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��«Ӱҵ has retained its position as the real ale capital of the world, with the thriving brewing industry driving tourism and regeneration in the steel city, a new report reveals.

The new report, commissioned by the University of ��«Ӱҵ, found the brewing scene in ��«Ӱҵ and the wider South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority area is bucking the national trend for closures, despite the challenges of Covid and the cost-of-living crisis. The region is now home to 58 breweries, more per head of population than anywhere else in the country, producing around 1,800 different beers every year.

A strong culture of traditional pubs that “feel different” to elsewhere in the country, and which see over 600 different beers being served every day on its bars, means ��«Ӱҵ is experiencing a beer tourism boom, the report found. Dozens of events, from the ��«Ӱҵ Folk Sessions Festival, to the Rotherham Real Ale and Music Festival, are taking advantage of, and supporting, this pub culture.

Breweries are also helping to regenerate in run-down areas, often being the forerunners of other indie and like-minded businesses that turn an area into the next hip hot-spot.

First conducted in 2016, the new report has once again been written by award-winning beer writer Pete Brown, who was born and raised in Barnsley. The report surveyed breweries across ��«Ӱҵ and the wider region about the state of the industry in the area. Key findings included:

Author of the report, Pete Brown, said: “��«Ӱҵ’s prowess as a beer city won’t come as a surprise to anyone who drinks here. But it’s fascinating that when you do the research and generate the numbers, the claim of being one of the best beer cities in the world really stands up. ��«Ӱҵ is having a bit of a moment just now, punching massively above its weight, culturally. And its brewing scene is the glue that holds that culture together.” 

But the report also notes that while breweries in the region have been resilient and adaptable thus far, they are in “survival mode”, with no capacity to expand. In 2016, two-thirds of the breweries surveyed said that they were planning significant expansion over the next twelve months; today that figure has dropped to around one in five. There is also a lack of support from local authorities which means that while ��«Ӱҵ in many ways out-performs its brewing rivals, it could do even better with more active, broader involvement and promotion.

Professor Vanessa Toulmin, Director of City Culture and Public Engagement at the University of ��«Ӱҵ, said: “��«Ӱҵ has always been a city of makers and what makes the report’s findings really interesting is the added value this industry of modern-day little mesters are bringing to the region. They are not just brewing beer; they are providing a huge tourism pull for people from far afield, while also regenerating neighbourhoods in organic, unplanned ways.

“To anyone living in ��«Ӱҵ and visiting its pubs, it will come as no surprise that this new report has reaffirmed what we discovered in 2016; that ��«Ӱҵ really can lay claim to being the ‘real ale capital of the world’.”

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