Edinburgh Napier University

  In recent years, the number of small independent businesses operating in
the brewing sector has increased significantly. Small and micro-breweries
have expanded in Europe and the U.S., and now almost every Western
country has a number of small businesses marketing their products and
competing with major multinational and national companies. Despite this
growth, studies related to the small and micro-brewing sector are difficult
to find and carry out due to the broad variety of businesses involved in the
brewing sector, which include also individual craft-beer producers and
brew pubs. This paper seeks to contribute to the paucity of data and
research in the field by analysing the results of two surveys conducted
among British small and micro-breweries between 2008 and 2010. The
data are explored and investigated with regard to a number of aspects such
as employment and business growth, level of production, and breweries’
location. Results confirm the growth occurred within the sector and
highlight some interesting opportunities related to patterns of market
expansion.