London Pubs - A Booze-Up in Borough

.

.
The area around Borough at Southwark is one of my favourite parts of London. The reasons for this are many and varied. It's not just because it has one of the finest and tastiest food markets in the world, or because it's one of the oldest parts of London and so important in the Capital's social and literary history but also because it's home to a great choice of lovely pubs that are 'must visits' on any trip to London.


I like Borough and Southwark pubs because they offer up a merry marriage of modernity and tradition - some of the pubs look to their historic past, while the others are looking firmly to the future.


Hops play an important part in the trading history of this part of London. They were brought up from Kent in vast quantities to be bought and sold at market here and in 1866 a Hop Exchange was built to facilitate this trade.


Unfortunately, no hops are traded today but the product of the hops, beer, can still be bought in some stunning pubs in the area. I wanted to get a flavour of what was on offer in these pubs. So I planned on visiting a few of them to dip a beery toe into the Borough boozers and, hopefully, have a satisfying Southwark session.


Over the course of the day, I would visit five pubs in the area - The Rake, The Market Porter, The George, The Royal Oak and Dean Swift at Tower Bridge - and drink some lovely beers that showcased some of the best from a resurgent London beer scene.

My first stop was The Rake at the edge of Borough Market. In a few short years, it has established itself as one of the finest purveyors of quality beers from London and beyond. It is a beer drinker's Mecca and the beating heart of the London 'craft' beer scene. To say this place is revered by drinkers and brewers alike is not an understatement. One of the inner walls of the pub has the signatures and comments from some of the globe's finest brewers and it is a testamant to the esteem and regard that the pub is held by the international brewing community.

Much of the credit and plaudits for this has to go to Glyn, The Rake's Manager. His energy, passion and commitment to the beer cause has him working tirelessly to keep The Rake and the London beer scene fresh, lively and interesting. Every revolution needs a vanguard and Glyn is very much at the forefront of the Capital's beer revolution.


I landed at The Rake in the middle of their London Beer Week and was blown away by the depth and range of the beers available. Glyn's London Beer Week is a fantastic idea and a great way of introducing drinkers to the excellent variety of London Breweries and beers available. The format was simple but must have been devilish to organise. Each night had a meet the brewer event and involved were brewers from the likes of Kernel, Camden Town, Redemption and Meantime.

London Beer Week at The Rake

The beers available during the London Beer Week were superb too. A dozen London breweries were involved including Kernel, Brodies, Windsor and Eton, Sambrooks and Zero Degrees. I have to admit that I stayed longer than I intended and even revisited The Rake the following day for some more lovely, refreshing London beers which included some rare beasts indeed - Cask versions of The Kernel's Export Stout and their Black IPA, which is a Kernel and Bar Manager Glyn collaboration. Both were stunning.


The Rake seems unstoppable in their quest to bring the best beers to London's drinkers. Look out for their Cumbrian Beer Festival during the weekend of the Royal Wedding where some of the best examples of that part of England's beer offerings, including beers from the excellent Hawkshead Brewery.




Pump Clips at The Market Porter



After The Rake, I headed the short distance to The Market Porter. It's seen by some as a Borough Institution and I can, partly, see why some drinkers think so. It is a nice, homely pub to have a pint in, and the hundreds of pumpclips that adorn the walls and ceilings certainly attract and interest the eye but I always find the Real Ale range available when I've been in a wee bit boring and not very exciting. It's all a bit middle of the road for me - some Wychwood here, a splash of Jenning's there. At least they have Harvey's Best Bitter as a regular as well as Brewdog and Meantime on Keg. However, when I was in two of the three Meantime beers weren't available.

The Market Porter

It's not the first time I've left The Market Porter feeling a wee bit disappointed. It's a lovely pub but I feel that the beer range could be a bit more challenging and diverse.


Next on the list was a visit to one of London's oldest pubs and the last remaining 16th Century galleried coaching Inn, The George. It was rebuilt in 1676 after a fire swept through Southwark and it is drenched in history. Dicken's immortalised it in Little Dorritt and it's cobbled courtyard may even have played host to some of Shakespeare's plays as he watched from the gallery above. It is on the list of Camra's national inventory of pubs with historic interest and thankfully it's now in the safe hands of the National Trust. Sitting in the courtyard, with a beer in hand as the sun streams down is a lovely way to spend an hour. It is simply a beautiful pub. The choice of beers are mostly from the Greene King stable with one or two guest beers that tend not to push the boundaries.

