Julian Grocock: 'It's time for beer, not mead'

A few weeks ago I returned home to be told by a daughter that I'd missed a phone call from a journalist - a well respected name in the world of food and drink who wanted to ask me some questions in association with a feature planned by a quality national daily newspaper

At last, some decent coverage for beer in the wine-obsessed press (I thought). We had just published our annual report into local brewing, had press-released that we had a real British manufacturing success story to tell, and here was my chance to tell it (I thought). Without hesitation I dialled the number my caller had left...

"Oh, thanks for ringing back," he said. "Can you give me any information about the resurgence in the popularity of mead?"

Mead? MEAD??!! You won't need much imagination to picture my response. It's more than likely that I actually used an expletive or two. I asked the poor bloke if he could possibly tell me what made mead so newsworthy and beer so invisible to the eyes of the editorial bourgeoisie. Does familiarity really breed that much contempt?

I've got nothing against mead. It's a traditional indigenous drink that in a different age might well have had its own frustrated champions bemoaning the subversive encroachment of ale. I think we have one member involved in its production, but it's not beer - it's a fermented solution of honey and water, sometimes flavoured with aromatic plants. And the very fact that a brewing trade association was approached for mead facts and figures surely proves how infinitesimally niche its market is these days.

Nevertheless I duly announced to the SIBA Conference on March 4 that I'd made a dreadful mistake with the theme of our gathering. Sensing the upbeat pro-beer mood in the country - as opposed to the ignorance in the media, ill-targeted blanket bombing from the health lobby, and apathy in the corridors of power (despite their hand-wringing protestations to the contrary) - I'd chosen 'It's Time For Beer!' as a stirring call to our industry and its supporters to seize the moment. Now I had to acknowledge sheepishly that it might actually be 'time for mead'.

Of course my tongue was firmly in my cheek and I rounded off my tale with a re-assertion of the brilliance of beer and the credentials of the brewing industry. Then a succession of much better guest speakers each added their perspective to our rallying call, to leave us all feeling immensely proud to be involved in brewing, in our own individual ways, in spite of the failure of the media to get in on and appreciate our story.