IFBB must act to save family brewers

The Morning Advertiser asked the pertinent question on its front page last week: 'Which regional brewer will be the next to sell up?'

The question was prompted by the decision of George Gale of Horndean, near Portsmouth, to sell its brewery and 111 pubs to Fuller's of London for £91m.

And so another family-owned regional - a particularly attractive and historic one at that - will be lost. It means, inevitably, less choice for drinkers and redundancy for the workforce if the brewery duly shuts.

Fuller's director John Roberts told me the company hasn't yet made a decision about the future of the Horndean site. But the Chiswick brewery has been substantially expanded in recent years.

Its cask beer capacity has doubled. The brewery currently produces 200,000 barrels a year. That figure can grow to 260,000 and the plant could comfortably take on Gale's premium HSB. At 4.8% abv, HSB would plug a gap in Fuller's regular portfolio between London Pride and ESB.

Roberts admitted HSB is the main Gale's beer that interests him and said Hampshire drinkers could expect to see London Pride and other Chiswick beers in Gale's pubs in the near future.

I don't accept the argument that takeovers and mergers in the regional brewing sector are being driven by the forthcoming smoking ban. John Roberts agrees, and calls the argument a 'red herring'. The evidence from Ireland, New York and California is that following a smoking ban customers quickly return if bars and pubs offer innovative facilities for smokers, such as heated outdoor areas.

The point is proved by the fact that Roberts tells me Fuller's has been 'given stick' by the City for not buying pubs. Regional brewers would not be encouraged to expand their tied estates if investors thought the pub business faced an uncertain future.

The real motor - gears crashing, smoke erupting from the exhaust - that is driving takeovers is the emergence of Wolverhampton & Dudley and Greene King as national brewers, with large tied estates and enormous marketing muscle in the free trade.

Regional brewers fear that unless they can get bigger, expand their pub estates and win a greater presence in the free trade they could follow in the footsteps of Belhaven, Jennings and Ridley's.

I have never gone along with that point of view. It is breweries that expand too quickly and in particular buy large parcels of pubs that attract the attention of bigger groups. Last week, Fuller's pub estate grew to 361 and the sheer size of all that expensive real estate will make it a tempting target for cash-rich predators such as W&D and GK.

Strength lies not in takeovers and mergers but in the safety of numbers. Both Fuller's and Gale's are members of the Independent Family Brewers of Britain. The IFBB was set up in the wake of the Beer Orders in the early 1990s.

Outgunned at the Brewers' Society by the force of the national brewers and new pub companies, the family brewers decided they needed their own voice to stress their commitment to their localities, pubs and distinctive cask beers.

In spite of the presence of the IFBB, the 1990s and early 21st century have not been good times for family brewers.

As well as the recent culling of Belhaven, Jennings and Ridley's we have also lost the likes of Eldridge Pope, King & Barnes, Mansfield, Mitchells, Morland, Morrells, Ushers, Vaux and Wards.

The IFBB can either watch its members disappear or take action to stop any further losses. Its members should revive the old slogan 'an injury to one is an injury to all'.

They should sign a collective agreement that no member of the IFBB will take over or close down a brewery owned by another member. If a brewery outside the ranks of the IFBB attempts to buy one of its members, then the collective strength of the organisation will come to the aid of the brewery under attack.

Last week, the family brewers staged their annual 'shoot'. Jolly good show, chaps. Perhaps, rather than blasting small furry and feathered creatures, they should train their guns on the real enemies and help to preserve their beers for future generations to enjoy.