Lovely, thanks for that!
I did say we struggled in the replay and yes ā¦ recall being 1 down (fairly late on wasnāt it ?)
Hereford shire is firmly mid-table for me, with 33 rates (25 of which are ciders) - as usual, not enough to get me into the top 50 raters of the county.
My top 5 rates are as follows:
Brook Farm Perry - Medium 3.9
Snails Bank Rhubarb 3.7
Henneyās Frome Valley Herefordshire Dry Cider (Bottle) 3.6
Wye Valley HPA 3.5
Woodredding Perry (Medium) 3.4
Iāve rated drinks from 13 producers (9 cideries, 4 breweries) of which Iāve rated Westons most (11 rates). Wish it was easier to see all the breweries, cideries and meaderies for an area in one placeā¦
Iāve rated two places - both shops - of which The Hop Pocket was the best.
The only time I stayed in Herefordshire it was oddly in a Welsh town - technically on the outskirts of lovely Hay-on-Wye, but actually just across the borderand into England. Each time we went to the pubs of Hay we crossed the border - I can imagine thatās been an awkward house to live in during the pandemic!
The highest point in Herefordshire is the Black Mountain, right on the Welsh border. WHilst climbing it we also walked over a hill with the splendid name of āLord Herefordās Knobā. Due to an unfortunate heatstroke incident I can now proudly say that I threw up on Lord Herefordās Knob!
Thatās about all Iāve got to say about Herefordshire - itās a county Iāve driven through but sadly not really explored enough.
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Just the solitary 1 RB rate for Herefordshire for me, Wye Valley HPA (which is seen frequently in pubs round by me - when theyāre actually open!). Despite its proximity to Shropshire, itās not a county Iām very familiar with - have travelled through many times, but the only visit I can recall was a CAMRA trip to Leominster many years ago. Itās a beautiful county and another on the list of places to visit when that kind of thing is allowed again - am thinking a trip to Hereford is in order, maybe a weekend away with she who must be obeyed
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Rather like the Smithās of Tadcaster on our previous thread the 2 longest established Cideries in Herefordshire have taken two very different routes. Up until the 19th Century Herefordshire Cider making was principally produced on a small scale by individual farms for the farm workers, the county being particularly agricultural in nature.
In 1880 Henry Weston established H.Weston & Sons Ltd and built up cider making to a larger scale. Based in Much Marcle throughout the company remains family owned, currently by the 4th generation of ownership. They maintain their own fruit orchards, 43 acres of trees within Herefordshire plus they source fruit from growers within the county and neighbouring counties. Their current business is driven by well known brands like Henry Westons, Stowford Press and Old Rosie.
H.P Bulmer was founded in Hereford in 1887 by Henry Percival Bulmer, the son of a Clergyman, using apples from his fathers rectory and an old stone press. Shortly after he was joined by his brother and they set up a larger press and bought their own orchard. At this time cider production relied on wild yeast within the harvested apples to ferment the fruit which was largely unpredictable. The Bulmer brothers and a college friend isolated a wild yeast and created a pure cider yeast, starting commercial cider production from which all others followed.
Bulmers bought the Strongbow brand in 1960. In 1970 they offered shares on the London Stock Exchange at which point they were the worlds largest cider maker. In 2003 Bulmers was bought by Scottish and Newcastle and subsequently followed the fate of John Smithās from last week, eventually landing in the laps of Heineken UK. From thereon Bulmerās became little more than a brand name with a worldwide recognition. The original site in Hereford is now the Hereford Cider Museum and the main cider plant in Plough Lane is Heineken UK headquarters.
Despite the relative size of these 2 Cideries the future now appears to be shifting towards the smaller artisan cider and perry producers in the county. Markets have opened up for producers like Oliverās Cider, Ross on Wye Cider & Perry, Little Pomona and many more. Quality and niche market products are being sought out as consumers move away from ciders where as little as 36% Apple juice content can be used. We might expect the big boys to perhaps buy up craft producers, as has happened within the beer market, in the near future, but for now craft cider is on the up.
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Herefordshire is cider country for me and I have never returned to cider drinking since my adolescent misadventures!
Beer wise I am like many others --just the few (9) and most of them Odyssey so I believe these will move to Worcestershire! But equally, I agree with everyone who has commended the beauty of the county itself. It will be among the places I visit again when this madness has abated. Meanwhile I have the singular experience of an Italian Christmas within a teetotal household. I may indulge in a solitary bottle later but no seasonal tasting. I wish my Ratebeer colleagues a very Merry Christmas.
