The Barrels, Hereford

I first came to this pub at around the turn of the century when the area at the rear was still the brewery but even then they were talking about finding larger premises. After forty years Wye Valley is more of a major regional brewer for Mid Wales & Borders than a micro but their old school beers are still well worth seeking out. This is the obvious place to do that although they do now have six other tied outlets including two others in Hereford. It is a multi-room pub with a central bar. One area has darts and a match was completing on my Monday evening visit. One of the back rooms is taken up by a pool table. The area at the rear where the brewery was now hosts a pleasant outdoor drinking area and there seems to be some sort of function room. They serve six Wye Valley beers and I had a couple of HPAs which were excellent value at just £2.50. Definitely a "must visit" pub in Hereford.

Lovely popular pub with a fantastic buzzing atmosphere and plenty of staff behind the bar to serve from the front and back bars, so although busy, waiting was minimal. It is possible to walk round the pub through various rooms back to the front bar. There is a room on the side with pool table. Outside area fantastic and so difficult to find a seat in any of the areas under cover or outside in the sun. All the beer from Wye Valley, and all the beers tried were excellent.

One of the UK’s must visit pubs of course and tremendously popular with locals and beer tourists alike. A four room layout, one has a pool table the others are fairly similar sitting rooms with a counter in each of the front rooms and a popular patio out back. The front windows are very different with modern scenes in stained glass rather than boring old frosting. National kegs plus a range of Wye Valley beers in excellent condition as you would expect, there may also be occasional guest beers available judging by one of the blackboards above the counter. Not much to say about the décor, a few posters of Herefordshire heroes are well worth perusing otherwise it’s got bog standard pub décor. There’s a fairly comprehensive juke box and a wide mix of clientele, although the oldies stayed inside while the younger ones went outside. It may be heresy but I wouldn’t actually put it that far up the list of must visit pubs in the UK, having said that it’s definitely the best pub in Hereford.