Brewery was born behind the Nag’s Head at Canon Pryor. Later it moved to outbuildings at the Lamb, Hereford – a ‘run down cider pub’ owned by Whitbread who gave permission to brew. Now reincarnated as the Barrels it’s a thriving cask ale house selling the Wye Valley beer range and micro guests.

Ideal model

Five years ago the brewery once again relocated, spending the best part of £1m to move to a nine acre site that was the erstwhile home to Symonds Cider at Stoke Lacy in the heart the rolling Herefordshire countryside. And on my recent visit this brewery was very much open for business and on the brink of record output. In fact SIBA’s new leader could be said to have created the ideal business model to inspire today’s fledgling craft brewers.

Following the move, Wye Valley went from brewing 110 barrels a week in a seven day operation to 140 barrels over four days a week. Since then output has grown exponentially and was set to hit the record 340 barrels in the week following my visit in April. Substantial investment has been made, helped by Progressive Beer Duty which came in just after move. It now boasts six fermenting vessels, ranging from 20bl to 80bl – and two more 80bls fvs were due in May.

A new Microdat cask washer has been fitted at a cost of £120,000 that will process 120 barrels per hour and a ‘self emptying’ mash tun has allowed speeded up the brewing process.

This has all been underpinned by strong brand development and a commitment to quality that Peter, his son Vernon - now the managing director who learned his craft with Ken Don at Young’s- and head brewer Jimmy Swan will never compromise on.

Back wearing his SIBA hat Peter is adamant: “Quality is paramount. We have got to assist all brewers to maintain the highest quality product. I only want to see quality cask ale out there.”

He points to the success of his own beers as proof of the pudding. Last year, he proudly states, core brews HPA (4%) and Butty Bach (4.5%) took a raft of awards from the CAMRA West Midlands branch and also claimed a bronze for HPA (Hereford Pale Ale) in SIBA’s own National Beer Competition. Along with Wye Valley Bitter (3.7%), HPA and Butty Bach are the best sellers in the core beer range.

Gorgeous blonde

Another plank of the success story was the introduction of a second strong brand image within the portfolio: enter the delightful Dorothy Goodbody and her delicious selection of ales in cask and bottle including Golden Ale (4.2%), County Ale (6%) and, of course. the award winning Wholesome Stout (4.6%) together with regular special brews. Through an entertaining series of tall stories this rather gorgeous blonde has become a legendary figure, but of course is a totally mythical creation.

The tale began 15 years ago with the launch of Dorothy Goodbody Old Comfort Stout. Peter says: “Dorothy was a complete figment of the imagination when we were looking to launch a stout. But beer is a fun product and we went with it. Today, perhaps showing a bit more leg, she is still with us creating a great talking point.”
Dorothy can be can be found sitting on Sainsbury’s and Tesco’s beer shelves.

These days there’s a five strong sales and deliveries are made to pubs within 60 miles of the brewery while beer also goes out through the SIBA Direct Delivery Scheme and HPA is supplied to Enterprise Inns in the Midlands, South Wales and southern England via Scottish & Newcastle.

Meanwhile, Peter takes a back seat from the brewery. But he enjoys the business so much that he still lives ‘over the shop’ at the Barrels. In the heart of Hereford City, this is a terrific showcase for Wye Valley and guest ales from other independent brewers. Another thriving brewery pub is the Rose & Lion – the ‘Rosie’ at Bromyard.

From the Barrels Peter is working on the next strategic move for SIBA. For him there are three major tenets for the organisation’s work with the membership: help to keep quality high; help them find their markets; help them in accession planning ‘we must ensure that the new breweries will carry on when the founders retire’.

He refutes the criticisms that PBD has harmed the industry by allowing inexperienced brewers to make fast buck and insists it has been used for the right reasons, to help brewers grow their businesses. But, he warns, new brewers have to be nurtured and points to a new training programme being set up with the IBD (Institute of Brewing & Distilling) to help in this area.

“Without a doubt the independents have made the regional brewers wake and brought a new vibrancy back into the market. There’s tremendous enthusiasm out there but it still needs training and guidance and help with business planning. But I believe that by working together and keeping the quality right the cask ale market will grow.”