A brewing tradition we should be proud of (From Bradford Telegraph and Argus)

A brewing tradition we should be proud of

11:52am Monday 3rd March 2008

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Local food and drink is the freshest and best, preferable to the stuff shipped around or stored in chilled warehouses for days or weeks and treated with chemicals. And it is all the rage now with country of origin, food miles and getting reconnected to the land important for many shoppers.
From growing your own in a back garden or allotment to sourcing delicious products in a farmers' market, this is a growing movement based on 'eating the view'.
It's not only better for us in terms of minerals and vitamins but it's also better for the local economy, recirculating money within an area instead of it being siphoned off to some multi-national's head office in another region or even country.
And beer is the same. Local, crafted ales have always been around and the tradition has survived the globalisation of brewing from the 1960s, which continues today, thanks in part to the Campaign for Real Ale. Small regional brewers have been joined by a burgeoning list of micro-brewers who, like cheesemakers or bakers or meat producers, take care of what they create.
It might not taste the same like the mass-produced lagers and beers from the major breweries full of additives and fizz and chilled so you can't taste how bland it is and where marketing is to the fore not flavour, but that's the point - distinctive ales and ciders using quality ingredients to create a product that, because it is not pasteurised in the cask, continues to develop flavour and depth.
Brewers these days can be ranked with the best artisans of pie or pastry and their efforts are being appreciated by a growing band of devotees. Beer festivals increase in popularity year after year and the Bradford Camra branch's event in the Victoria Hall, Saltaire, this weekend proved no exception.
With more than 100 ales on offer of every varying style, strength and taste, it is easy to be overwhelmed - and entering a hall packed with hundreds of appreciative drinkers can be daunting. But staff and fellow drinkers are friendly enough to offer advice and find something to suit anyone's taste.
It is also the place to try something new or to explore the brewing world with beers from across Britain and Europe as well as ciders and perries available.
But mainly it was a showcase for the wonderful brews which can be found within a few miles of Bradford. The city's own Salamander brewery had four beers on offer, a hoppy session ale through an full-flavoured amber bitter to a strongish ale and a porter boasting coffee and chocolate tastes.
Then the Saltaire brewery in Shipley had three of their ales on offer (one featuring blackberries), as did Old Spot in Cullingworth (with a mild, a ginger and a wheat beer to choose from) and Naylors of Cross Hills (also with wheat and ginger offerings).
Further afield in Yorkshire there were barrels from Leeds, Elland, Hebden Bridge, Knaresborough, Wakefield, Dewsbury, Askrigg, Tockwith, Ossett, Barnsley and Sheffield - a wealth of local produce, we should be proud of and available at a pub near you.
And that's not mentioning the numerous other breweries in West and North Yorkshire that weren't represented. Only farmers can match that diversity in local produce.

Green or obscene - the mileage counter

Miles by car: -1118
Miles being driven: -20
Miles by train: +520
Miles on foot: +127
Miles by bike: +0
Miles by bus: +0
Miles by ferry: +0
Total: -491 (running total: -2066)