UK brewers cheer rising beer sales

UK brewers have something to cheer as new figures show that the decline in beer sales is slowing, indicating a glimmer at the bottom of the beer mug.

According to the UK quarterly beer barometer published today by the British Beer & Pub Association (BBPA), whose members account for 98 per cent of the beer brewed in the UK and own nearly two thirds of Britain's 54,000 pubs said that the decline in UK beer sales seems to be slowing, with pub sales falling at a slower rate than supermarket sales.

The new figures show that UK beer sales dropped by 4.8 per cent in the second quarter of 2009. This is less than the 8.3 per cent fall in the final quarter of 2008 and the 7.8 per cent drop in the first quarter of this year, indicating that the UK beer sector may be on the road to drowning more beer.

Beer sales in pubs are down 4.5 per cent compared to the second quarter in 2008. Pub beer sales fell 6.3 per cent in the first quarter of 2009 and 9.9 per cent in the last quarter of 2008.

The 4.5 per cent fall means 4.2 million fewer pints were drunk each week in pubs during the second quarter compared with the same period in 2008. In total, 54.6 million fewer pints were consumed in pubs in the second quarter of this year compared with last year, said BBPA.

Supermarkets and off-licence sales are down 5.2 per cent this quarter compared with the same quarter in 2008 – the equivalent of 4.2 million pints each week. Beer sales in supermarkets and off-licences have now fallen at a faster rate than sales in pubs for two consecutive quarters.