1985 WHERE THE STORY BEGINS

It all began in the summer of 1985! After brewing for years for Guinness, Wye Valley Brewery founder, Peter Amor decided to branch out on his own. He began brewing from the back of a pub in Canon Pyon in Herefordshire but soon moved to the old stable block of The Barrels in Hereford - Wye Valley Brewery’s very first pub!

1986 Our spiritual home

1997 KEEPING IT IN THE FAMILY

After studying at Young’s brewery in London, Peter’s son, Vernon Amor, joined the brewery to help with the demands of the growing business.

2002 THE BIG MOVE

By 2002, the brewery had well and truly outgrown its stable block at The Barrels and Peter and Vernon were on the look-out for bigger premises. A 9-acre former cider mill in Stoke Lacy was soon to become Wye Valley Brewery’s new home.

2009 BOTTLING IT UP

Installing a bottling line was another huge step for the brewery and definitely one worth celebrating… Following an official opening that was attended by local dignitaries and dedicated Wye Valley Brewery fans, with the bottling line in full swing, the brewery was for the first time able to brew and bottle under one roof.

2013 A brand new brewhouse

In October 2013, work on a brand new Brewhouse was completed. As well as increasing brewing capacity, the state-of-the-art Brewhouse also increased energy efficiency.

20151/2 - SOLAR, SO GOOD!

To add to our already impressive array of solar panels, in November 2015 a bank of panels were installed in one of the fields to the rear of the brewery. These new solar panels are currently producing over 47% of the brewery’s total electricity! Find out more about Wye Valley Brewery’s commitment to reducing our carbon footprint and our ongoing eco-initiatives.

20152/2 - SIBA BEST GREEN BUSINESS AWARD

Over the last decade we have been able to update our Brewhouse and the way the brewery as a whole sources and uses energy, which led to us winning ‘Best Green Business’at the SIBA Business Awards.

20161/2 - PREMIUM PRODUCTS NEED A PREMIUM LOOK

Since 1985 Wye Valley Brewery has consistently brewed beautiful beers… and consistently won awards for them too!  But, in an increasingly competitive industry great beer alone isn’t enough, and we needed a premium brand identity to match our premium product quality.

So, in 2016 we had a complete rebrand with a timeless corporate logo and impactful point of sale items supporting a range of exciting new products.

20162/2 - OUR FIRST EVER LAGER!

As a specialist cask ale brewer of over thirty years, a lager was a natural expansion of our range.

Named after the year Wye Valley Brewery was founded, 1985 is a cool, crisp lager, pale straw in colour with an earthy bitterness that is derived from locally grown Pilot hops.

2017 A BRITISH LAGER GETTING INTERNATIONAL APPLAUSE

Beating hundreds of lagers to win Silver at the International Brewing Awards (the Oscars of the brewing world), 1985, our cool, crisp premium lager is already a real winner!

2018 EXCITING NEW PRODUCTS

From the deliciously refreshing Saison, Faceplant, to the out-of-this world black IPA, Space Hopper, 2018 was a year of exciting product development in keg, cask and bottle. 

This included the holy grail of hoppy ale, Hopfather. This sensational smooth beer sees Mosaic, Summit, Pilot and Azacca hops join forces to provide some seriously hoppy clout.

20191/4 - 1985 wins NATIONAL beer award!

1985, the cool, crisp British craft lager is recognised at the esteemed SIBA National Independent Beer Awards by winning the hugely-competitive Premium Lagers and Pilsners category.

20192/4 - Streamlining our site… and installing a pond!

2019 saw major capital spend with all cask washing, filling, warehouse and loading bays being moved under one roof. This helped bring down our overall on-site vehicle movements by 80%! Further solar PV infrastructure on our roofs have resulted in an extra 65kw of energy. Oh... and we also now have a WVB pond, intended to become a haven for wildlife! 

20193/4 - 1985 wins UK's Best Lager

An excellent year for WVB at the renowned World Beer Awards.1985 picked up country winner in the bottled lager and pilsner category beating the likes of Camden Hells. Here's how we did...

1985 - Country Winner 

Glorious IPA - Gold 

Hopfather - Silver 

20194/4 - 1985 - National Keg Champion

1985 not only retained its status as the UK’s best Premium Lager at the SIBA National Independent Beer Awards 2020, but was also crowned Overall Keg Champion - an astonishing feat!

With an ever-growing list of accolades, our superb lager, 1985, has certainly brought welcome cheer to a challenging year. So, next time you visit your local and see 1985 on tap, why not give it a try?

2022 The new name in British Stout that's on everyone's lips

In 2022, Wholesome Stout experienced a rebrand. It was relaunched as Nightjar on Thursday 22^nd September to 250 publicans at the brewery in Stoke Lacy, Herefordshire. The newly branded keg stout complements the other market leading brands in the Wye Valley Brewery portfolio.

20231/2 - A new bottling and canning line… Our biggest investment yet!

After we installed our first bottling line in 2009, sales of our bottled beers grew and grew... and grew! The bottling line was being pushed to its limits and was time to upgrade. We've always been a brewery that looks ahead, so we turned a big decision about the bottling line into an even bigger one by installing a new packaging line and a new canning line too! This much needed investment will help future-proof our bottling and allow us to produce our first ever canned beers.

20232/2 - Celebrating awards and three generations of Amor

CAMRA West Midlands Beer of the Year Competition is a major beer industry event, so we were over the moon when it was announced that we'd won SEVEN prestigious awards. The CAMRA Awards, known for celebrating the best in beer and brewing, saw us receive accolades across a range of categories.

2024 Commercial Achievement Award

BeerX 2024 saw us take home the prestigious SIBA Commercial Achievement Award, an award that recognises business successes within the industry. Since our beginning in 1985, we have seen impressive growth in production volumes, turnover and profit. Specifically, in the last 10 years we have seen a 78% increase in total beer sales! This continued success is testament to the hard work of the Wye Valley Brewery team in consistently producing the best quality beer and providing exceptional customer service.