Three down and two to go. Next up is a favourite of mine. Not just because it is a lovely looking pub but also because it happens to serve a great range of Sussex Brewery Harvey's, particularly one of my favourite low ABV beers, their 3% Sussex Mild. This Harvey's owned pub, The Royal Oak, dates back to 1870 but the location goes back even further to when it was The Tabard Inn, which was where Chaucer's Pilgrims set off in The Canterbury Tales.

The Royal Oak

It is a cosy and welcoming pub with two bars divided by stained glass and carved oak and since Harvey's acquired it in 1997 it has built up a reputation and regular clientele attracted to the tasty, well kept beer and lovely inexpensive food. The Sussex Mild was on top form, as was the Harvey's Pale Ale. You can see why so many drinkers source it out and tick it off on any beer visits to London. It's reputation is well deserved.


From a couple of old historic Southwark pubs to a relatively new kid on the block a short walk away at Tower Bridge is where I finish my journey, Dean Swift SE1. It has recently opened and is proving to be a big success with those into hip hops in London. In former lives it was an Aussie themed pub as well as a stripclub but the only Trashy Blondes you will see now come from the BrewDog font in the corner.

 It has a great range of  bottles including some Kernel Stouts, Porters and IPA's, Sierra Nevada Torpedo as well as Anchor, Flying Dog and Odell. It also has four cask beers which were Redemption Hopspur, Dark Star Hophead and Oakham Citra and JHB when I visited. I was in around teatime on a Tuesday and it was full of confident, strident, stripey suited young (and not so young) thrusters from businessland nearby. Don't let that put you off though. I'm assured that they drift off after a post work pint and head back into the 'burbs to be replaced with a better class of hophead.

Dean Swift, SE1

I had a quick chat with Manager, Max and his beery knowledge was impressive and he seems very keen to bring great beer to his thirsty and appreciative clientele. The purists will say that Dean Swift is a gastro-pub but what's wrong with an establishment that sells not only quality, tasty well made beer but also quality, tasty well made food. There's nothing wrong with that in my book and beer goes great with food, so what's the problem?  Food and Beer matching is the new the garlic bread, I tell you, and judging from the amount of people having bottles of Kernel while tucking into their food, it's clearly a strategy that works for Dean Swift.


Finishing my beer, I move outside and reflect on my Borough booze up. I've had some lovely beers made by some great breweries in attractive, historic and welcoming pubs.


 Time for one last beer, I decide, so I make my way back to where I started, The Rake.


 Back to the future of beer.














for other beer monkey blogs on london pubs see here and here
.

A Right Royal Knees Up?

.

.
At the end of the month, hundreds and thousands of people from all over the country will come together to celebrate the marriage of some of the most distinguished examples of ancestry, tradition and cultivation.

Some will have travelled hundreds of miles to witness and celebrate the happy event, while others will be taking the day off work to indulge and immerse themselves fully in the festivities.


I am, of course, talking about the 24th Paisley Beer Festival.


The four day festival, run by Renfrewshire Camra, is widely regarded as one of the biggest and best events in the Scottish Beer calendar and takes place this year from Wednesday 27th April through to Saturday 30th in Paisley Town Hall.


Over 170 Cask beers from all across the UK will be available over the course of the four days. Scottish beer will be well represented, especially Renfrewshire breweries, Kelburn and Houston and the English Bar will feature cracking beer from some of the finest breweries in North East England and Greater Manchester. There will also be a range of Ciders, Perries and Foreign Beers available.


And to soak up all that lovely beer, there will be some delicious German sausages available, which should keep the Windsor's and Wales' very happy.


Last year, a record 20,000 pints were poured for thirsty drinkers and it is expected that this figure will be broken as this year's festival falls on the day of the Royal Wedding and at the beginning of the first May Bank holiday.


I reckon that it will be incredibly busy on the Friday but if you are looking for a perfect antidote to, and an escape from, the sychophantic wall to wall saturation media coverage of the Royal Wedding then get yourself down to Paisley Town Hall on the Friday and have a right royal knees up that's fit for a King.



Update: You can view the complete beer list here

.

Station to Station - A Day in the Life of Edinburgh Beer

.

.
I've had mixed beer fortunes in Edinburgh. In the many times that I've been across in Scotland's capital city, I've enjoyed some cracking pints in some lovely pubs. Alas, I've also witnessed in the last couple of times I've been through a limited range of, mostly Caledonian beers. Admittedly my last visit was a flying one restricted to a couple of pubs and I probably never got a true flavour of the depth and range of the beers available in Edinburgh.


