UK Brewers Industry Predictions For 2011

Britain’s national drink, beer, is always refreshing whether a hot or cold day. Over the past decade UK beer drinkers have developed a thirst for premium beers, real ale, full-flavoured ales and smooth porters. Presently in the UK there are different brands available for beer lovers such as Fosters, Carlsberg, Pilsner Urquell, Peroni Nastro Azzurro, and SABMiller. The majority of British drinkers want world beers imported from their country of origin instead of notionally foreign beers that are actually brewed under license in the UK.

People desire premium beer with a bit of history and tradition behind it. However, recently there has been an increase in demand for real ale and the year 2011 is expected to be the year of beer revolution. The group that saved real ale from extinction, CAMRA-Campaign for Real Ale- is leading the exciting beer revolution in the UK. CAMRA is often criticized for insisting on keeping cask ale cheap that it makes being a small brewery very difficult. The group also insists that if a beer is going to be called "cask" then it should meet strict criteria.

No doubt the British ale industry is alive and thriving. The Hop Back Brewery won industry recognition for its Summer Lightning ale, and is now served in the House of Commons. The strongest beer in the world, Tactical Nuclear Penguin, is of the Scottish brewer BrewDog. According to figures from the British Beer & Pub Association in 2009, ale increased its share of the UK beer market for the first time since 1960.

Unfortunately, the New Year has brought with it a tax increase by the Government which would hit pubs pretty hard. The British Beer & Pub Association (BBPA) has stated that the 20% increase in VAT would add a further 6p to the cost of a pint of beer, on top of the 26% rise in Beer Tax seen during the past two. The VAT increase sees a typical pub pint break the £3 barrier for the first time, and the British Beer & Pub Association has urged the Government end further rises in Beer Tax.

The beer industry fears that the increase of VAT from 17.5 per cent to 20 per cent will have a severe impact and will hurt pubs and small, family-run businesses might be forced to shut down as they are less able to absorb the cost than big supermarkets. While over the next few years increases in beer duty are set to climb above the rate of inflation. There are numerous brewers in the UK that are listed on SearchMe4, the UK’s leading online business directory.

For more information on Brewers, visit our business directory.