Pub Close as Breweries Open – A Riddle in an Enigma as Drinking Habits Change
Pub Close as Breweries Open –
A Riddle in an Enigma as Drinking Habits Change
We hear all the time of pubs closing because of the ban on smoking, the supermarkets and the continued trend to drink more at home. But that hasn’t stopped the rise of the new breweries. For the first time in more than a century the number of Scottish breweries has topped more than a hundred. It seems, according to that beer drinkers’ friend the Campaign for Real Ale 2016 saw 115 breweries making beer. Cheers!
A Drinking Trend
And it isn’t just a trend in Scotland, throughout the UK they are growing, and now there are more than 1500 in the union, but experts say that the trend is still on the up and we should expect even more to come in this real beer explosion. And of course it is all down to the change in consumer tastes. Beer drinkers were for so long only given a very few to choose from, but now the beer revolution is in full swing and full bodied beers are very much the ‘in’ thing.
Peak Brewing
You have to go back to 1840 to reach peak brewing in Scotland when there were 280 breweries in operation, but that was as much because of transport as taste. The early part of the twentieth century saw a rapid decline in brewery numbers as ever bigger breweries became the vogue, each of them employing ever fewer workers. In fact the modern super brewery is all machines and very few people. The new brewers are bucking that trend and the new they employ more people and sell through completely different channels, not only to pubs, but through supermarkets, beer festivals and overseas.
Try it in Something Special
While here at James Pirie we like to stay with the tried and trusted we are not averse to trying a little something new, why just look at our new partners at the Just Slate Company and Shearer’s Candles. And if you want to try some of this new and tasty full bodied beer then why not have it in one of our exceedingly good tankards. There’s usually a bit of an offer on, so order now and savour the brew.