So, with that in mind, I decided to have another trip through and see if I could get a more representative picture of Auld Reekie's beer scene.

The plan was simple. Jump off the train at Haymarket Station and make my way to Waverley Station stopping off at a few pubs en route.  Hopefully, I would be tasting some lovely beers along the way and having a smashing day out in the process.


A short walk from Haymarket takes us to Thomson's. This gorgeous wood panelled pub is dedicated to the style of Glasgow Architect Alexander 'Greek' Thomson and it's gorgeous interior was matched by a superb selection of beers which included Dark Star Hophead, Fyne Ales Jarl, Acorn Barnsley Bitter, Hopback Summer Lightning and Harviestoun's Bitter and Twisted. I rubbed my hands with beery glee when my eyes first caught sight of the beer board.

This was the perfect start to the day and I opted for a pint of the delicious Hophead. This is a beer that I have had many times and it's always delivered and never disappointed. Today was no different. It was a hoprocket of glorious light, floral hoppy thrills that slid down my throat effortlessly.


The initial intention was to just have one in each pub visited and swiftly move on but with a beer board so good, temptation got the better and we decided to stay for another. Fyne Ales Jarl this time and again, the beer was beautifully conditioned and gloriously tasty. I've written a bit about Jarl in previous blogs and, not wanting to labour the point and repeat myself, all I will say is that it is one of the finest session beers available in the UK at the moment.

Next up on our Station to Station walkabout was Cloisters on Brougham St. It had a wide range of Scottish beers available from breweries such as Cairngorm, Highland, Houston, Kelso, Isle of Arran and Edinburgh's own Stewart's Brewing Co. I opted for a beer from the best brewery in Orkney, Swannay's Highland Brewery, the Scapa Special.

The Scapa Special is a golden, amber beer that contains hops from the U.S., Germany, New Zealand and Slovakia as well as Maris Otter Pale malts. It is an easy drinking beer that has some breadiness on the nose and pleasant citrus fruit hoppiness in the mouth and ends with some bitterness in a slightly dry, hoppy finish.


The gorgeous aroma of fresh tartare sauce and just squeezed lemon juice as the people in the table opposite were tucking into their beer battered fish and chips suddenly made us very hungry. We had to have what they were having. So two fish and chips swiftly ordered and promptly despatched into our eager stomachs, we set off into the Edinburgh lunchtime sun to find our third pub. It had been very good so far. Two pubs, three excellent, lovely beers and some gorgeous pub grub.

The Blue Blazer, in the shadow of Edinburgh castle was next to be ticked off our list. It didn't have the most exciting beer selection of the day - Stewart's 80-, Pentland IPA, Houston Killellan, Dark Island and Cairngorm Trade Winds. However, as I was through in Edinburgh, I thought that it would be rude not to have at least one local beer during our visit. I went for the Stewart's Pentland IPA and it was decent enough. It had some hops on the nose and light fruitiness in the taste but I was expecting more hoppiness from an IPA. It was a perfectly drinkable low ABV session beer and given the amount of times it was being ordered, it's clearly very popular.

Onwards and upwards, we left the Blue Blazer and made our way to one of by favourite Edinburgh pubs, The Bow Bar. It is a small, intimate one room pub that has a homely, lived in feel to it. I scanned the beer board and my eyes were immediately drawn to a beer from a brewery that is being talked of in positive tones quite a bit these days. The brewery is Summer Wine Brewery and recently I've been lucky enough to taste some of their excellent beers, most notably their Resistance Mild and Barista Espresso Stout. So when my eyes caught glimpse of the words 'Summer Wine Apache' there was only one beer that I wanted to taste.

I'm glad that I did. It was lovely. It tastes like an All-American hop heavyweight. It is punchy and packed with marvellous melon and grapefruit flavour and a dry finish that doesn't just linger. Instead it loiters with seriously citrussy bitter intent. It is a cracking brew and drinks too easily for a beer with a pugilistic power rating of 5.4% ABV. Another Knock-Out Summer Wine offering.


Seconds Out. Round 5.

