When people describe Britain as a "post-industrial society" they imply that we don't make things any more. I appreciate we don't dig coal, fashion iron and steel, and prefer BMW to making Rolls-Royce cars, but as I move around the country I discover a growing number of people making something important and consumable.
I'm talking about beer. A couple of weeks ago I had the pleasure of officially opening the new Slater's brewery in Stafford. The Slater family have been brewing for several years in a 10-barrel plant behind the George pub in Eccleshall, but moved to a former cash-and-carry warehouse in Stafford last year.
At first, the family brewed in Stafford on bits and pieces of kit acquired from closed breweries. They waited to open the site officially until they had installed a brand new brewhouse that enables them to brew 30 barrels a time, up to a maximum of 90 barrels a week.
This is a real family affair - Ged and Moyra Slater ran a newsagent's shop in Preston for many years but always harboured a desire to have a pub. They restored the 17th-century George, adding a small brewery at the back.
Their son Andrew interrupted his university degree to help Ged run the brewery and became so entranced with making beer that he never returned to his studies. Now he's managing director of Slater's Ales.
When I asked Ged how much the buildings and kit in Stafford had cost I almost fell off my chair when he replied: "One million". That's a big investment - and one that shows great belief in the products they make.
The family's bank manager shares their faith. When Ged went to see him, seeking support for the project, the banker said: "It's rare to lend money to someone who makes something." He clearly spoke with feeling, for Stafford has long since lost both its shoe and pottery industries.
The Slaters have not only opened a new brewery in the town but have also created jobs for brewing and delivery workers. Andrew says the company has grown as a result of simple consumer demand. At present they can brew only 90 barrels a week as they only possess three fermenting vessels, but as there is plenty of space available, they plan to buy three new fermenters.
I came across a similar story at the Wye Valley Brewery a few weeks earlier. The brewery was founded in 1985 by former Guinness brewer Peter Amor. He was installed last weekend as the new chairman of SIBA, the Society of Independent Brewers.
This is another strictly family affair, with Peter's son Vernon now holding the reins as MD. The company started life in Canon Pyon, moved to outbuildings at the Barrels pub in Hereford and in 2002 moved to the former Symonds cider works in Stoke Lacy.
Wye Valley, best known for its Butty Bach bitter and Dorothy Goodbody range of bottled beers, is a major player in the brewing industry. The site stands on nine acres and can produce 11,000 barrels a year. Twenty people are employed in brewing, delivering and running the office.
Moving beyond the ranks of microbreweries, it produces more than Elgood's family brewery in Wisbech, which I wrote about in February. It has become apparent that a number of so-called micros are now bigger than long-standing family breweries.
The 2006 Good Beer Guide listed 90 new breweries and a similar number was recorded in the current edition. There must be close to 600 micros now operating in this country.
In the US, the craft-brewing sector, which covers 1,300 companies, has broken through a major barrier for the first time and now accounts for more than 10% of all beer produced there. It could well be that the craft sector in Britain will eventually achieve that figure, too.
So the next time someone speaks of Britain being "post industrial", try pointing out that this country remains what it has been for centuries: a great brewing nation. Breweries are manufacturing a product at the same time as creating jobs.
And that, for me, is rather more important than financiers in London shifting around large amounts of money on their computer screens. Give me a quality pint any time.
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