From traditional brewers to East London’s thriving craft scene, the beer industry has flourished, but now needs our support, writes Paul Donovan, one of the organisers of the Wanstead Beer Festival
The growth of the brewing industry has been one of the big success stories of recent years. There have been the old traditional brewers like Fullers in West London. The brewery sits next to the Thames at Chiswick, the fantastic aroma of beer filling the air.
Beer drinkers will be familiar with Fullers’ trademark London Pride, a staple of many pubs around these parts. Others like ESB and 1845 also crop up. The Fullers brewery was founded in 1845. Back in the day, beer was a regular part of working people’s diets, safer to drink than water. Fullers survived and prospered. They have 360 pubs across the land. Other big brewers like Kent-based Shepherds Neame and Adnams in Southwold will also be familiar.
There have been many ups and downs in the brewing industry over the past century. The modern brewing industry, though, got a real boost in 2002, when then Chancellor Gordon Brown brought in Small Brewers Relief. This cut the tax payable by 50% on breweries producing up to 5,000 hectolitres (880,000 pints) per annum. There was then a taper of tax payment up to 60,000 hectolitres. Above that figure meant paying the full tax amount. This gave small brewers a chance against their larger brethren, who benefited from economies of scale. The impact was dramatic, resulting in hundreds of smaller breweries developing across the country.
In East London, the brewing industry really took off. What has become known as the beer mile in and around Blackhorse Road in Walthamstow bears witness. Many breweries have sprung up in the last 20 years. Present incumbents include East London Brewery, Pretty Decent, Signature, Exhale and 40 Foot. Brewing is not exclusive to this area, with others, like Libertalia, recently starting under the railway bridge at Leyton. The Wanstead Beer Festival is supplied by many of these local breweries.
Times, though, are tough for brewers and pubs. The cost-of-living crisis means people have less to spend and costs of production have increased. More than a pub a week has been closing across the UK this year. Despite the great success of local brewers, some have been forced to close, such as Walthamstow-based Beerblefish. Industry bodies have called for business rates cuts to help.
The brewing sector is one of the modern-day successes of the British economy. It is great to be able to go into our pubs and have a pint from a local brewery. Similarly, people attending the Wanstead Beer Festival have said how much they enjoy being able to enjoy beer from the local breweries; a real precious resource. So, let’s make sure we support the beer makers, servers and drinkers. See you on 10 October!
The Wanstead Beer Festival will take place in the halls of Christ Church on 10 October from 1pm to 11pm. Visit wnstd.com/beer
