Growth of microbreweries - a local success story

The growth of the brewing industry has been one of the big success stories of recent years. There have been the old traditional brewers like Fullers in West London. The brewery sits next to the Thames at Chiswick, the fantastic aroma of beer filling the air. Beer drinkers will be familiar with Fullers trademark London Pride, a staple of many pubs around these parts. Others like ESB and 1845 also crop up. The Fullers brewery was founded in 1845. Back in the day, beer was a regular part of working people's diets, safer to drink than water. Fullers survived and prospered. They have 360 pubs across the land. Other big brewers like Kent based Shepherds Neame and Adnams in Southwold will also be familiar. There have been many ups and downs in the brewing industry over the past century. The modern brewing industry, though, got a real boost in 2002, when then Chancellor Gordon down brought in Small Brewers Relief. This cut the tax payable by 50% on breweries producing up to 5000 hectolitres (880,000 pints) per annum. There was then a taper of tax payment up to 60,000 hectolitres. Above that figure meant paying the full tax amount. The tax break gave the small brewers a chance against their larger brethren, who benefited from having economies of scale. The impact on the industry was dramatic, resulting in hundreds of smaller breweries developing across the country. In East London, the brewing industry really took off. What has become known as the beer mile in and around Blackhorse Road in Walthamstow bares witness. Many breweries have sprung up in the last 20 years. Present incumbents include East London Brewery, Pretty Decent, Signature, Exhale and 40 Foot. Brewing is not exclusive to this area, with others, like Libertalia recently starting under the railway bridge at Leyton. The Wanstead Beer Festival is supplied by many of these local breweries. The original tax break was campaigned for by the Society of Independent Brewers and the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA). Times though are tough for brewers and pubs. The cost of living crisis means people have less to spend. The costs of production have increased. Breweries and pubs have been forced to close down. More than a pub a week has been closing across the UK this year. Despite the great success of local brewers, some have been forced to close, such as Walthamstow based Beerblefish and Wildcard. Industry bodies have called for cuts to business rates to help. So these are tough times for the hospitality industry. It needs all of our support. The brewing sector is one of the modern day successes of the British economy. It is great to be able to go into our pubs and have a pint from a local brewery Similarly, people attending the Wanstead Beer Festival have said how much they enjoy being able to enjoy beer from the local breweries - a real precious resource. So let's make sure we support the beer makers, servers and drinkers. See you in 10 October at the Wanstead Beer Festival - tickets now on sale at www.wansteadbeerfestival.co.uk