The rise in popularity of microbreweries has defied the fluctuations of the rest of the industry.
The British Beer & Pub Association reported that beer sales were down by 5.1 per cent in the first quarter of this year. But independent breweries were bucking this general downturn in beer sales, as the Society of Independent Brewers (SIBA) reported that the average sales turnover for its members rose in 2009 by 16.8 per cent.
The risks involved in opening a small business are well-known, and the current economic climate doesn't lend itself to providing the best environment for this. So how are beer aficionados and entrepreneurs doing so well?
Brewing course
Gavin Meiklejohn from Kelso in the Scottish Borders got interested in brewing after studying a short course on brewing at university in Melbourne, Australia. He had moved to New Zealand to work as a chef, and started brewing in his garage at the same time. After moving back to Scotland with his wife Annika, they took over the Cobbles Inn in Kelso, where he works as a chef.
While running the Cobbles, Gavin's customers were asking for local ales. Noticing that he couldn't find a locally-brewed beer within an hour of the inn, he decided to take matters into his own hands.
Drawing on his brewing experience he set up his 10-barrel craft micro-brewery, the Tempest Brewing Company. He is now renting a converted town dairy just 200 yards up the road from the Cobbles, installed brewing machinery and has been brewing since April.
SIBA recorded 87 brewing companies in Britain in 1975. This figure has risen to over 700 in 2010. According to the Brewery Manual 2010, 424 of these breweries were set up in the last seven years.
Of SIBA's 450 members, 98 per cent are classed as local brewers and microbrewers. According to HM Revenue & Customs, a microbrewery is one that produces fewer than 5,000 hectolitres of beer a year, and a local brewer produces between 5,000 and 30,000 hectolitres.
It has been difficult for small companies to compete with large breweries that can benefit from production economies of scale and bulk buying, especially considering the backdrop of the recent economic turmoil plaguing the industry.
The PBD magnet
But the government's tax incentives have been a magnet, drawing passionate brewers into the industry. The Progressive Beer Duty (PBD) was introduced in 2002 by the then-chancellor Gordon Brown to support local brewers.
The system provides a relief on beer duty for those who brew less than 60,000 hectolitres of beer a year. For example, brewers producing less than 5,000 hectolitres of beer a year can benefit from up to 50 per cent tax discount from this small breweries relief. One of the most significant costs in setting up a brewery is the equipment needed. Gavin sees this as one of his biggest difficulties with the brewery.
But with the help of engineers he has met through the inn, he has been able to get his equipment for £20,000. He has sourced both new and second-hand pieces.
Operating at just under 14,000 hectolitres, Tempest comes well within the relief threshold, and Gavin agrees: "The duty relief was a big catalyst in starting the brewery."
Licensee Becky Newman runs the popular freehouse the Bricklayer's Arms in Putney, South West London. Becky took over the pub five years ago, and says she has noticed that boutique-brewed beers have experienced a surge in popularity in that time.
"When I first started, real ales were only for the beardy weirdies, but now there is a new wave of younger drinkers," she says.
Localism
Keith Bott is chairman of SIBA and at the helm of two brewery success stories, as the director of the White Horse brewery in Oxfordshire and managing director at Titanic Brewery in Shropshire. He sees the popularity of microbrewed beers as being driven by both the quality of the product and an increase in the consumer's interest in 'localism'.
"The consumer is demanding more information about how and where their beers are being made. They want to engage with the brewers - they are excited to find out more," Keith says.
One factor that has driven the popularity of microbrews is an increase in demand for ales with genuine 'provenance' - a real sense of origin, and how and where they were made.
Gavin is aware of this, and he plans to set up a blog to keep fans up to date with his work.
"You can establish a connection with the people who are interested in what you are doing," he explains.
"It's not that exciting if you are concentrating on only churning out the same product. But with this, people can come down, try it and get enthusiastic about new brews."
This is important to publicans too. When Becky in South London brings in an unusual beer from the north of England, she finds she'll draw people originally from that area keen to get a taste of home.
She finds the openness that you get from craft breweries helps breed confidence and a good working relationship too.
"I find that the bigger breweries won't let you in the door - they don't really want you to come around. But the small ones always welcome you," she points out.
One of the greatest benefits Gavin sees in being a small-scale brewer is that you can be flexible with your raw materials and finished product.
"Beer is a living product - its taste evolves with the yeast," he says. "Like grapes used for wine do, hops can change with the seasons, and you've got to take the subtle changes in your raw materials and work with them to get the best flavours.
"Of course consistency is important. If you have to get the taste the same every time, you end up focusing on that rather than highlighting the best qualities of the ingredients you are using.
"I'm not really worried about having to produce 'x' beer. Good beer is good beer. If you solidify your brewery's brand rather than the different beers, then you can change produce with the season's hops."
Becky at the Bricklayer's Arms has dedicated three of her 10 pumps to beers from small breweries which she changes weekly.
"I try to operate them like a rolling beer festival, and they have absolutely gone down a storm," she says.
"People like to know where their beer is coming from and what's going into the drink. So much carbon dioxide is pumped into big brand lagers, and mass-produced beers are chilled so much now they lose their flavour and all you can taste is cold."
Gavin is also drawing on his experience as a successful restaurateur to ensure his brewery's success.
"We approached the business with a disregard to costs as we wanted to make sure it was the best it could be. We doubled our turnover in three years by looking at it in the long term," he says.
Similarly Gavin sees beer in the same light - if the product isn't good then there's no point.
"Some breweries produce bland beer that they create only with a profit in mind," he says. "That's the difference with craft brewing. It's a complex process."
Focus on flavour
He thinks that part of the rise in popularity of breweries like his is due to the focus on flavours.
"One of the major differences is that mass-produced brews aim to have a mass appeal," he argues.
"They want to distribute as widely as possible so the pasteurisation process and the addition of chemicals that are used to preserve them can distort the taste."
Gavin already has an outlet where he can sell his brew at his own inn, a privilege not everyone has. But CAMRA's Locale scheme encourages pubs to stock ales produced in their area. The scheme is just three years old, but already over half of CAMRA's branches are involved.
Iain Loe at CAMRA explains: "Small breweries can get their beers into local pubs where it may otherwise have been difficult to do so. If the pub is close to the brewery they could even pop in and get feedback.
"It can work as on-the-spot ma