Our fifth pub is a new addition to Edinburgh's drinking scene and one that has no doubt been welcomed with baited breath and open arms by some beer drinkers. BrewDog's second pub venture has just opened on Edinburgh's Cowgate and as we sauntered down the hill, I have to admit that I was quite looking forward to it. They have been pushing beer boundaries and people's buttons since they began less than a handful of years ago. More importantly though, they make some excellent beers.


The bar itself has a cold, stark and industrial feel to it. Grey sheet metal, exposed pipes and brick work are the order of the day here and the furniture appear to have been lifted straight from peoples front rooms or, more likely, charity shops. I liked how it looked and felt. It is a good place to have a beer. And of that, there were many.

Beers from here, there and everywhere. Kegs from Denmark, The U.S. Bottles from some of the finest exponents of 'Craft' beer from all over the world, such as, Alesmith, Nogne, Great Divide, Mikkeller, Lost Abbey, The Bruery and Kernel.


They even had U.K. cask on which surprised me. So, that's what I had first. I opted for a Cask Camden Town Pale Ale. It is a lovely refreshing hoppy beer but was served slighty too cold but I put this down to opening week teething problems. It's a forgiveable mistake. I understand that BrewDog intend to carry some UK cask offerings from different breweries in their bars which is a welcome and inclusive step and will give drinkers an opportunity to see which breweries BrewDog consider to be fellow travellers in their 'Craft Beer Revolution'.

The selection and variety available was a beer drinkers dream and now that we had arrived, we felt it would be stupid not to stay and sample some rare beery delights. So we did. Much, much longer than we anticipated or planned. The beers flowed and the tastings grew and we had a great time. It's easy to be distracted by the choice available and I found myself changing my mind constantly about what to have next.


Keg Punk Monk followed the Camden Pale. Punk Monk is BrewDog's Punk IPA using a Belgian yeast and on keg it was sharper and crisper than I remember from the bottle. Next up was a BrewDog newbie called, provisionally, Raspberry Wit which had faint raspberry notes and a weird creamy effervescence. I swithered about what to have next. I had a shortlist of four beers that I wanted but couldn't decide. Mikkeller's 10, Koppi, The American Dream or Nogne's Pale Ale.

I plumped for the Nogne and bought the other three as bottles to take home. The Pale Ale was pleasant enough. Light, balanced with a lovely dry lingering finish.

Having finished the Nogne, we agreed that we probably had had enough and was time to head back home. On the train, I opened up the Mikkeller 10 and was blown away by this beer. Wow. It was fantastic. It contains 10 different hops yet is a beautifully balanced and fruity beverage that felt like a perfect end to a great day out in Edinburgh.


On today's showing, I'd give Edinburgh, like the Mikkeller, 10 out of 10.



.

BrewDog to Sponsor Great British Beer Festival

.

The beer world was rocked by today's announcement that this year's CAMRA Great British Beer Festival at Earls Court this August is to be sponsored by Fraserburgh brewing upstarts, BrewDog.


The move by BrewDog is being widely interpreted as an olive branch to, and an attempt to bury the hatchet with, their bitter rivals from the 'Real Ale Movement', CAMRA. The exact details of the sponsorship have yet to be fully announced but it is understood that BrewDog will be sponsoring the Keg Beer Tent (capacity two) just around the corner from the venue.

how the tent might look

The proposal by BrewDog, and  CAMRA's acceptance, has caused consternation among some real ale traditionalists who see the move as a 'sell out' and a betrayal of CAMRA's core principle.


However, CAMRA spokesman, Alf Piloor said,

"To tell you the truth, we are thrilled by this news. There is nothing I like better, after I've filed my beer mat collection away in alphabetical order, than a cheeky half of Trashy Blonde."


BrewDog spokesperson, Lola Fipro, said of the move,


"We are thrilled to be sponsoring the Keg Beer Tent (capacity two) in such a prime location. Everyone knows that we invented beer and it's great to finally get a chance to reach out to those who have historically stood in our way of achieving global domination of the beer market.


"We are really excited about this. It is great news. We have already started growing our beards and have even sent out one of the office staff to buy some pewter tankards and open toed sandals. We reckon that we should be able to pick up some quality beige ankle socks a bit cheaper closer to the time."


Mark Dredge was unavailable for comment but it is believed that he would have said "Awesome".





.

My Beer of the Month

.

.
March has been a magic month for beer at monkey mansions. I've tasted some quality cask and bottles and picking out a stand out beer from each category has been no mean feat. The quality and range of beers that I've had has been superb, particularly those beers that formed part of The Three Judges Mild, Stout and Porter Festival.


