Real ale sales soaring — thanks to micros

January 14, 2008: More people are enjoying British beer — and it's thanks to Britain's microbrewers, according to an article in Sunday's Observer.

The national newspaper reports that supermarkets have seen lager sales drop by .02%, while sales of traditional home-produced beer are up 6.6%.

The Campaign for Real Ale's Owen Morris is quoted as saying that it is progressive beer duty — which offers tax advantages for smaller microbrewers — which is fuelling the success of the traditional ale.

"Although overall sales of beer are in decline, sales of independent brewers' [products] are up 7.5%," said Mr Morris.

"People are finding real ale is an artisan product and are starting to care more about taste, not value. They're not so interested in supermarkets selling two crates of lager for the price of one."

4 Read the full article at the Guardian Unlimited website.