You may have heard in the news today that 86% of British pubs are considering closing their doors for parts of the week to combat the pressures of the cost of living and energy crisis. Together they pose a bigger threat to British pub culture than covid, which we all thought would be their biggest ever hurdle. It's down to us the public to support and save our local freehouses, many of which have survived for hundreds of years. Freehouses are pubs which are not operated by corporate breweries or businesses, they operate independently. They create their own food menus, they order in their own ingredients. If they don't brew their own beer, they order it in from whoever they think deserves their custom and that their customers deserve to enjoy. They are the most valuable, and most vulnerable. Pubs such as the Britons Protection in Manchester City centre have defiantly stood in the face of giants through industrial revolution and metropolitan regeneration, yet this could be their biggest challenge to date.

It's easy to see why this historic pub is on Campaign for Real Ale's National Inventory of Historic Pub Interiors. Having stood on the corner of Great Bridgewater street since 1806, the pub's name recalls its use as an army recruiting venue. A set of murals inside the pub commemorates the Peterloo Massacre when in 1819, a protest for parliamentary reform took place outside the front door, when 80,000 protesters were stormed by a sabre wielding cavalry. Now famous for it's huge selection of over 360 whiskies and constantly rotating real ale, it's most recently been in a very public battle against star pubs, a subsidiary of Heineken who refuse to renew its owners license, and wish to take over the pub forcing it to only sell Heineken-supplied products. Pair this with the battle against the 26 storey skyscraper development towering over the pub that threatens to blot out the sky for pub-goers. This was all before Putin's war brought forward a looming recession that puts further pressure on the business. These corporations are not supporters of Great British pub culture, they are the opposite. To really support and save our pubs and their independent breweries, we need to know who really brews the beer we're buying, and who is selling it.

Many of the beers we drink are unknowingly owned and brewed by companies that have agendas against our local pubs and the British beer industry. Molson Coors, Carlsberg Marstons, AB-InBev, and Heineken to name a few, are foreign brands that have plagued the industry and have a strong-hold on much of the market, having acquired countless brands that many of us mistakenly perceive as still being independent craft breweries, meanwhile feeding profits back into their hands. For more info on this, take a look at this fantastic eye-opening article by Pete Brown. We need to ensure they are not the last ones standing after this crisis. Get out into your local freehouse, chat to your landlord behind the bar about the beers on tap, try new and exciting locally brewed beers, embrace British real ale and help save an institution that has been admired and envied across the world for generations. Leave those shop bought, big brand cans and bottles on the shelves this winter. Buy local. Buy independent. The pubs and breweries need you at the bar!

This year I have started to document Great British freehouses as part of a micro-project called 'Beautiful Boozers'. There will be many stories to follow. Thank you.

Please support the 'Save the Britons Protection' campaign on justgiving.