Whilst for many years Germany’s 1300 local breweries have been celebrated in contrast to the scarcity of their British equivalents, times are changing.
Some believe that the total number of German breweries could be overtaken as early as 2015 by the growth in Britain’s micro-brewing sector.
There are now reported to be over 1,000 British brewers compared to 800 in 2011 and their numbers continue to rise at a rate of 80 a year.
On the other hand, recent data suggest that around one in three micro-breweries fail.
Sources: London Drinker, August/September 2013 and The Times, 9th September 2013.