Hereford honours Wye Valley Brewery founder Peter Amor

So joked one of the county’s foremost entrepreneurs on being awarded the Freedom of the City of Hereford at a ceremony in the Town Hall earlier this month.

Wye Valley Brewery founder Peter Amor was recognised for his “distinguished service to the city’s economy, the brewing industry both locally and nationally, and his significant contribution to local charities for many years”, the city council’s citation read.

RELATED NEWS:

• Herefordshire pub named in 2024 Good Food Guide 100 best
• Inn at Bromyard pub licence suspended after disorder
• New car park brings Herefordshire pub reopening closer

Mr Amor learned his trade at Guiness and Bulmers before starting his own brewery at the Nag’s Head in Canon Pyon in 1985, relocating to the Barrels in Hereford two years later.

When the business outgrew that, he moved brewing to the former Symonds Cider site at Stoke Lacy in 2002, while keeping the 18th century city pub going to this day.

“It took off from there,” he said. “With the help of my son Vernon it has become a reasonable-sized business that now employs 74 people.”

Peter Amor at Hereford Town Hall with county dignitaries including Mayor Kevin Tillett and High Sheriff of Herefordshire Patricia Churchward (Image: Facebook / High Sheriff of Herefordshire)

But the firm has not pursued growth at all costs, he added. “The emphasis has always been on quality and consistency, which are hugely important but not easy to achieve.”

Despite the plant now producing around a thousand barrels a week, “We only deliver within a 50-mile radius, so we can look after it,” he said.

The fame of Herefordshire’s cider can obscure the fact that it is also England’s biggest producer of hops, and Wye Valley continues to source most of those it uses from within ten miles of the brewery.

OTHER NEWS:

• Where most complaints are made against councillors in Herefordshire
• Work starts on Hereford centre to catch diseases early
• Shoe Zone can move into two shops in Hereford's High Town

“I have always been fond of proper cask ale,” Mr Amor explained. “That led to a festival (Oktoberfest) which we have run every year since 1988, all for charitable reasons.”

The company’s support for good causes was among the reasons the city’s council gave for making the award.

“We also run a weekly quiz for charity at the Barrels, as well as a bonus ball and Sunday raffle,” he added.

“Over the years we have probably raised about three-quarters of a million pounds in all.”