Supporting rural entrepreneurship in the UK microbrewery sector

Purpose: The UK has seen rapid growth in the number of microbreweries but a concurrent decline in public house numbers raising concerns about the sustainability of this growth. This research explores the entrepreneurial characteristics of microbrewers to assess their motivations and growth potential. With an emphasis on rural based businesses, the local economic impacts are also examined. Design/methodology/approach: The research is informed by analysis of trends in both the brewing and public house sectors in the UK. Three days of observation at collaborative brewing events with 26 microbrewery owners and 3 microbrewery managers were supplemented with 15 semi-structured interviews.Findings: The findings indicate that the value attached to microbreweries extends beyond their economic contribution with wider outcomes including, training and job creation, the preservation of listed buildings and the enhancement of rural tourism. However, support of such outcomes can also distort competition.Originality/value: As competition increases in the sector, microbrewery owners need to become more entrepreneurial to maintain their market position. Competition is heightened by a number of lifestyle enterprises that can survive with lower profit levels while routes to market are limited by a decline in the public house sector. In such a pressured market, there is a need for clearer assessments of the impacts on local economies and entrepreneurship when grant funding is provided.