Thompson calls on brewing industry to be positive

A leading brewery chief has called on the beer industry to "hold its nerve" in the face of rising costs and falling sales.

Recent statistics showed beer sales in November 2007 had fallen 10 per cent year on year, leaving industry experts fearing a tough 2008.

Rupert Thompson, managing director of Refresh UK, which owns the Wychwood Brewery, said: "It would be too simplistic to say there is a light at the end of the tunnel. It is very tough right now. But the pub going tradition is entrenched in our culture and it will be around for a lot longer.

"We just have to hold our nerve as an industry and keep positive."

Thompson was speaking to the Publican as he confirmed details of a change in the ABV of Refresh's flagship cask ale brand Hobgoblin.

He said the decision to change the ABV of cask Hobgoblin from five per cent to 4.5 per cent came on the back of customer feedback.

"We changed the ABV to five per cent when we took over the Wychwood brewery in 2003. While sales have doubled since then, we have had feedback from customers that the beer is just a bit too strong," he said.

A successful attempt to brew Hobgoblin at 3.5 per cent for Sweden - where beers sold in supermarkets cannot have an ABV of more than 3.5 per cent - led the brewers at Wychwood to make the move.

"The Swedish experiment gave us a lot of confidence. We were surprised how good it tasted," said Thompson.

"The success of Greene King's decision to reduce Old Speckled Hen to 4.5 per cent in cask also reassured us."

The ABV of the bottled version of Hobgoblin will stay at 5.2 per cent.