andrew sangster's monthly beer column
If you run a hotel, restaurant or pub, are you stocking a beer produced from your nearest town? It's an easy way to add a unique and memorable feature to your business.
Perhaps it's time you looked again at your area. The chances are there is a brewery nearby.
The latest Good Beer Guide, published by the Campaign for Real Ale (Camra), says 57 new breweries have opened in the past year. This comes on top of more than 100 new breweries in the previous three years.
The guide's editor, Jeff Evans, says this growth is because of the increasing interest shown in real ale in recent years. Backing him up in his assertion that beer has found a growing audience, is the 70,000 strong annual sales of his publication.
What's important to realise is that the new brewery near you will not be a huge industrial giant. It is most likely run by one or two people from a unit on an industrial estate or in the cellar of a pub. It is unlikely you will be able to buy the beer from your usual supplier - you will need to do a little detective work. Camra's guide is an easy short-cut.
Once found, most brewers will be only too pleased to supply a regular cask - usually the smallest volume available are nine-gallon containers, or firkins.
A good example of what's around is Nethergate, in the picturesque Suffolk town of Clare, a brewery which started out in the mid-1980s as a tiny operation but has now grown enough for its beer to be more readily available.
Most famous is Old Growler, available in draught form and also in bottles (brewed under contract by McMullen). This is a dark beer in the porter tradition, the heavily roasted malt giving a chocolate taste.
If you fancy something really different, try Umbel Magna, which is Old Growler brewed using coriander as in the old 1750 recipe (only available in cask).
lBeer of the month: Nethergate Old Growler, 5.5% ABV. £61.60 plus VAT for nine gallons or £13.36 plus VAT for 12 non-returnable bottles. Tel: 01787 277 244.
lThe Good Beer Guide 1996 is available for £9.99 from CAMRA, tel: 01727 867 201.
