While pubs continue to suffer in the face of increasing taxes and bureaucratic legislation, breweries remain on an upward trajectory.

There are an estimated 1,400 in operation at present, with several dozen emergent outfits opening on a weekly basis.

And according to the most recent SIBA Beer Report, the majority (70%) of these made capital investments in their business last year with more than 80% planning to expand their workforce.

Choices, choices, choices

On average across the UK there are around 8,000 regular beers in production. These complement the monumental number of seasonal, collaborative, and one-off beers that form such an important part of the brewing landscape.

UK breweries operating in this arena continue to experiment with an increasingly innovative array selection of ingredients, ranging from the 58 year old sourdough yeast used to great effect in Wild Beer’s 3.6% Sourdough collaboration to the increasingly popular use of the Asian yuzu superfruit, recently found in Gipsy Hill Brewing Co’s Yuzu Japanese Pale Ale.

However, breweries are not indulging in some sort of twisted competition to create the most divisive and unusual beer going.

Quite the opposite.

Changing tastes among the younger drinking demographic is catalysing significant demand for types such as Golden Ales with SIBA confirming that it was the most popular beer type brewed by its members surveyed for its last report.

Regardless of your tastes, UK brewing has something for everyone and that’s what makes it such an exciting sector to be part of.

So if it’s a golden ale in the form of Harviestoun’s Bitter & Twisted, or a extra-tart sour beer collaboration with Gin botanicals courtesy of Beavertown et al, then the UK has it covered.

And that’s something that should definitely be celebrated.

Tim

Editor