There were some stunning examples of each style on show and during the past couple of weeks I've paid more than a few visits to the 'Judges to indulge myself in some serious research of some beautiful beer. The best beer from cask I've had this month is a tight one to choose. The pint of Summer Wine Brewery's Apache I had in the Bow Bar in Edinburgh had a powerfully punchy and delightful hop profile which went down a treat. Bank Top's Port O Call was another beautifully made and superbly conditioned beer and the Big City Jamaica Stout (which is part of Wetherspoons' latest beer fest) is a great example of a lovely beer being made by a surrogate brewery that ticked all the right boxes.


However, the pint which I kept wanting more of was Summer Wine Brewery's Resistance Mild. It was a terrific example of a tasty and satisfying Mild. It had some chocolate, fruity hops and some roast on the nose and was followed through by subtle chocolate notes and traces of roast caramel in the mouth. It finished fairly dry with a lingering bitterness. Summer Wine Brewery is a brewery that I'm seeing more and more of when I'm out and I've been impressed by the punchy flavours and tastes of their beers. They clearly are on a roll at the moment and if you catch sight of one of their beers, give it a try. I don't think you'll be disappointed.

10 out of 10 for the 10

My bottled beer of the month was an easy choice. It is Danish brewers Mikkeller and their beer 10. I was simply blown away from the first mouthfull to the last drop. It takes it's name from the 10 hops that are used in the making of this beer and each of them have already appeared in Mikkellers range of single hopped beer. There are Warrior, Simcoe, Centennial, Cascade, Chinook, Amarillo, Nelson Sauvin, Nugget, Tomahawk and East Kent Golding hops in this beer along with three different malts (Pilsner, Cara-Crystal and Munich). With so many flavoursome and full bodied hops in the mix, this could have easily turned into a hop bomb mess but Mikkeller's skill shines through and this is quite simply, an absolute stonker of a beer. It's big, bold but beautifully balanced and destined for inclusion in my 'best of' list at the end of the year. If you haven't tried it, do what you can to get your hands and mouth on it. It really is that good.




.

With Friends Like These.......

.

.
The budget has come and gone and, as expected, it's left the brewing industry counting the cost of further punitive rises in the price of making and buying a pint. No change from the Chancellor on the previous Labour policy but it does leave an increase of 7.2% more in beer duty following Osborne's budget which retained the beer tax escalator.


You would expect condemnation from all sections of the brewing industry. And there has been. The Society of Independent Brewers, SIBA has called it "a real kick in the teeth to the local brewing sector". The British Beer and Pub Association called it a "hammer blow to pubs and clubs" which "hampers growth". CAMRA called it "incredible" that British Beer drinkers have to "endure the second highest rate of beer tax in Europe".


However,  some people in the brewing industry came out in support of the retention of the tax escalator.  Brewdog's James Watt said, "At BrewDog we wholeheartedly back the rise in the duty on beer," Watt went on "The faceless, monolithic corporations who cowardly discount their supposedly ‘premium’ industrially brewed lagers are slowly suffocating the UK beer industry. The increase in duty can only make it less profitable for them to sell their beers at completely irresponsible prices and decrease the huge impact this has on society as a whole. As part of a society and a community they have a responsibility to people, which they have been ignoring for far too long in the name of profits and corporate greed."


"Yes, the increase in duty will make beer, including BrewDog products, more expensive, but we feel this will help craft beer continue to carve a more significant position in the industry. If someone has to pay slightly more for their beer, they expect more from it – any industrial, chemical ridden, insipid mass-market lager will only leave them disappointed." Watt said.

BrewDog also feel that the increase in duty will help "catalyse" the "UK craft beer revolution".

Eh? Run that by me again. By making beer more expensive, it will encourage more people to put their hands in their pocket and buy more beer?


Does Watt really think that beer is a product with price elasticity similar to a Giffen Good - a good which people consume more of as the price rises?

What planet is he on?

 Since 2008 the price of beer has increased by more than 30%. The price of a pint has never been higher and people's incomes in these tight fiscal times have never been more stretched. Increasing the price further will surely lead to more people cutting back on their trips to the pub. This has the consequence of more breweries and pubs going to the wall and jobs being lost.


But, hey, as long as it helps the "UK craft beer revolution' and gets BrewDog some newspaper column inches along the way, that's ok then?





.

Is this BrewDog's Glasgow Pub?

.

The Third BrewDog ?

