Bristol Fashion – Just how local is your LocAle?

Walking around pubs in Bristol it’s not easy to miss the presence of two mass market ales. ‘Doombar’ brewed by Sharp’s, a brewery recently acquired by Coors Molson, and the St Austell Brewery’s ‘Tribute’.  Both are acceptable enough beers, a bit ‘brown’ for my personal tastes, but certainly not a bad beer. But looking at the strangle hold that they and their product have on the market is slightly odd. Many people, landlords and consumer alike view these as ‘local’ West Country products.

Now, one of the great things to have happened to the UK industry in the last 20 years is the proliferation of small breweries.  We have gone from a time when there was constant consolidation and reduction of the number of breweries, to an age where there are probably as many breweries in the South West alone as there where in the entire UK in the 70’s. Many of these produce traditional British beers, the ones characterised by its brown colour and ‘room temperature’ serving style, but there are people out there producing some innovative and exciting beers that really push the Craft Brewing boundaries.

Last week we were with the guys at Devilfish who were waxing lyrical on an American IPA called Racer 5, a beer that has been receiving rave reviews amongst American Beer Bloggers, and having tasted it I can see why. Devilfish are taking up the challenge to develop a beer every bit as good as this Californian tyro from Bear Republic Brewery. Will it be seen in the UK? It will if we can help it.

But I digress.

Now that the Microbrewing boom is well underway, and producing some very good beers, I can confidently bet you that wherever you live in the UK there is probably an Independent brewery less than 25 miles from your house.  Which brings me back to my initial question, why are pair of beers that are brewed more than 140 miles from Bristol talked of in such revered terms as a local beer? 

Fuller Smith and Turner brew some excellent ales in Chiswick, West London, and they are fully 39 miles closer to Central Bristol than Sharps, and another three miles closer than St. Austell. Marstons are famously based in Burton on Trent, and are 26 miles closer to Bristol than the Cornish pair. If you want to come a little more local Marstons also own Banks in Wolverhampton which is a comparatively neighbourly 94 miles from Bristol compared to the 150 miles to Rock. Finally there are S.A. Brains, virtually co-habiting at a mere 44 miles away, 100 miles in hand but barely rating a mention as a local tipple by Bristolians……

Ah you say, but those aren’t West Country beers. They are big brands from big brewers who have their own markets. Yes, but every cask of Tribute or Doombar that is bought by a landlord in Bristol is hauled straight past no less than 58 independent breweries in Cornwall, Devon and Somerset as it makes its way up the peninsula.  Some of these breweries may not be producing a product that is of the standard of the big two, but many do, depending on your taste and point of view some may even make something better.

Around Bristol there are some truly brilliant brewers, isn’t it time that the City’s landlords gave more space on the bar to beers brewed somewhere closer than the equivalent of driving to Macclesfield.

J.