The judges commented that the initiatives undertaken by this relatively small sized brewer were tremendously impressive and they were unanimous in presenting the award to Wye Valley
Wye Valley Brewery, Stoke Lacy, Hereford, UK, has won the £500 Oxoid Judges' Special Award for the improvements it has made to its beer quality and brewery hygiene.
Jimmy Swan and his team at the brewery have not only improved systems internally but have also involved customers in quality initiatives.
The team received enthusiast support and praise from customers for its trade quality monitoring and cellar management programmes.
In the trade quality monitoring programme, Wye Valley asked customers to provide feedback on clarity, condition, aroma and flavour of casks received, scoring the product from 0-4 on simple questionnaires.
The results of this ongoing programme are then monitored by the brewery.
"The feedback is invaluable" says Jimmy Swan, "we are keen to rectify any problems experienced by our customers and are obviously delighted to receive positive scores".
David Long, director of the British Beer and Pub Association and one of the award judges, commented: "We were impressed by Wye Valley's determination to learn from customers via the trade quality monitoring programme.
"Its cellar management programme allows it to share knowledge that leads to a better product being delivered at point of consumption - this is something that is normally out of the brewer's control but, keen to maintain the reputation of its beers, Wye Valley has gone that extra mile in providing customers with practical information and training to allow products to be delivered in a consistent and good manner".
The satisfaction of Wye Valley's customers was also evident in its entry, with one customer describing the cellar management course as "extremely informative and well organised".
