A “surge of interest” in real ale across the country has been reflected in the Bradford district, according to breweries and enthusiasts.

The Campaign For Real Ale has said the number of drinkers trying real ale for the first time has increased by 40 per cent in the past few years, while 200 new breweries have opened.

The group has said there were now more than 800 breweries in the UK, while in West Yorkshire the numbers are believed to have more than doubled in the last three years.

John Bell, secretary of the Bradford branch of Camra, said while it was hard to know how many more real ale drinkers there were in the district, the increasing number of breweries was a good sign.

He said: “I’ve no reason to doubt having local breweries and local beers selling in local pubs does attract people to drink it.

“We have the beer festival in Saltaire every year, and it’s a complete sell out every year.

“It attracts a wide range of drinkers, from first-time drinkers to old age pensioners, and they are coming to drink real ale and traditional cider, because there’s nothing else to drink there.”

Chris Bee, joint founder of the Salamander Brewing Company, said over the last three years they had seen production double, and it was expected to double again in a year’s time.

He said: “Real ale has got more popular over the last six or seven years – you have only got to look at local festivals to see how popular real ale is becoming.

“People are obviously ditching the rubbish and going for the more quality end of the market.

“People have been willing to try and they have found out it tastes better and people realise it’s better for them, with all natural ingredients.”

Ewen Gordon, sales and marketing manager at Saltaire Brewery, said the number of breweries in West Yorkshire had more than doubled in the last three years as the image of the drink changed.

He said: “Demand is growing and there is a lot new places, quite funky, trendy places in Leeds and Bradford, opening up which sell real ale.

“The Sparrow Bier Cafe in Bradford is a brilliant example of how real ale sales are doing well.

“It’s moving away from the old man’s drink reputation which I think it had a few years ago.”

Steve Taylor, managing director of Skipton’s Copper Dragon Brewery, said it was one of the few areas of the economy which was growing during the recession.

He said the brewery, which has been open for nine years, was continuing to see its turnover increase.

He said: “Real ale is Britain’s heritage and it is a goodness drink, it’s not full of chemicals.

“So I’m not sure about the numbers, but people are becoming more aware and the more real ale becomes popular again, that’s great for Britain’s industry because most of Britain’s real ale is produced in Britain.

“We have gone from strength-to-strength – in terms of turnover this year we are up another 15 per cent.”

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