Raise a glass to the success of real ale

The Cask and Feather; a new edition to this year's CAMRA Good Beer Guide.

The local real ale scene is thriving says the latest beer lovers’ bible — despite pubs struggling to survive the credit crunch.

Two local pubs have made their way into CAMRA’s (Campaign for Real Ale) 37th edition of its annual Good Beer Guide.

The guide features the best 4,500 real ale pubs in Britain and reveals that the real ale brewing industry is one of the most successful small business sectors in the UK.

There are 46 new entries from Greater Manchester, making a total of 159 pubs from the area, the Old Boar's Head, Middleton and the Cask and Feather in Rochdale.

Already in the guide are Rochdale’s Baum, Cemetery Hotel, Flying Horse Hotel, Merry Monk and Regal Moon; Castleton’s New Inn; Littleborough’s Moorcock and White House and Middleton's Tandle Hill Tavern.

Breweries listed include JW Lees at Middleton Junction; Green Mill and Pictish in Rochdale and Phoenix in Heywood.

Despite research showing that 52 pubs close every week across the UK, this year’s guide says the real ale scene in Greater Manchester is thriving.

While total beer sales are at their lowest since the Great Depression, more brewers are in operation than at any time since the Second World War.

CAMRA has found that 71 new breweries have started production in the UK in the last year, taking the total to 711 nationwide.

Greater Manchester is seventh in a list of the most prolific brewing areas in the UK, with 25 breweries.

Guide editor Roger Protz said: “It’s wonderful to see there are now over 700 breweries in Britain brewing far in excess of 2,500 different varieties of real ale, and so many fantastic pubs in which to drink this beer.

“For the first time since the 19th century, Britain is the undisputed top brewing country in the world. It has more small craft breweries per head of population than all other major industrialised countries but also offers tremendous choice.

“This is an exciting time for real ale. Craft brewers are growing their sales at a time of economic downturn and falling demand for big beer brands. It’s a major success story. And there’s more to come. The Good Beer Guide lists 25 new breweries that will come on stream later this year and in 2010.”

CAMRA’s 100,000-strong membership revises the guide every year, with a total of 1,297 new entries this year.

It gives details of each pub, including the real ales, food, opening hours, accommodation, transport links, history, disabled access and family facilities.

The Crown Hotel in Worthington, Wigan, was named the Greater Manchester Regional Pub of the Year.

The guide is available from all good retailers, priced £11 for CAMRA members (£10 if bought online) and £15.99 for non-members.