Over a million hectolitres brewed for the first time, sales growth of nearly 4% in a year of deep recession, increased on-trade listings despite record pub closures, and investment in the equipment, staff and technology for brewery expansion, are highlighted in the annual Local Brewing Industry Report, published today by the Society of Independent Brewers (SIBA).

While the overall UK beer market declined by 4.2% last year1, the local brewing sector achieved an impressive 3.75% increase in volume sales. Three-quarters of all local brewers recorded volume growth in 2009 and on average, they achieved a 17% increase in turnover. And the number of pubs sourcing local beers through SIBA’s direct delivery scheme (DDS) grew by 12% – a reflection of local cask ale’s unique ability to help pubs weather the recessionary storm.

SIBA’s chief executive Julian Grocock said, “Over 60% of our members were founded after 2000, so the current recession is the most severe they have traded through. That the vast majority managed a sales uplift last year and are anticipating the same in 2010 speaks volumes about the resilience and resourcefulness of the UK’s quality independent brewers.”

This year’s report from SIBA contains the organisation’s pre-Election manifesto, which highlights the current Government’s ‘schizophrenic’ approach to the local brewing industry. The list leads with a commitment to retaining Progressive Beer Duty (PBD), introduced in 2002, and is followed by a series of other fiscal strategies such as cancelling the beer duty escalator, freezing beer duty and considering lower duty rates for lower strength beers.

Grocock explains, “The Government’s support for PBD is welcomed and has helped the formation and growth of many smaller brewers, whom it claims to support. Yet, with its punitive taxation policies, which have meant a 20% rise in beer duty over the last two years2, it appears set on destroying them.

“We urge whoever is elected in May to take a fresh look at the local brewing industry. Cask ale – which accounts for over 80% of our output – is a relatively low alcohol drink, served in the controlled environment of a pub where drinking is part of a social occasion, rather than an end in itself. As such, we deserve to be treated as part of the solution to alcohol-related harm, rather than part of the problem.”

Elsewhere, the Local Brewing Industry Report contains much worth raising a glass to. Local brewers continue to use PBD to build their businesses, by adding capacity, buying new equipment and marketing their beers, while a sizeable minority also state an ambition to buy a pub during 2010. Much of the investment planned by SIBA brewers is directed at the communities where they are based and which in turn support them, creating a virtuous circle of local sustainability.

Regardless of the political colour of the next Government, SIBA members demonstrate exceptional green credentials. Some 80% are committed to reducing their energy usage, more than half are looking at ways to reduce their packaging and ‘food miles’, and a similar number source ingredients locally. Sixteen per cent either already brew organic beers or plan to do so.

Grocock comments, “The UK’s local brewing industry, though rooted in tradition, is a relatively young one. Most of our members are younger than SIBA itself, which celebrates its 30th anniversary this year. Our success through the past few, exceptionally tough years, however, surely demonstrates that local ales are no passing fad, but a permanent asset that can offer a much-needed boost to the nation’s troubled pub trade.”