British breweries swell to 767
There are now 767 breweries operating in Britain, seven times as many as when the Campaign for Real Ale (Camra) was founded in 1971, according to its Good Beer Guide 2011.
The guide reported that 78 new breweries had opened in the past year - a net increase of 56 once closures were allowed for.
Good Beer Guide editor Roger Protz says: "The real ale revolution goes on in spite of all the problems facing the brewing industry, such as the often anti-competitive behaviour of the large pub companies, the heavy and continuing rise in tax on beer, grossly unfair competition from supermarkets, and the smoking ban in pubs. Yet, against all the odds, craft breweries continue to sprout like mushrooms at dawn."
"The main reason is a simple one: craft brewers are responding to genuine consumer demand. Beer in pubs may be expensive compared with cheap supermarkets but drinkers are prepared to pay a bit extra for beer with taste and quality. Real ale hits the spot in every way: it has flavour and is made from pure, natural ingredients that are grown mainly here in Britain. More and more people want to think local and drink local and real ale meets that demand."
The guide highlights just a few of the successful breweries, including Castle Rock Brewery in Nottingham, which won the Champion Beer of Britain award in August for its Harvest Pale, as well as Dark Star in Sussex, which is now producing 20,000 barrels a year, and Meantime Brewery in London, which has opened a new main brewery near Blackwall Tunnel as well as a micro-plant in the Old Naval College in Greenwich, close to the Cutty Sark.
St Austell Brewery buys four Punch Taverns pubs >>
Restaurant with micro-brewery to open in Greenwich >>
By Neil Gerrard
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