No
journalist can resist a good pun, but etc. seemed genuinely
impressed when it reviewed the current Sussex beer scene in its September
edition.
The following extracts convey some of the article's key points, and
give a nice summary of recent developments at Arundel Brewery.
'Local
beer is back and booming. Its stock is riding high in the culinary
world and the plaudits are coming thick and fast. Johnny Morgan looks
at the velvet revolution taking place on our doorstep.
'The
local beer industry is on a roll. A colossal force for change is
the growing awareness of the environmental damage caused by the long-distance
importing of common, everyday goods. The thought of food (or indeed
drink) miles has made local beer more appealing from a sustainability
point of view.
'Director
of Arundel Brewery, Jeremy Owen, is another microbrewer to experience
first-hand the surge in demand for local beer. "The bottle
beer trade
is booming for us at the moment. Bottles now account for 20 per
cent of our business. We started with Sussex Gold and over the last
two
years have added ASB [Arundel Special Bitter] and Old Knucker."
This year Waitrose has picked up Sussex Gold and ASB, with Old Knucker
set to hit the shelves shortly, and Littlehampton's spectacular
new
East Beach Café has put Sussex Gold on its menu. Jeremy
has also noticed the product's move upmarket. "Beers are coming
in pink and red wrapping, like wine, and with corks and caging
like champagne."
Next up for Arundel Brewery is Sussex Giant, a strong pale ale,
the
creation of which was inspired by the Long Man of Wilmington, the
mysterious 226ft figure cut into the steep slopes of Windover Hill,
near Eastbourne.
'Not
only is beer being reborn as a connoisseur's tipple, the micro-brewery
industry has become a darling of the environmental business sector.
There has never been a better time to order a pint of local beer.'
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| Above: The
start of etc.'s three page spread on the modern Sussex
brewing scene. The cloudy beer on the left is probably a wheat
beer, which
is naturally hazy. Were it not for this, these three brews might
have passed for our own Sussex Gold, Old Knucker and ASB.
How things
have changed. In the 1970s, local beer was disappearing fast due
to brewery takeovers and closures, with massive production centres
concentrating on processed and heavily advertised national
brands. |
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