The Rise Of Craft Beer
Have you ever felt like a little bit of “Do It Yourself”? No, we aren’t talking about building furniture, this is all about craft beer
Craft beer is a bit of a versatile title these days, but basically, it means any beer not made by a traditional larger brewery. This means it could be made by a small independent brewery or simply one man in his shed. Usually, though these days’ craft beer means beers produced by smaller, independent breweries. Craft beer at least as we know it now only dates back to the 1970s in the UK.
Some of the first microbreweries making their own craft beers were the Selby Brewery in 1972. And the Litchborough Brewery in 1974.
Craft beers were designed to offer something unique and more creative from the regular beers produced by the larger big-name manufacturers. Brands like Heineken (to give just one example) had quite the monopoly in the UK during the 70s and 80s.
This caused the beer market to stagnate for some and many beer drinkers wanted to try something new and exciting. This is what led to the boom in craft beer as smaller breweries and individuals created their own craft beers to offer something new and different.
The rise in craft beers during this time is what led to the popularity of IPAs. IPAs or Indian Pale Ales were the result of sailors who couldn’t create their own beers in India due to the hot climate. Beer also likely couldn’t survive the journey from the UK at this time either.
Breweries combatted this issue by adding more hobs to their beers which helped give it a much longer lifespan. This, in turn, led to the creation of IPAs which is often the craft beer of choice in the UK. Nowadays the craft beer scene is more popular than ever, and some brewers have even gone on to launch massive breweries.
While craft beers are by design more limited than the beers of big-name brands some of them have become incredibly popular. This has led to the rise of a growing craft beer scene in the UK.
Locally we have some excellent craft breweries that you may want to check out:
• Beer Brothers Brewery, Preston
• Withnell’s Brew Company, Chorley
• Lytham Brewery, Lytham Saint Annes
• Fuzzy Duck Brewery, Poulton-le-Fylde
• Hart Brewery Preston
• Bowland Brewery, Clitheroe