.
Love them or hate them, you have to concede that those Fraserburgh brewing upstarts, BrewDog have been pretty successful at building a brand and a business since their inception less than a handful of years ago. They have achieved infamy, notoriety and critical acclaim in equal measure as they push their craft beer agenda to an increasingly receptive market.


From bottles to cans via some stuffed animals they have embarked upon a journey that has been as enjoyable to watch as it has been to taste. Oh....and along the way they have made some very lovely beers too.


Last autumn they opened their first pub in their home town of Aberdeen and word has it that it has exceeded their wildest expectations in terms of sales and growth. Not ones for letting an opportunity pass them by they decided to open a second BrewDog in Edinburgh which is due to open very soon. Not content with two, it appears that they now have the taste for opening BrewDog bars around the country and speculation is that the next city to get the BrewDog bar treatment is Glasgow.


In my home town of Glasgow, there has been increasing and intensifying speculation over the last few weeks as to the location of their next bar. There is, however, only one name that is being mentioned. That name is The Lock Inn on Argyle St, directly opposite the Kelvingrove Art Galleries and next to Kelvin Hall. It's fairly common knowledge that they looked at other Glasgow pubs in their quest to find a suitable location. Most notably Gazelle on Argyle St (pub tie) and The Rogue (cellar too small) on Old Dumbarton Road.


If the speculation is correct it is, in my opinion, an excellent location for them. It's in the heart of the West End of Glasgow, close to Glasgow University studentland and the surrounding area is filled with a young population with a high disposable income.





.

Beware the Budget Double Beer Whammy

.

.
When George Osborne, Chancellor of the Exchequer, sits down on the green leather benches of the House of Commons on Wednesday, having just finished delivering his budget ,the task for many brewers, breweries and publicans in calculating it's impact on them will just be starting.


There is a genuine fear that this year's budget could bring a punitive beer double whammy to brewers and drinkers alike in terms of tax hikes and the removal of financial incentives such as the Small Brewers Relief.


Many involved in the beer industry are rightly worried of the impact that Osborne's measures may bring have on their businesses and livelihoods. Beer in the UK is hideously over taxed as it is. We are the second highest out of the 27 EU member states for excise duty and since 2008 beer duty in the UK has increased by 26%. If that's not bad enough the rise in VAT from 15% to 20% and the soaring cost of beer raw materials has hit pubs and breweries hard. Beer sales in UK pubs have declined, since 2008 by 30%.  As a consequence of these factors, 29 pubs are closing every week. Despite this, beer still provides a significant contribution to the British economy. It supports over 400,000 jobs and generates almost £5.5 Billion in Revenue for the Exchequer every year.

It simply doesn't make economic or political sense to increase beer duty any further. Economically, any rise in duty will cut consumption, which in turn reduces the amount of tax taken. Politically, the Tories have made great play on the role of the private sector to generate jobs and a rise in duty would, again do the opposite as pubs close and breweries cut capacity.


Freezing beer duty is a start, but I would like to see Osborne go further. I would like to see a commitment from him to bring the British Beer Duty down to the European average and give British brewers and pubs a fairer crack of the whip rather than being convenient  cash cows and whipping boys for the Treasury.



The status of the Small Breweries Relief (SBR) also hangs in the balance and if changed or re-calibrated on Tuesday then it could have a significant impact on this growing beer sector. Small Breweries Relief was introduced in 2002 and it acted as a stimulus and catalyst for the extraordinary growth in small breweries.


In recognition of the high initial costs involved in setting up a brewery and in an attempt to offset these costs, the Labour Government introduced the SBR which meant that smaller scale Breweries producing less that 60,000 hectolitres per year received up to a 50% reduction. This incentivised a great many to take the leap and set up their own brewery. Prior to the SBR there was 350 breweries in the UK. Now there are over 750, with 700 of these receiving some payment from the SBR scheme. This scheme has created new businesses, jobs and greater consumer choice. Clearly, without this financial support many small local breweries would not be able to survive and would go to the wall.


Any attempt to remove or negativley re-calibrate the payment scheme trigger points would effectively drown at birth the growing cottage  brewery industry that has been responsible for employing hundreds of thousands of workers who in turn have contributed immeasurably to many local community economies and ultimately to the Exchequer.


I just hope that, by Wednesday, Osborne has done his sums correctly and realises the contribution and impact that beer and pubs have made to not only local communities but also the British Economy.




.