Up to 87 million pints of beer could have been wasted since the pandemic started, according to the British Beer & Pub Association (BBPA).
Down the drain: so much beer has been wasted
At an average cost per pint of £3.81 in a pub, it means pubs have lost £331 million in revenue on beer that they have been forced to destroy.
The trade association says this is revenue that would usually pay for hundreds of thousands of jobs in pubs and breweries across the UK, as well as the maintenance and upkeep of pubs.
BBPA chief executive, Emma McClarkin, said: “Our sector is in limbo. And at several points in the last 12 months, pubs and breweries have effectively had to pour their revenues down the drain.
“We have no idea or clarity from government on when we can re-open again. What we do know is if we cannot re-open in the near future, without further government grant support and extensions to the job retention scheme, pubs and brewers will no longer have the cash left to survive and a wave of closures will be inevitable with jobs lost.
“Even when they can re-open, pubs and brewers are still likely to need government support to help them kick-start their businesses again.”
She added: “With a Budget coming up in March, we are urging the chancellor to continue to support our sector in what we hope are the final months of this crisis.
“If pubs remain closed beyond March, further grants need to be delivered to them and brewers. Without this, neither pubs or brewers will be around to brew and serve beer when we can re-open.”
