The Campaign for Pubs has written to the chancellor and the secretary of state for business, energy, and industrial strategy, urging them to take action after a spate of small brewery closures.
There have now been more than 80 closures this year. The threat from unaffordable energy bills is existential for many of the UK’s burgeoning small craft breweries, all of whom rely on significant energy usage. This is combined with other rising costs, including the price of malt and hops, and the cost of living crisis, which is reducing consumer spend.
The letter, from campaign brewery co-ordinator, Phil Saltonstall, founder of Brass Castle Brewery, and vice-chair Dawn Hopkins, also criticises the lack of appropriately targeted government support, and the complete lack of dedicated assistance for brewers during the Covid crisis, despite brewers plainly being part of the fabric of hospitality.
Even now, says the campaign, potentially positive initiatives such as draught duty reform and a proposed deposit return scheme are flawed and skewed against smaller brewers in favour of large multinational producers, who enjoy a very close relationship with government.
With more of the UK’s small breweries closing day by day, the UK government must step in to protect to the country’s craft beer sector, rather than continue to assist multinationals to achieve greater market share at the expense of our brewing heritage, says a campaign press statement.
The campaign is calling for:
- The extension of business rates relief to small brewers
- Further and more meaningful action on energy bills for businesses
- Changes to draught duty relief to allow pubs to sell takeaway cask/draught beer
- Changes to the deposit return scheme to make it work for smaller brewers, as opposed to only working for big brewers.
Draught duty relief is, in principle, a welcome measure, but the campaign says it is flawed because, as currently proposed, it would stop sales of takeaway cask and draught beer, which doesn’t make sense and is detrimental for both brewers and pubs.
Cask beer is vital for pubs, and pubs are vital to small brewers, so reform is needed to allow a sealable container option which gives customers the opportunity to safely enjoy takeaway cask beer. Removing that option flies in the face of decades of policy and messaging about drink-driving, the campaign argues.
The campaign is also calling for serious review of the deposit return schemesthat come into force in Scotland shortly, before then coming into effect across the rest of the UK in 2024. The scheme, in its current configuration, loads significant financial costs and bureaucracy onto smaller breweries, with no relief for size or economies of scale.
Phil Saltonstall said: “The growth of small breweries in the UK has been a major success story, in spite of the ongoing monopoly dominance of a few huge breweries. The government is now in serious danger of actively allowing this important growth industry to fade away.
“The government has bowed to big brewery lobbyists and announced alcohol duty and deposit return measures that will disproportionately disadvantage smaller competitor breweries.
“Meanwhile, no sector-specific support has been provided to brewers at any point, meaning that after having struggled through the Covid crisis, we are now facing the economic pincer of huge increases in input prices across the board and a cost of living crisis, which means that our consumers are having to cut back.
“Small businesses like ours need dedicated and ongoing help with rising energy prices and certainty over planned policy measures, to know what our costs will be in the medium term and to allow us to chart a course through the current storm.”
Dawn Hopkins added: “Our small, independent breweries are in crisis. Already over 80 have closed this year, many more are on the edge, and the situation is getting worse.
“Our proud brewing industry is under threat from the ever-rising cost of utilities and ingredients, the loss of pubs, and the cost of living crisis, and they need support and help right now.
“I urge the government to stop turning a blind eye to this dire situation and to act now before we lose any more breweries. We urgently need a meaningful support package to get small brewers and pubs through this winter.”
• The Campaign for Pub’s letter can be downloaded here.
