UK craft beer industry faces huge challenges, says MP

Brewer Anthony Barrett says it is very tough for breweries to survive, let alone thrive

The UK's brewing industry is "in real crisis" due to soaring costs and consumers having less disposable income, an MP has warned.

About 80 breweries called time in 2022, and one industry expert fears more than triple that number could go this year.

Labour MP Charlotte Nichols, who chairs the All Party Parliamentary Group on Pubs, has asked for targeted help.

The government said support included an alcohol duty freeze and assistance with business rates and energy bills.

Until it closed its doors just before Christmas, Twisted Wheel Brew Co was based in Ms Nicolson's Warrington North constituency.

Head brewer Anthony Barrett has just resurrected the brand and is setting out on his own, albeit initially producing much smaller volumes.

He said the brewery's collapse in its previous form was linked to the aftermath of the pandemic.

"When we came out of Covid, we had no reserves or anything and then the cost-of-living crisis hit and people are scared of going out and spending."

Mr Barrett acknowledged that some longstanding wider issues within the industry had also not helped.

In some parts of the industry, he said, "it was always a race to the bottom.

"Breweries out there charging next to nothing for beer and the consumer got used to that.

"I think now it's really biting people because people expect especially cask beer to be quite cheap and it's no longer cheap to produce - it's actually very expensive."

Mr Barrett does not own his own kit so he is making his beer at another brewery about 25 miles away in Chorley, Lancashire.

Twisted Wheel's previous brewery had a kit of 3,200 litres but he's now working on 700 litres.

Saying he was now working with a 700-litre kit as opposed to the previous 3,200-litre version, he said: "It's a lot, lot smaller".

Mr Barrett admitted he was going to "try and keep going until everything stabilises a bit".

"I think the next six-to-12 months are going to be tough for everybody - hopefully if I can sell enough beer to keep everything going we can re-evaluate in a year and if we can grow, we'll grow."

'Less money'

The chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Pubs has asked the government to do more to support for the brewing industry

In December Ms Nichols raised the plight of small breweries in the House of Commons.

She said breweries were being hit by a number of issues, including the cost of grain - which often comes from Ukraine and the surrounding region - and the impact of the cost-of-living crisis on both their staff and their customers, and skyrocketing energy prices.

"The total of all of those things together, coming off the back of the pandemic where of course their order books had really been hit, has just meant that the sector is in a real crisis at the moment," said Ms Nichols.

"They're getting it not only from their manufacturing costs but also those struggles hospitality businesses are facing, as consumers have less money in their pockets."

Manchester-based beer writer Matthew Curtis agreed the UK's once buoyant beer industry was really struggling, with "very few breweries opening".

Mr Curtis said there could be as many as 200 or 300 brewery closures in 2023, with four or five having closed every week since the start of the year.

"Without support, we're going to see a lot of businesses close and every one one of those is a dream ending and jobs lost, which is sad to see."

A government spokesperson said ministers would "always be on the side of small business, including breweries. This is why we are providing them and other non-domestic energy users with an unprecedented £18bn package of support this winter.

"In addition to energy bills support, we are also backing businesses with a £13.6bn business rates package, a £2.4bn fuel duty cut and a six-month extension to the alcohol duty freeze."

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