Great British beer

FOOD | Beer
Great British beer
Durch großen persönlichen Einsatz und ein neues Steuergesetz konnten sich in Großbritannien
viele kleine Brauereien etablieren, die exzellentes Bier herstellen. Von NIGEL MARSH
Drink to that: David
Morgan (right)
accepts a SIBA award
22
Spotlight 7|14
to serve traditional cask beer; they wished to make it as
well. The Cerddin Brewery was set up and now supplies
seasonal and celebration beers to the Cross Inn and beer
festivals. The Morgans have no plans to expand. “We’re
happy doing what we’re doing,” says David Morgan.
Their business is of a local nature, but that hasn’t stopped
them winning national prizes: their Cascade Bitter won
a bronze medal from SIBA, the Society of Independent
Brewers, at the Ludlow Food Festival in 2013.
SIBA was formed in 1980 by 20 of the surviving and
newly established brewers in the UK, who were determined to make a stand against the big national brewers.
Alongside CAMRA, they lobbied the government for a
fairer tax system for the industry. According to SIBA’s
most recent figures, it now has more than 650 members.
The big breakthrough for SIBA and CAMRA came in
2002, when, after many years of campaigning, they finally
got what they wanted from the government — a change
in the tax system. “Small Breweries’ Relief ”, or SBR,
meant the small breweries paid much less to the government than the big national brewers. As David Morgan at
Cerddin Brewery put it, “The revenue is now on our side.”
Like the Cerddin Brewery and Loose Cannon, Aberdeenshire’s BrewDog is one of the more than 200 SIBA
members that started brewing only after the change to the
tax system. BrewDog is also passionate about traditional
beer-making methods.
The brewery has ambitions that go far beyond the local pub, though. Now in its eighth year, it is Scotland’s
biggest independent brewery and has 16 bars, including three international ones in Stockholm, Tokyo and
São Paulo. According to James Watt, one of BrewDog’s
co-founders, “We just wanted to make a great beer and
get people as passionate about craft beer as we are.”
alongside [E)lQN(saId]
amber-coloured [(ÄmbE )kVlEd]
bitter [(bItE] UK
cask-conditioned beer
[)kA:sk kEn)dIS&nd (bIE]
craft beer [(krA:ft bIE]
make a stand against sb. / sth.
[)meIk E (stÄnd E)genst]
publican [(pVblIkEn] UK
relief [ri(li:f]
set up [set (Vp]
the revenue [DE (revEnju:]
neben
bernsteinfarben
halbdunkles obergäriges Bier
im Fass vergorenes und naturbelassenes Bier
handwerklich gebrautes Bier
sich gegen jmdn. / etw. zur
Wehr setzen
(Schank)Wirt
Entlastung
gründen, aufbauen, aufstellen
hier: Finanzbehörde
Fotos: Alamy; iStock; PR
T
he Nag’s Head, in the Oxfordshire town of Abingdon, stands on a 15th-century bridge over the
Thames. Recently, the pub was closed for more than
a year. It was a sad welcome for visitors arriving at a town
famous for its brewing
tradition. Abingdon’s famous Morland Brewery
had also gone, closed in
2000.
Today, however, the
thirsty drinker walking
into The Nag’s Head
can order a pint of traditional, amber-coloured
bitter called Abingdon
Bridge, brewed less
The Nag’s Head: good local beer
than a mile away at the
Loose Cannon brewery. The pub was reopened in 2011
by Sri Lankan-born Dushan Salwathura. Abingdon’s new
brewery had been opened just a year earlier in 2010. Dushan is a great believer in local products, and most of his
cask-conditioned beer, or real ale, as it is also called, is
from Oxfordshire and the neighbouring counties.
To experience such a beer-drinkers’ paradise was, for
decades, unthinkable. At the start of the 20th century,
there were around 6,000 British brewers, but by the early
1970s, only seven big national companies and 88 independent brewers were still in business. Since 2002, however, there has been an explosion of new breweries. The
number is now around 1,100 — the highest for 70 years.
In the years of decline, it was often hard to find
one that made beers with flavour and character. From
1974, though, enthusiasts in search of traditional beer
from the few pubs that treated its beer with respect
had the help of the Good Beer Guide, published by
CAMRA, the Campaign for Real Ale.
At the Cross Inn in Maesteg, South
Wales, another Good Beer Guide pub
and CAMRA “regional pub of the
year 2013”, publicans David and
Gillian Morgan didn’t want simply
Cheers: Martin
Dickie and James
Watt of BrewDog
A CLOSER LOOK
CAMRA was formed in 1971 by a small group of drinkers upset by the poor choice and quality of British beer.
Over the past 40 years, CAMRA has grown to a size of
more than 160,000 members, and it has proved to be a
mighty voice for beer consumers demanding a quality
product. CAMRA has lobbied the government and the
brewing industry, while publicizing good brewing and
good pubs, such as The Nag’s Head, with awards and
entry into its annual Good Beer Guide.
Is the beer revolution just the result of a change in the tax laws,
though? David Morgan of Cerddin agrees that this has been important, but he
doesn’t believe it is the only reason for consumers’ enthusiasm for traditional
beer. “People are more conscious of what they’re eating and drinking. They’ve
had a few scares from the big food producers, and they like to know what’s in
their food.”
The growth in popularity of farmers’ markets and the emphasis that many
cafes, pubs and restaurants now put on locally sourced ingredients certainly
support Morgan’s argument. So perhaps changes in consumer attitudes and
tastes are also part of the success of the new brewers. Dushan Salwathura at
The Nag’s Head agrees: “I want to serve great local food with great local beer.
That’s what makes me happy and that’s what makes my customers happy.”
locally sourced [)lEUk&li (sO:st]
regional, aus regionaler Produktion
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