Timothy Taylor has appointed a fourth brewer to help meet de

Webster's joining coincides with an expansion of the brewery.

The work commenced last February with the demolition of an old loading bay and store to make way for a new building housing four fermenting vessels and an automated barrel racking system.

The additional fermenting vessels will increase production capacity by up to 30%, while the new automated conveyor and barrel handling system will improve efficiency by reducing manual handling.

The work is part of a £2m redevelopment at the Knowle Spring brewery, which will also see improved soundproofing to lessen noise and disturbance.

Head brewer Peter Eells said: "This expansion will give us greater production flexibility yet, at the same time, enables us to maintain time-honoured cask-ale brewing in open fermenters."

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* * Gosport-based Oakleaf Brewing has confirmed that it will again be producing its award-winning winter seasonal ­ Blakes Heaven.

The 7% abv ale will be brewed in November for consumption in December.

Oakleaf, which was established three years ago, also produces Hole Hearted ­ a 4.7% abv premium bitter that was awarded the accolade of Hampshire's Beer of the Year in 2002 and 2003.

Managing director Dave Pickersgill remarked: "As well as our more traditional beers, we brew several seasonal specials and Blakes Heaven is a winter warmer perfect for the run-up to Christmas and was named Beer of the Festival at Winterfest XI in Gosport."

* * * * * Coors Brewers has expanded its category management training techniques to hotel bars.

The scheme aims to improve quality in both the cellars and the bars.

It is centred around a series of wall charts that give details on proper cellar management including hygiene and cleanliness as well as troubleshooting tips.

Also included is advice on serving the perfect pint and how managers can market their beer brands in a clear eye-catching way.

The move follows a similar initiative undertaken with pubs and is part of Coors' plans to ensure that its beers are always kept and served in peak condition.

National account manager David Hanson commented: "Hotels are generally excellent at their core business of selling bed occupancies, but have perhaps taken their eye off bar sales, which can provide excellent turnover and profits."

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Sudarghara and Ajmail Dusanj, the brothers who own Cains Brewery in Liverpool, have been ranked as the 90th richest businessmen in the north west and worth an estimated £25.6m in a survey conducted for Insider, the regional business magazine.

Philip Beresford, who also compiles The Sunday Times' annual rich list, placed the brothers (Sudarghara is pictured on the left) in the list for the first time.

Beresford reasoned: "The brothers took over the old loss-making Merseyside brewer Robert Cains in 2002.

In the first year, the brothers have achieved breakeven.

The brewery and its 10 local pubs are worth just over £24m, while the Dusanj's property andprivate assets take them to around £30.6m. Stripping out £5m ofliabilities puts them at £25.6m."

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Real ale's share of the beer market is far bigger than statistics claim, according to an article in the Good Beer Guide 2004, which was published this week.

In the article, Martyn Cornell of Martin Information commented that while leading brewing industry analyst AC Nielsen claims cask beer continues to decline and represents only 8% of the total beer market at about 2.75 million barrels in 2002, many regional brewers report increased demand for their beers.

Cornell pointed out that AC Nielsen works closely with the British Beer & Pub Association (the former Brewers Society), which is funded mainly by the big brewers and pub companies.

An independent statistical company, CGA, has drawn a startlingly different picture of real ale's share of the beer market.

CGA's survey shows that cask ale sales are actually around five millionbarrels a year, and that cask, in reality, is more than 20% of total on-trade beer sales, making it the second biggest category after heavily advertised standard lagers.

Cornell said the reason for the gap between statistics and brewers' own figures lies in the retreat from cask beer production by the "big four" national brewers: Scottish Courage, Coors, Interbrew, and Carlsberg-Tetley.

He argued with Nielsen's assertion that the nationals' brands account for nearly half of UK cask ale sales and pointed to CGA's claim that the big four sell much less, only 27% of all the cask beer drunk in Britain.

CGA estimatedthat the 40 regional brewers accounted for 57% and 400-plus micros mopping up the final 15% or 16%.

To substantiate the article, Cornell quoted figures that showed: Greene King had reported volumes of Abbot Ale up by 20%, with Old Speckled Hen up 13%; Fuller's saw brewing profits rise by 18% in 2003; sales of Spitfire from Shepherd Neame had increased by 20%; Young's Bitter has risen by 6.6% and its Winter Warmer climbed by 21%; and Adnams had seen its Bitter sales rise by 11% while Broadside increased by 15.5%.