Keeping it local

While 'local sourcing' might be the buzzword of the minute for everyone from global lager giants to national supermarkets, the real ale brewing industry has always had locally-sourced product at the heart of what it's all about. OK, a chunk of hops might be flown in from Eastern Europe and further afield but most of the barley and all of the water is locally sourced - and it's maybe something that small brewers should be making more fuss of when talking to consumers.
So it's great to see some small brewers across the country working a bit harder to a) source more barley locally and b) let the world know.

St Austell head brewer Roger Ryman (2nd left) in a
field of Maris Otter. With some farmers.

The biggest brewer in Cornwall, for example (St Austell) has announced that it intends to increase its use of Cornish sourced Maris Otter barley from 20% in 2009 to 60% by the end of this year (representing about 1,000 tonnes of the stuff). Up near Kidderminster, Hobson's Brewery contracts with a collective of 12 local farmers with the area given over to Maris Otter rocketing from 40 acres in 2008 to 90 in 2009. This year they are looking at 300 acres, all within 10 miles of the brewery. And being in prime hop-growing country, the brewery also sources hops locally.

What's not to like about lovingly crafted beer, made by people who care about the quality of their produce using ingredients sourced from within a few miles of the brewery? And this is the way it's always been done, not simply because local sourcing is now trendy.