Brewers abhor a vacuum

We were supping fine beer from the Navigation Brewery in the Cross Keys in Nottingham and the man sitting next to me said that when he moved to the city 10 years ago he could walk from his home to the Vat & Fiddle, Castle Rock’s tap house, without passing another brewery. Today, when he makes the same journey, he passes five. For decades Nottingham was dominated by two large breweries, Hardys & Hansons with their Kimberley ales, and Shipstones. Both are long gone: there&r......