Small beer
29/04/09 16:22
As a beer lover, and a supporter of local breweries at every opportunity, I think the news of falling beer sales is very distressing.
Beer sales fall by 11 per cent
Beer sales in supermarkets and off-licences fell 11 per cent in the first three months of this year compared with the first quarter of 2008, new industry figures show. The reduction represents the highest first quarter sales fall since 1997. On average 1.7 million fewer pints were drunk every day from January to March than during the same period one year previously. Supermarkets and off-licences saw sales fall by 4.5 per cent over the whole year.
I am often dismayed at how hard it is to find British beers on tap, or even in bottle, in pubs. So often it’s just the big continental names to choose from, mostly lagers at that, and the most frequently offered British beer seems to be Fuller’s London Pride. Great for drinking in London, but down here in Sussex I’d like Sussex beers please.
Still, the good news is that Jeremy from the Arundel Brewery reported good trading when I bumped into him recently (metaphorically, not after a tasting!), so maybe the future is Local for beer to? I hope so.
Beer sales fall by 11 per cent
Beer sales in supermarkets and off-licences fell 11 per cent in the first three months of this year compared with the first quarter of 2008, new industry figures show. The reduction represents the highest first quarter sales fall since 1997. On average 1.7 million fewer pints were drunk every day from January to March than during the same period one year previously. Supermarkets and off-licences saw sales fall by 4.5 per cent over the whole year.
I am often dismayed at how hard it is to find British beers on tap, or even in bottle, in pubs. So often it’s just the big continental names to choose from, mostly lagers at that, and the most frequently offered British beer seems to be Fuller’s London Pride. Great for drinking in London, but down here in Sussex I’d like Sussex beers please.
Still, the good news is that Jeremy from the Arundel Brewery reported good trading when I bumped into him recently (metaphorically, not after a tasting!), so maybe the future is Local for beer to? I hope so.