Music to the taste buds

Graham Trott handed me the smallest pair of scissors I have ever seen and invited me to cut the ribbon at his new brewhouse. I held the scissors aloft and joked: "Well, he is a microbrewer" to laughter and applause from the well-beered crowd at the opening ceremony.

"Oh, no I'm not!" Graham said emphatically. I owe him an apology. He's yet another brewer who has moved out of the ranks of the minnows and can lay claim to be a small regional producer.

His brewery is called Triple fff and is based at Four Marks in Hampshire, not far from Alton. In common with many craft breweries, it's based on an industrial estate. But for once the setting is attractive, close to an imposing Victorian railway arch that carries the restored Watercress steam line from Alton to Alresford.

Graham worked on the estate in the furniture trade for several years until he turned to brewing in 1997. He started with a five-barrel plant, but within two years had upgraded to 18 barrels. When I cut the ribbon last week, he unveiled new kit — with a maximum run of 50 barrels — that cost £750,000. He brews 40 barrels twice a week, which means he's producing around 4,000 barrels a year. He's certainly not a micro.

Along with hundreds of other brewers, Graham will be at the Great British Beer Festival (GBBF) next week, with good cause for celebration. In spite of all the problems besetting the pub and brewing industries, craft brewing is booming. Britain has more small brewers per head than any other nation on the planet and many of them will be presenting their wares at GBBF next week at Earl's Court in London.

The festival is an amazing event in many ways. It has the greatest choice of any beer festival in the world. And it's run by volunteers, members of the Campaign for Real Ale. For several days before the event opens on 5 August, they will beaver away, erecting scaffolding and stillages, bringing in temperature-controlled vehicles to store beer before it goes on sale, and putting up a myriad of small shops that will offer books, clothing and brewery memorabilia.

There will be around 500 cask beers. But, despite its name, the GBBF doesn't offer only beers from these shores. There will be many brews from North America and mainland Europe and probably a few surprises: last year the talk of the festival was cask beer from Japan.

In these pages for a year or more, I have reported on the remarkable yet under-reported success of the craft-brewing sector of the industry. Wye Valley in Herefordshire moving to a large former cider works in order to knock out 20,000 barrels a year and Bateman's in Lincolnshire recording its best-ever year in 2007, producing 30,000 barrels and eager to expand to 40,000 if space can be found for additional fermenters — just two examples of the sector's success.

In January I attended the annual conference of the Society of Independent Brewers (Siba), and was stunned by the enthusiasm and passion of the representatives of around 450 breweries.

Beer revolution​

There's a beer revolution under way in Britain. It means greater choice and diversity for drinkers than at any time in the past 30 years. Craft brewers' beers are appreciated by a vast audience of consumers. The fact that this quiet revolution goes unreported and under-valued speaks volumes for the priorities of the media.

Graham Trott is at the heart of the revolution. His new kit comes from a British manufacturer and he uses English Maris Otter malt and First Gold and Northdown hops. He not only gives pleasure to drinkers but provides jobs in Hampshire and a fair wad in tax to the Government.

He owns two pubs — the Railway Arms in Alton and the White Lion in Aldershot — and is looking for a third while he supplies the freetrade, using Siba's direct delivery scheme.

His beers are delicious and have a musical theme. Triple fff means extra fortissimo or very loud and Graham deserves to blow his own trumpet. The beer range includes Comfortably Numb, an old Pink Floyd number, Moondance courtesy of Van Morrison, and the astonishingly-named Pressed Rat and Warthog, an ancient Cream number. He's just launched a lager called Goldfffinger — get your lips round that, Shirley Bassey.

Drink them at GBBF and toast the great British beer revolution. The trade session at Earl's Court is on Tuesday afternoon. Be ther