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FEATURE: Traditional British brewers beat beer blues

A worker checks empty beer barrels last Tuesday at the Fuller’s brewery in London. Fuller’s calls itself the last remaining traditional family brewer in the British capital. WARNING: EXCESSIVE CONSUMPTION OF ALCOHOL CAN DAMAGE YOUR HEALTH PHOTO: AFP

The traditional British pint (.57ml) of ale is undergoing a revival, despite pub beer sales sinking to their lowest level since the 1930s Great Depression.

Long since muscled out by the mass-produced lagers of international brewing giants, the darker, less fizzy styles of beer are making a comeback.

The global credit crunch is taking effect in Britain, with the cost of living soaring. But meanwhile, Britons are becoming more environmentally conscious and seeking out more locally sourced products, experts said.

“As people drink less beer than they used to, they also look for better, more flavored beers. People are turning back to ales now,” said David Spencer, brand manager at Fuller’s, which calls itself London’s last remaining traditional family brewer.

“In a year that saw the British beer market suffer such hefty decline, Fuller’s actually grew its volume last year,” he said

Fuller’s share of the total British beer market was 1 percent, Spencer said.

Beer sales in pubs have plunged by 10.6 percent compared with the same April-to-June quarter last year, the British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA) said last week.

Some 144 million fewer pints were sold in pubs, bars and restaurants, between April and June this year compared with the same three months last year — a drop of 1.6 million pints per day, the BBPA said.

But at the original brick Griffin Brewery in west London’s smart Chiswick neighborhood, Fuller’s, established in 1845, is upbeat.

Beer has been brewed on the site, nestled between the River Thames and the junction of the main roads linking London with the south coast and the west, for more than 350 years.

Production has been modernized, with stainless steel casks and kegs replacing wooden barrels, and an average daily brew of London Pride, Fuller’s flagship bitter, now produces 184,320 pints (104,742 liters).

Workers carry out just a small number of duties, such as adding hops to the brew, while a laboratory tests the consistency and quality of the various beers produced.

“We are seeing a resurgence of English ales and English cask ales, because people are looking for more personality and character in their beer,” Fuller’s head brewer John Keeling said.

The Great British Beer Festiva — an annual celebration of real ale — was scheduled to kick off yesterday at the giant Earls Court exhibition center in west London.

More than 450 different traditional beers —reputedly the widest range at any beer festival in the world — will be available at the five-day event, which always attracts tens of thousands of thirsty drinkers.

Before World War II, local ale was the staple alcoholic drink of the British working man.

Served at a warmer temperature than lager, flatter and sometimes badly kept and going off, Britons gradually abandoned ale and started supping the lager being promoted by the powerful international brewers.

“Lager is a generation thing,” said Iain Loe, researcher and spokesman for the Campaign for Real Ale.

“People were enamored of this new beer style, that was sold in flashy cans. It was served colder. You never had a bad pint but you never had a good pint. So people flocked to it,” he said.

“And maybe women saw it as more glamorous than a pint of real ale,” he said. “But things are changing.”

“Sales are falling because four global breweries have more than 80 percent of the UK beer market and all they seem to produce these days are global beer brands that you’ll find anywhere in the world, so it’s very boring,” Loe said.

“The only breweries that seem to be brewing more beer now than before, that are seeing their sales rise, are the smallest breweries,” he said.

“There are 600 [microbreweries] in the UK and 35 family brewers. This sector of the market is very active,” he said.

“But they still face a battle to get a pump on many bars, as several pubs are tied to either a pub chain or a brewing giant,” he said.
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