So real ale used to be thought of as an old man’s drink (probably an old English man wearing a flat cap) and as far removed from youthful trends as Jeremy Clarkson’s dress sense. However, this is clearly no longer the case.
CAMRA reports increasing numbers of younger drinkers and new microbreweries opening up, despite increases in pub closures. In the USA, craft brewers are flourishing and in Italy, there is a growing appreciation of real ale with over 360 microbreweries and a consumer organisation similar to CAMRA, called MoBI (Movimiento Birrario Italiano) – www.movimentobirra.it/presentazione.aspx?%2f. Now Spain is moving in on the act, but surprisingly it’s wine that’s driving this forward.
Rioja is famous around the world as one of the premier wine-producing regions. Tempranilo, garnacha and viura are three of the quality grape varieties used to make wine in this area of Northern Spain. Now barrels previously used to mature wine made from these grapes are being used to mature beer. According to the Drinks Business www.thedrinksbusiness.com, Mateo & Bernabé produce two kinds of beer – a wheat beer and a golden ale, using hops and wheat from England and Germany. It will be interesting to see now whether Spanish drinkers support this new venture, as cold lager still has a major hold over consumers’ beer tastes in the hot Mediterranean countries. What next – a real ale revolution in Germany ???
