Britain’s independent brewery scene is thriving, with craft ales, ciders, stouts and even mead becoming increasingly popular - and Bolton will not be left behind. Seamus McDonnell reports.

WHILE the number of traditional pubs in Bolton has steadily declined through the years, the borough is seeing a rise in the popularity of independent breweries.

Specialists making cider, beer and even mead, are finding success throughout the town, with companies like Northern Monkey Brew Co, Blackedge Brewing Company and Bank Top Brewery thriving.

The success of these businesses is reflected in drinking habits across the country as figures from the British Beer & Pub Association showing a huge increase in production.

The UK was the second biggest brewer in Europe in 2018, producing 4 billion litres of beer equivalent to 10% of the total production in the continent and second only to Germany.

But Bolton’s breweries are making more than just beers, with organisations like Red Bank Brewery in Bradley Fold creating new ciders and the Lancashire Mead Company in Horwich brewing traditional meads.

Ryan Bailey helped to found Northern Monkey, originally brewing from his home in Astley Bridge before opening a bar on Nelson Square last year. He was extremely positive about the industry’s impact in Bolton and its future development.

“Bolton’s brewery scene is massively thriving at the moment,” he said.

“Over the last few years the introduction of things like craft keg beers has spread out to small independent breweries like ourselves. The challenges are always going to be competing with the bigger breweries because they can make things cheaper.

“The kind of beer that the independent breweries in this town are making costs quite a bit to produce but there’s quality rather than quantity.”

Gordon Baron, who runs the Lancashire Mead Company, in Horwich, alongside Ann Farell, likened the growth of local breweries to the recent ‘gin explosion’, which has seen demand grow by 20 per cent and the number of distilleries double in the last five years.

He said: “The gin explosion goes to show that people are willing to try new things and they are willing to pay for quality products and more natural products.

“People are going for stuff that’s more naturally flavoured too, they don’t want false flavours.”

However, the rise in the number of local breweries has not been completely positive, with the decade old Dunscar Brewery announcing it had fallen into administration in October 2018.

At the time, Ian McCulloch, of Begbies Traynor, the firm appointed as administrator of Dunscar, put the problems down to “rising costs in an increasingly competitive industry”.

Elsewhere though, other companies have found success, with businesses like Tinhead Brewery in Bradley Fold and the Rivington Brewing Company adding to the mix.

On March 3, Northern Monkey will hold its first Artisan Market showcasing local breads, cakes and other products at its Nelson Square bar and Mr Bailey says its part of a pattern of buying local.

He said: “It’s about supporting your local independents rather than the bigger companies. If you spend money locally it goes back into the town and that can only benefit Bolton.”

Mr Baron added: “Part of our work is that we try and keep it local. First of all, with Lancashire and Manchester suppliers and secondly with family-run companies rather than national firms. It means putting a family business into the supply chain.

“It’s always good to look local and try to keep the money within your own community.”