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Fear not. Postcodes and postal addresses are purely for the benefit of the post office and do not respect county boundaries. Odyssey are not a Worcestershire brewery.
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So sorry to hear that, you are putting a brave face on it 
Well, thatās a relief.
Only 10 Herefordshire beers in total. My 41st highest total for English Counties (or my 6th lowest total for English Counties). Just 4 Breweries:-
Wye Valley 6
Odyssey 2
Hereford and Ledbury 1 each
Highest score was Odyssey After Supper which was my only beer in the RB top thirty for Herefordshire.
Sad stat, although I have got 5 English Counties for which the stats are even sadder. But probably not going to improve much any time soon.
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A got a couple of beers as a work present and it was kind of cool to open the first one and findā¦ Butty Bach. I rated it in 2013, and I probably wonāt feel quite as inclined to it as I did then (a generous 3.4). But looking forward to having it tonight.
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Butty Bach is a good fall back beer when there is nothing new to try, it gets into lots of pubs round this way and is generally pretty drinkable.
Change my stats moved into the top 50 with 46 rates! All ciders and no knew beer ratesā¦LOL
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Wow, second highest Herefordshire rater. That is actually a surprise. Iāve never kept an eye on these county leaderboards. I just assumed I was destined to remain second highest Shropshire rater, and barely scrape the top-50 of every other county. Well done me.
Like others have pointed out Herefordshire is known for cider, although it seems very few people within the county drink it. There are no places known for a huge range of cider. Those that have a passion for it, and have attempted a good range (Hereford Beer House) have slowly whittled down their tap list and bottle selection. That said, the county is home to some of the finest cider makers in the land - indeed the world - with newcomers emerging all the time. Ed mentioned one Iām unaware of and Bartestree are ones to watchā¦ plus there are plenty of small cider makers such as Old Fekkahs and who do wondrously fruity stuff and the odd one or two who resurface every few years in local delis.
Herefordshire - and in fact all the counties that border Wales - are blessed with incredibly scenic views, thanks to the hills and valleys that run through. Anyone that wants to escape to a hidden part of England full of charm and character, I can recommend cycling in the North of the county, through the Earl of Mortimer estate out into Brampton Ryan and Leintwardine, home to one of the last true parlour pubs in the country The Sun Inn (added to this site by none other than beer writer Tim Webb https://www.ratebeer.com/p/sun-inn-leintwardine-hobsons/25244/ ). Step in through the front and sip a pint of Hobsons in the front room, and itās like winding back the clock 100 years.
As for my ratings, I think I was feeling quite generous back in 2013, giving Henneys Exhibition 4.7. It is a nice cider, though I think my palate has developed a bit since then. I tend to hold Olivers in high regard, and Tomās farm is well worth a visit. Heās often there. In fact, a tour of the many cider producers in Summertime is recommended, there are plenty, often with a small shop and the cider museum in Hereford (Bulmers original factory) is very informative, also with a well-stocked shop.
Itās not all about cider though. I think my highest rated brewery is Odyssey. Very good brewery, borne out of the Beer in Hand micropub, but now owned by people unconnected to the brewery. You can still get fresh Odyssey on draft there though.
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Hey what county will Glens random county generator select today. Hey Glen is your random county generator just like Premium Bonds and Ernie?
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Very similar Fin, my computer grinds away and out spews our next place to visit. Just posted by the way 
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Incidentally, although it is not particularly well advertised the cider museum in Hereford does actually stock 150+ different bottles, which I imagine puts it at one of the best ranges in the country.
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Weāve driven through Herefordshire but not actually stayed there for a break, neither have we stopped for a beer in Herefordshire. The Herefordshire rates, and the fact Iām listed 14th in Herefordshire is mainly down to visiting neighbouring Shropshire on many occasions (my wife is from Shrewsbury).
Apart from Odyssey, most of my ratings are for cider which is hardly surprising, I suppose.
Will visit, one day!
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Another county Iāve never visited, but 86 rates puts me in a respectable 27th place, and itās my 27th most-rated county.
It was a surprise to me that only 30 were actually beers ā 24 from Odyssey, 3 from Wye Valley and 3 from the now closed Golden Valley.
Top beers - Odyssey Crema (3.9) via @Stuu666 and Odyssey Light Trails (3.8) at Brewdog Lothian Road.
Outside of supermarket bought ciders, 5 Ross-On-Wye were ticked at the wonderful Free Trade Inn, Newcastle when they were having a little cider festival in September last year.
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