Today only McMullen & Sons of Hertford and a few micro-breweries are still brewing in Hertfordshire, but in times past there were at least seventy small local breweries, some of which flourished and accomplished successful takeovers. Several, subsequently, became part of major national breweries.

Allan Whitaker's survey charts the complex patterns of growth, sales and mergers, including the activities of brewers from outside the county that had part of their tied estates or in some cases maltings within the county boundary. A fascinating picture emerges of family fortunes made and lost, with businesses intimately tied in to marriages and deaths. Some of the breweries were owned by Quaker families, and in a number of instances some of these brewers became partners in local banks, thus strengthening the standing of the Quaker community.