The froth has evaporated from Britain’s craft beer revolution. A wave of brewery closures, job losses, and tumbling sales has left the sector reeling, with industry bodies warning that the pint is becoming a luxury item for the few. According to new figures from the Society of Independent Brewers (SIBA), 91 breweries closed their doors in the first half of 2024, a 30% rise on the same period last year. Meanwhile, the British Beer and Pub Association reports that overall beer sales have fallen 12% since 2022, the steepest decline in decades.
The story behind these numbers is one of a perfect storm: soaring energy costs, a punishing rise in excise duty, and the lingering hangover from the pandemic. But for drinkers and workers, the real sting is in the price of a pint. The average cost now tops £5.50 in London and £4.80 across the country, a 15% increase in two years. In Wigan, where I grew up, a pint of bitter at the local Spoons has crept past £3.80. My dad’s generation would spit out their ale at that price. For many, the pub is no longer a nightly fixture but a fortnightly treat.
“We’re seeing a two-tier system,” says Tom Stainer, chief executive of CAMRA, the Campaign for Real Ale. “Those with money can still enjoy a quality pint, but for the working class, the pub is becoming a distant memory. It’s a social tragedy.” Stainer points to a 20% drop in pub visits among under-30s since 2019, driven by the cost-of-living crisis. Young people, he argues, are swapping the taproom for the supermarket, where a four-pack of lager costs a fraction of the pub price.
The closures are hitting hardest in the North and Midlands, where breweries and pubs have long been community anchors. In Barnsley, Acorn Brewery went into administration in March, axing 15 jobs. In Newcastle, the legendary Big Lamp Brewery closed its doors after 40 years, citing “unsustainable” energy bills that had tripled since 2021. The picture is similar in Scotland and Wales: the number of breweries in Operation is falling for the first time since the craft beer boom began in the 2010s.
“It’s a crisis we haven’t seen since the 1990s, when the big pubcos were stripping assets,” says Emma McClarkin, chief executive of the British Beer and Pub Association. “But this time it’s different. It’s not just about cheap beer. It’s about the viability of small businesses.” McClarkin points to the government’s decision to link alcohol duty to inflation, a move that she says will add an extra 10p to a pint by 2026. The Treasury argues that the duty freeze, which expired in August, was a temporary measure. But for brewers, the tax hike is the final straw.
Joshua Jones, who runs the award-winning Cloudwater Brewery in Manchester, told me he’s had to shelve plans to expand. “We were going to hire five more people this year. Now we’re just trying to survive. The margins are so thin that one bad month could sink us.” Jones has diversified into non-alcoholic beers and keg sales to supermarkets, but he says the soul of his business is in the taproom. “That’s where the community is. But people can’t afford to come anymore.”
For workers, the squeeze is brutal. Wages in the brewing sector have risen just 4% since 2020, lagging far behind inflation. Bar staff, delivery drivers, and cellar workers are among the lowest paid in hospitality, a sector already notorious for zero-hours contracts. Unite the Union has reported a surge in calls from brewery and pub workers, many of whom are being laid off with little notice. “The government talks about levelling up, but it’s letting our pubs and breweries die,” says Unite national officer Dave Carr. “These are skilled jobs, good jobs. And they’re disappearing.”
The irony is that Britain’s beer culture has never been more celebrated. International awards, a thriving export market, and the rise of “craft” as a global phenomenon. But at home, the party is over. The pubs that survive are those that can charge £6 a pint, turning their backs on the traditional clientele. The rest are pulling last orders for good.
As I write this, the Chancellor is under pressure from industry to freeze duty again in the November budget. But don’t hold your breath. In the meantime, raise a glass to the breweries we’ve lost. And pray the ones we have left don’t join them.
