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Ale's well that ends well as British breweries make a comeback
Good news has been thin on the ground in recent months.
However, according to figures released today, it seems one industry is booming in the recession. Despite a slump in beer sales and the closure of 50 pubs a week, research by the Campaign for Real Ale shows the UK has more breweries than at any time since the Second World War.
In the last year, 71 new breweries have started production, taking the nationwide total to 711 and the real ale revival has been particularly felt in Yorkshire.
According to Camra, which publishes its Good Beer Guide today, West Yorkshire now boasts 34 operations – the most of any county – and with North Yorkshire close behind on 28, the rapid growth of recent years shows no sign of slowing.
"For the first time since the 19th century, Britain is the undisputed top brewing country in the world," says Roger Protz, editor of the guide. "It has more small craft breweries per head of population than all other major industrialised countries; but it also offers tremendous choice.
"While most other countries offer mainly mainstream lagers, Britain has enormous diversity – milds, bitters, strong ales, porters, stouts, barley wines, old ales, Christmas ales, spring beers, golden ales and harvest ales to name just a few. Some craft brewers are even producing lagers in the true Continental style.
"This rebirth of British brewing is due to the pioneering work of Camra – there are now more than twice as many breweries in Britain than when the campaign was launched in 1971 – and to the enthusiasm and innovation of independent brewers.
"This year's guide includes 25 new breweries that will come on stream later this year and in 2010. It's a major success story, and there's more to come."
No one is quite sure the reason behind Yorkshire's continued love affair with real ale, but Mick Moss, Yorkshire's regional director for Camra, believes the downturn in the rest of the economy may have actually contributed to the boom.
"It's been a trend which has been growing over the last few years," he says. "Yorkshire has always been fond of its beer and I think possibly that people who have found themselves with an unexpected windfall due to redundancy have taken the opportunity to fulfil their dream of starting their own brewery.
"There has also been a change in people's tastes. With more people drinking decent bottles of wine at home, when they go out to a pub they want something more interesting than the usual bland lagers they might have drunk in the past. Our national palate has definitely become more experimental than it was, say, 10 or 15 years ago."
A dark shadow has been cast over one important chapter in the county's brewing history.
Towards the end of last year, Carlsberg UK announced plans to close the Tetley brewery in Leeds. The likes of Camra have been desperately campaigning in an attempt to reverse the decision or at the very least ensure brewing continues on the site in Hunslet, and today's figures are welcome news.
"While the closure of Tetley has been bad news, you often find that when a big brewery closes you get a lot of smaller operations springing up," says Mick.
"You probably need to an initial investment of between 5,000 and 10,000 to start a microbrewery producing 10 nine gallon barrels a week.
"The difficult bit has always been finding someone to sell the beer your make. National pub chains tend to stick to the suppliers they know and are only interested in large-scale operations. However, in Yorkshire we are blessed with a lot of freehouses who have been incredibly supportive of microbrewers and that has made a massive difference."
From the Copper Dragon Brewery in Skipton to the Abbeydale Brewery in Sheffield and E&S in Elland, the county's microbrewers are also confident the renewed interest in real ale will be much more than a passing fad.
"It's a good time to be involved in real ale in Yorkshire," says Mick. "Kelham Island Tavern in Sheffield is Camra's national pub of the year, Rudgate Ruby Mild, brewed near Tockwith is the Champion Beer of Britain and Guiseley Factory Workers' Club is Camra Club of the Year. It's definitely something worth raising a glass of something
cold to."
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Saturday 26 May 2012
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