Protz: Beer news blackout
I listened diligently to Today on Radio 4 and scanned the Guardian last week, hoping for a mention of the Society of Independent Brewers' (Siba) eye-opening and heartening report on the success of the craft-brewing sector.
At a time of deep gloom in the brewing industry, with giant brewers witnessing a slump in demand for global brands, and many pubs struggling to survive, Siba members were recording an increase in sales close to 11%.
As Michael Hardman, Siba's press officer, said to me: "This is a great British success story - but nobody wants to know."
As far as he could tell, the Siba report had received no coverage whatsoever apart from in the trade press.
The facts in the report are startling. In spite of all the problems in brewing and retailing, 400 new craft breweries have come on stream in the past five years.
The local brewery sector, which includes micros and smaller regionals each producing up to 18,300 bulk barrels a year, is worth £320m in annual sales.
And the success means that the brewers are making a substantial contribution to the country in terms of tax and duty. This is the sort of story - beer, pubs and tax - that should get the journalistic juices flowing.
But all we got was a resounding silence. Other elements of the Siba report should have interested those sections of the media concerned with carbon footprints, air miles and all the other threats to the environment.
As Siba chief executive Julian Grocock reports, consumers are more and more aware of localism and ethical purchasing.
Drinkers want to know where their beer is made and the ingredients that go into it. They are anxious to learn that beer is produced in the region they live in and uses malts and hops grown in Britain.
They are increasingly wary of global brands that may be produced under licence in Britain, but which are brewed with malts and hops flown from the far side of the world.
Again, this element of the report was ignored. I have attempted, without success, to interest newspapers and radio programmes in the initiative of Adnams at its Southwold brewery in Suffolk.
Green brewer
The company has invested several million pounds in a new warehousing complex that is so environmentally friendly that it has grass on the roof to blend in with the countryside and which collects rainwater for washing and even staff showers.
A new brew house has mashing and boiling vessels that use the most modern and energy-efficient technology. Good story? No response.
At the other end of the country, Alex Brodie has notched up such success with his Hawkshead brewery in Cumbria that within a few years of launching it he has had to move to a bigger site - with a restaurant where diners can look down on the brewing process below - to keep pace with demand. Good story? No response - not even from the Today programme, where Brodie was once one of the presenters.
Michael Hardman observed that if you removed the word "beer" from the Siba report and substituted "wine" then reporters would be clambering over one another to make the story headline news. He is astonished by the way the media ignores brewing - a major British industry - and his astonishment is compounded by the fact that he was one of the founding members of Camra (Campaign for Real Ale). Back in the 1970s, real ale was a hot topic and the media delighted in reporting on the young campaign.
Today a new generation of journalists file beer under "bad news". It's not possible to give space to the Siba report because it conflicts with the media's obsession with binge drinking.
By ignoring the report, they are doing a grave disservice to their readers and viewers and, most important, to an industry making a great contribution to the British economy.
My advice to Siba members is simple: damn the media and carry on brewing.
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