Report: More UK breweries with the rise of Craft Beer
More UK breweries with the rise of craft beer
The number of UK breweries has risen by 8% to around 1,700 over the past year, as the surge in popularity of craft beers continues, research has shown.
Breweries are becoming increasingly profitable and targeted for acquisition, said accountancy group UHY Hacker Young, with drinkers in the UK willing to pay premium prices for a luxury product.
“Craft beer is leading the way in the surging popularity of artisan products and has pushed aside other brands in high street bars. Many are now firmly established household names.” said James Simmonds, of UHY Hacker Young.
He added: “This increasing popularity has transformed many microbreweries into highly profitable businesses for entrepreneurs looking for a niche position in the food and drinks market. As a result of their success, microbreweries across the UK have also become attractive acquisition targets for larger breweries.”
The environment secretary, Andrea Leadsom, said: “Our food and drink is renowned the world over and for most of us there’s nothing more quintessentially British than enjoying a pulled pint of ale in a classic English pub.
“Thanks to the popularity of our pint we’re now seeing a record number of microbreweries opening up across the country, bringing quality beer to communities across the nation and creating countless jobs and opportunities for our economy.”
Global growth predicted
The global beer market is expected to generate about $688.4 billion in sales by 2020. The industry is likely to register a CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate) of 6% from 2015 - 2020. A significant increase in the consumption volume is believed to fuel the market growth in developing regions.
Beer is a yeast fermented alcoholic drink prepared from malt, and flavored by adding hops. Popular in Neolithic Europe, its production dates back to as far as 2050 BC. By the 7th century AD the alcoholic drink was being produced and marketed by several monasteries in Europe.
This drink is majorly brewed from ingredients such as yeast, water, hops and malted barley, although many fermentable carbohydrate sources or natural additives may be included. Likewise, fermentable carbohydrates like wheat, rice and maize are added to produce different styles as well as flavors. Beer style variations include flavour, production technique, ingredients, color, and origin etc., and ale and lager are the two commercially popular types.
Rise in healthier drinking
Ales use top fermenting yeast at a room temperature, on the contrary lagers are made with bottom fermenting yeast below 10 Celsius. Imported beers and super premium beers are some of the popular beers people are enjoying with changing lifestyle. Furthermore, the demand for malt liquors, alternatives, ice beers, and non-alcoholic beers is increasing health consciousness among drinkers.
Recent changes in drinking preferences have considerably increased the demand for micro-breweries, which is anticipated to register a CAGR of 9.3 percent during the period 2015 to 2020.
Larger numbers of discerning consumers are shifting to locally produced drinks, enabling the ale industry to revive. So, with varieties of flavor as well as alcohol content, microbreweries are increasing today because distributors spotted a huge demand and took a risk on imports of major microbrew brands.
Original article published by The Guardian