Declining volumes, the threat from global brewers and bootlegged beer have all taken their toll on the cask ale sector.
Now fish bladders are the latest cause of concern to the British beer industry.
The Department of Trade and Industry is paying close attention to a fishy deal between the two suppliers of brewing aids.
The two companies in question, LHS (Finings) and Lallemand, of Canada, extract isinglass from fish bladders. It is one of the more unusual ingredients used in brewing real ale.
Isinglass is used to reduce the cloudiness caused by yeast sediment in beer. It is made from the swim bladder - a buoyancy aid that inflates and deflates to allow a fish to rise and fall in water - found in some warm-water fish.
Lallemand wants to buy LHS but the deal has been referred to the Competition Commission by minister Melanie Johnson.
The deal would bring together the two main suppliers of brewing aids to the UK brewing industry. The merged company would control 90 per cent of the market for the liquid form of isinglass.
The DTI said that isinglass was essential to the brewing of cask-conditioned ales, adding that brewers had expressed their concerns over the deal.
That fish innards are widely used in the production of ale will come as a shock to many beer lovers. It also makes many traditional brews unsuitable for vegetarians.
Isinglass is also used to make caviar, in some Chinese cooking recipes and in some medicines.
The Competition Commission will complete its investigation and report back to the DTI in May.