FEATURE: Winners on the bar – four of the fastest-growing beers in UK pubs

We only have to look at The MA Drinks List 2026 for this information (and much more by the way) but here, The Morning Advertiser looks at four of the beers that have made exceptional progress throughout last year.

And talking of ‘exceptional’, Molson Coors’ Madri Excepcional is one of the best-selling lagers. Whether you like the backstory or not, there’s no doubt it is a beer that has enjoyed great success in pubs and bars last year.

According to The MA Beer Report 2026, the average price of Madri rose by 25p per pint to £5.80 across the UK (source: Pint Price Survey, The Morning Advertiser).

Going somewhat against the grain in a still-buoyant lager on-trade lager market, Madri Excepcional saw volume and value sales lifts by 0.8% and 5.4% respectively, according to CGA data for the 12 months ending 4 October 2025.

Volume sales for Madri went up from 881,138 hectolitres (HL) in the year prior to 888,302HL while sales rose from £837.8m to £882.9m during the same time period.

Molson Coors Beverage Company sales director Kevin Fawell explains: “We are seeing consumers become more considered about their spending, with visits to the pub increasingly viewed as special occasions, so many are looking for ways to elevate their experience. For some, that will mean opting for a beer that feels more premium.

“We’re continuing to see strong momentum behind Madrí Excepcional, which is now worth more than £856m in the UK on-trade and is the third-largest lager brand by value. It continues to perform strongly, making it a must-stock for operators looking to drive sales.

He adds that consumers seeking premiumisation in drinks doesn’t mean every consumer wants the most expensive drink on the bar but are rather looking for quality and value in equal measure.

“For operators, success comes from offering a balanced range,” he argues. “Trusted core brands remain incredibly important, but they should sit alongside premium world lagers that encourage customers to trade up. A well-curated range, combined with knowledgeable staff, quality presentation and visible premium brands, gives consumers confidence to explore while ensuring there’s something for every occasion.”

And on tips for pubs wanting to show off their range, he says visibility is key, whether that’s giving premium world lagers a prominent position on the bar, featuring them clearly on drinks menus, using branded glassware or creating eye-catching PoS displays.

He adds: “Staff recommendations can also play an important role in encouraging trial and helping consumers discover something new.”

Quality, atmosphere and an experience

Another lager that enjoyed even greater percentage uplifts was Cruzcampo from Heineken.

Posting a whopping increase of 56.4% in volume sales from 436,3030HL to 682,471HL and 67.4% in value from £368.4m to £616.8m, Cruzcampo is certainly one that is capable of increasing its price on the bar going on sales boosts.

Heineken UK on-trade director Mick Howard reveals: “Consumers are becoming far more intentional about their visits to pubs and bars. They are going out less frequently, drinking fewer pints per occasion, but when they do visit, they are looking for quality, atmosphere and an experience that feels worth leaving the house for. The old volume-led model is increasingly being replaced by one centred on quality and occasion.

“Cruzcampo is benefiting from that trend because it sits firmly in the premium lager space. The category is now worth £2.1bn and growing at 14%, with consumers increasingly trading up to brands that offer quality, provenance and a distinctive point of difference.

“Importantly, Cruzcampo grew by 45% year-on-year in value, making it the number one premium lager brand in the segment. That growth reflects consumers’ willingness to pay more for brands that elevate the overall experience.”

Howard adds pubgoers are increasingly experience-led, with consumers visiting venues to connect with friends, celebrate occasions and enjoy an atmosphere they can’t recreate at home. He points to research that shows people are actively seeking more memorable, social and experiential occasions when they go out.

Howards adds consumers are facing financial pressures, which means every pound spent is being scrutinised more carefully and that people are making fewer visits and consuming fewer drinks but they are increasingly willing to trade up when the quality warrants it.

He continues: “In fact, 64% of beer drinkers say they would pay more for better quality, while premium lager continues to outperform the market as consumers seek more rewarding drinking experiences.

“Some of the most successful venues strike a balance between trusted favourites and premium trade-up opportunities. Consumers still want reassurance from recognisable brands, but they also want those brands to deliver a heightened experience.”

According to The MA Beer Report 2026, the average price of Cruzcampo rose by 30p per pint to £5.69 across the UK (source: Pint Price Survey, The Morning Advertiser).

A shock entrant into The MA Drinks List 2026 was independent craft beer Jubel ‘Cut with Peach’. This fruit lager has set tongues wagging and slurping – and makes for a great summer sipper.

According to The MA Drinks List 2026, volumes sales spiked by 117.9% with 45,845HL produced in the 12 months ending 4 October 2025 (source: CGA) – up from 21,041HL while value soared by 122.8% from £24.2m to £53.9m.

Fantastic milestone

Jubel founder and CEO Jesse Wilson told The Morning Advertiser the rise has continued: “Our on-trade value growth is up 122% year on year, and volumes of our flagship peach lager in the on-trade are now around 75,000HL, which is a fantastic milestone.

“It is true that people are drinking less but this isn’t a social factor, it’s an economic one, because they simply can’t afford to go to the pub as frequently as they used to. That puts more importance upon the experience of the pub visit being a quality one. We play squarely into this from a beer standpoint and a brand one.

“Beer wise, we have pioneered a completely distinctive style of beer that is widely accessible, highly sessionable and dangerously refreshing. There are lots of fruit lagers now following our lead, selling to pubs on the basis of being ‘like Jubel’ but consumers are showing by their purchasing behaviour that they don’t want to bother drinking something that is like a Jubel when they can just drink a Jubel.

“Our brand is experiential and we bring this experience to the on-trade by supporting pubs heavily with music-led pub takeover events, and consumers have responded really positively to these activations, which add a lot of value to their pub visits and make them more memorable.

“Pint prices keep climbing because the cost of running pubs keeps climbing, but if the experience of going to the pub also keeps climbing then there shouldn’t be cooling interest from consumers.”

The fruit category continues to press forward with the likes of craft specialist Vault City pioneering alternative styles, Budweiser Brewing Group’s Strawberries & Cream lager and Greene King, which released a peach lager called Pilfer.

Meanwhile, Hawkstone has become another of the darlings of the on-trade as the fame of owner (and pub operator) Jeremy Clarkson grows further.

Data from CGA, which must be interpreted with some caution because there is limited statistical reliability, shows the total volume sales for all Hawkstone beers has risen from 2,475HL to 14,653HL – representing an eye-watering 492.1% increase (source: CGA OPM data for the 12 months ending 13 June 2026).

The story for value sales is similar too. From value sales a year ago of £2.4m, this year that figured has reached £14.5m – a leap of 494.9%.

Indeed, the total number of distribution points in the on-trade rose from 236 a year ago to 1,294 in mid-June this year with further CGA data showing the volume return on sale in hectolitres per average outlet went up 7.8% from 10.5HL to 11.3HL and value matched this as sales per average outlet went from £10,358 to £11,223 – an 8.3% boost.

Breaking down the individual Hawkstone brands, its Premium Lager takes the lion’s share of volume and value sales of 8,966HL and £9.6m respectively.

Hawkstone Session Lager has been the big mover in the past year with volume sales going from 154HL to 2,882HL – a 1,766% lift within a year and value sales went up 1,596% from £0.2m to £2.7m.

Big uplifts albeit from bases have taken place for its Cider and Pils brands and as newer products, Hedgerow and IPA are climbing too.

It’s clear to see that different beers catch the eye and whether that be for great taste, general popularity or what is put in front of customers, sales have been good for these four brands and the current summer weather must be good news for them too.