Coronavirus: Unwanted ale could 'go down the drain'

Severn Brewery said cask ale has a shelf life of eight weeks and it is "sitting on" 2,700 gallons of it

Thousands of gallons of ale will be poured down the drain unless people have it home delivered, a brewery said.

Severn Brewery produces beer for pubs but following government guidance to avoid pubs its managing director said business had "fallen off a cliff".

Iain Crockett said cask ale has a shelf life of eight weeks and the firm is "sitting on" 2,700 gallons (12,275 litres) of it.

He said they are hoping a home delivery service will keep their business going.

The brewery, in Tortworth near Bristol, said it normally sends out about "100 to 200 containers a week" but this week it had done "virtually nothing".

"We're sitting on something like £20,000 worth of stock of cask ale," said Mr Crockett.

"It only has a maximum of about eight weeks on it and if it's just left it will be poured down the drain."

'Horrified'

He said it is "easier to throw it away" but he thinks a lot of people would be "horrified to think of all that beer going to waste".

"If a lot of people contacted us for deliveries we could do it," he said.

"We've got the vans and the people because they're not brewing - it's more a case of the number of people wanting it delivered."

Mr Crockett said there were about 300 nine gallon (40 litre) casks of unwanted brewed ale and it could be sold in two gallon (10 litre) boxes to be delivered anywhere from South Worcestershire to North Somerset.

• EASY STEPS: How to keep safe

• A SIMPLE GUIDE: What are the symptoms?

• GETTING READY: How prepared is the UK?

• MAPS AND CHARTS: Visual guide to the outbreak

• TRAVEL PLANS: What are your rights?