Noble Hops

I read the news last night that my favourite local bottle shop is closing down. It actually made me feel really sad, it was an awesome little shop and I loved seeing someone try and make a go of it in this city. The beer selection was always spot on, good prices and there was a couple of taps, often with cracking beers on, for takeway growler fills. I’ve always popped in whenever I’ve been passing to pick up a few things. Unfortunately since becoming a stay at home Dad, I’ve not had the disposable income to spend on beer that I used to. I wish I could have been in there every week, supporting a local small business but that hasn’t been possible. So many small beer shops going out of business at the moment, why is this? Craft beer is bigger than ever. Obviously I don’t work in the industry at the moment, so can only comment on what I see and hear. You only have to open social media to get bombarded with adverts from the likes of Beer Hawk and Beer Wulf, seemingly offering beer at cheaper prices than everyone else. However, these aren’t independently owned businesses, they are owned by large international companies such as AbInbev and Heineken. They don’t exist to promote good beer, they exist primarily to disrupt the smaller craft beer sector and force them out of business, taking over the market share, and ultimately forcing an inferior product on to the consumer. You’ve also got the big supermarket chains jumping on the craft beer bandwagon. Now for most of us, supermarkets are a necessary evil. Barely a week will pass by without having to nip into Tesco or Asda, either for a weekly shop or for convenience of picking up a few food items. And when you’re there, you might want a few “fridge filler” beers to drink when you’re having a quiet night in, and it’s handy to be able to pick up a couple to stick in your trolley. This is fine, I do it, but it’s always the smaller end of my beer spend, I’ll buy all my good beer from small independent businesses, or direct from the brewers. But for a lot of consumers, they don’t get that. They’ll buy all their beer from supermarkets. They believe that £3 for a 440ml can of hoppy beer is the norm, they don’t realise that the supermarkets have these brewed to a price point to keep them cheap, often compromising on ingredients and quality. Then there’s the issue that hops fade quickly, and should be kept refrigerated, and in the dark. Months sat on the warm shelf of a brightly lit supermarket is doing your beer no favours, and you certainly aren’t drinking the beer as the brewer intended. So the message to take from Noble Hops closing, is that you need to get out there and use your local businesses, or else you’ll lose them. Thanks to Chris at Noble Hops for all you’ve done for the local beer scene. Good luck in whatever lies ahead.