Raising a glass to micro-breweries(1)
By Rob Davies and Ben Laurance
Cheers: In the past decade the number of small breweries in Britain has more than doubled
There is an oft-repeated lament that Britain doesn’t make anything any more.
Once proud shipyards stand empty, the steel furnaces have gone cold, and even Terry’s Chocolate Oranges are made in Poland now.
Yet while China churns out cheap T-shirts by the ton, the stout craftsmen of this sceptred isle still make a bottle of ale to match any in the world.
In the era of giant multi-national brewing concerns such as SAB Miller and Anheuser-Busch InBev, the nation’s ‘micro-breweries’ have nonetheless enjoyed something of a renaissance.
Since Gordon Brown cut duty for small producers in 2002, the number of breweries in Britain has more than doubled.
Even before then, there was some evidence that the tide had turned for small brewers.
Most of the 20th century saw an unrelenting trend towards fewer, larger brewing combines: in 1930, the UK had more than 1,400 breweries; by 1980, there were just 181.
The following two decades witnessed the emergence of some small independent outfits and, by 2002, the year of the duty change, there were just over 400.
But Brown’s fiscal tweak has helped propel that total to more than 800 and some industry observers predict this year could see the opening of a further 50 micro-breweries.
Adnams, with its 70 pubs, is one of those punching above its weight from a base in Southwold, Suffolk.
Jonathan Adnams, a trained brewing engineer, layers modern technology over deep roots in the ale-making traditions of rural England.
The family’s brewing history goes back to the 1600s, while Southwold has been a centre of ale manufacturing for some 700 years.
Even Adnams’ popular Broadside beer takes its name from the Battle of Sole Bay in 1672, when the British navy fought a bloody naval skirmish with the Dutch.
Modern-day Adnams turns over about £50m a year, but has had to show considerable dexterity to make a name for itself in an industry dominated by brand powerhouses.
Alongside its 70 pubs and six hotels, Adnams has in the past decade opened 14 Cellar & Kitchen stores, where customers can enjoy tasting sessions to test the firm’s newest inventions.
