What a great time to be a beer drinker in Portsmouth! There’s more choice than ever on the taps with so many bars serving decent beers from all round the world. Also we’ve got new breweries popping up left right and centre in and around Portsmouth, with a new one starting in Gosport as we speak. This really encourages me with my newly-born brewery in Southsea.
Some people may see other local breweries as competitors, but I don’t see them that way. To me, our collective competition is the bland, mass produced beers churned out by the big brewers – Fosters, Carling, Stella etc. The way I look at it; the micro brewing industry is working together to push these big boys off the pumps slowly but surely, and the more people who are converted to ‘decent’ beer, the better for all of us.
The times when the only people in pubs drinking ales instead of lager were old men are long gone. Nowadays everyone is trying different styles of beer and appreciating the various flavours, much the same way people think of trying a different wine off the menu to match with their food. I think this shift in attitude towards beer has created room in the market for lots of breweries without stepping on each other’s toes.
The mega breweries relying on their big name brands have been caught asleep at the wheel, while the market has moved on from being pacified with fizzy, yellow water, modern beer drinkers are now demanding flavour. This is where the smaller micro brewers who make interesting, high quality products which push the boundaries of traditional beers can overtake the big boys.