Beer On The Wye

Believe it or not, I haven't attended any beer festivals thus far in 2024, an oversight I'm sure you will agree needs correcting as a matter of urgency! To that end, let's try a highly regarded CAMRA event that I've never been to before - Beer on the Wye in the cathedral city of Hereford...

- Luna and the Moon -

Before we get down to beer festival business, I have more Birmingham Bear Hunt activity to report. Quite how I didn't spot 'Luna and the Moon' last Saturday is anyone's guess, given that she's prominently perched on the Grand Central mall levels in full view of New Street Station's main passenger concourse. Having admonished myself for such errant powers of observation, I can add an eighth sculpture from this summer collection. Marnie Maurri's design presents a midnight blue effect with golden strands of stars and a lot of red toadstools.

- Hereford Station -

Catching the 09:50 departure as planned, I arrive in Hereford below leaden skies at about quarter past eleven. The city's railway station has four main platforms with the Birmingham train terminating on number one; the central footbridge is a nice design feature and there is much netting attempting to deter pesky pigeons. The attractive station frontage has a Tudor feel to it but with Gothic elements and large gables. Outside, the Zipper free bus is loading passengers before the 33 to Ross on Wye parks up in bright orange Stagecoach livery.

- Edgar Street Construction Works -

I can literally count the amount of times I've been to Hereford on the fingers of one hand, but a recurring thread among my rare previous visits has been having a snoop around Edgar Street. Hereford FC's home ground is an atmospheric stadium with old fashioned turnstiles plus a bar named after the legendary Ronnie Radford. The presence of JCB diggers suggests that some improvement works are underway following the demolition of the Blackfriars End which used to house the away supporters. 

- Welcome to Beer on the Wye -

To the festival I now trot, seeking out Greyfriars Avenue from where Beer on the Wye can be accessed on the riverbank beside Hereford Rowing Club. An adjacent campsite is on hand for those intending to make a weekend of it, and why not with over 130 ales and a similar amount of ciders all waiting to be tasted. The entry package is £15 and CAMRA members such as myself are admitted from 12 midday onwards during the Friday afternoon session. 

- A Headless Chicken perchance? -

Getting my bearings as regards the main marquee, performance stage and outside seating zones, I get stuck into the extensive beer list. First up is Hop Shed's Headless Chicken (not that I resembled one trying to find my way around) for a hoppy hit that is apparently brewed in an old chicken shed somewhere in Suckley. The festival naturally showcases Herefordshire's finest breweries so I also account for Lucky 7's Beertrix Porter, a divine drop of the dark stuff which presumably is approved by Peter Rabbit, Jemima Puddleduck, Miss Tiggywinkle et al. 

- Inside the main marquee -

Another top Herefordshire tipple is Corn Brewery's Irish Boy Stout, the festival programme noting this to specifically be the Mocha edition, and very nice it is too. I'm always a sucker for a silly name so the Triple FFF Pressed Rat and Warthog is an essential sampling, the tasting notes commenting that "one can only hope that neither the rat nor the warthog were harmed in the brewing process". I purchase enough extra tokens to allow a cider and perry interlude, thus partaking of Innocent Pilgrim's Pimpernel Perry (gorgeous stuff) and Newton Court's Gasping Goose, which doesn't quite leave me struggling for breath but is a cracking cider.

- Holy Moly at the Orange Tree -

A happy few hours are spent in friendly company alongside the Wye and it's something of a wrench to reluctantly bid the festival farewell. The prospect of leaving is softened however by the fact I'll be checking out two of Hereford's finest taverns, starting with the Orange Tree on King Street (noting a lovely streetscape with views of the cathedral). A cheese and onion cob is a standard purchase whenever I'm in a Black Country Ales establishment so this one lives very much up to my lofty expectations, as does the Wilde Child Holy Moly chocolate doughnut stout in maintaining the quality I'd been savouring earlier. Add in a 1960s soundtrack featuring the Byrds and Dusty Springfield and you really can't go wrong!

- The Britannia -

My second Hereford pub pick is the Britannia on Cotterell Street, slightly out of the centre but as a Wye Valley tied house I needed to investigate (partly because I'd been so beguiled by the Vaga Tavern during the Chip Foundation's Hereford Happenings of 2019). My navigation skills don't let me down and soon enough I'm contentedly quaffing an excellent pint of Bitter amidst traditional surroundings. The Wimbledon tennis is on while the banter is flowing and the barfly discussion focuses on England's chances of Euro 2024 glory against Spain - come on lads! With that I hotfoot it back to the station for the 18:28 Shrewsbury train, my beer festival duck for the year well and truly broken. Cheers!