Brewers

Campaigners want VAT cut and help for licensees and small breweries

01-Mar-2024 By MA

A campaign group has demanded a VAT cut from the Spring Budget and urged the Government to listen to licensees and not big brewers.

Drop in beer sales signals changes needed for brewers

04-May-2020 By Nikkie Thatcher

A fall in on-trade beer sales amid the coronavirus pandemic means UK brewers will need to adapt further to thrive when the crisis eases, research has found.

Hints and tips for working with local breweries

22-Oct-2019 By Stuart Stone

There’s more to greasing the wheels between pubs and brewers than paying bills on time. Here, we look at how a licensee can build a better relationship with local brewers and the difficulties faced if you are not free of tie.

Comment

6 hot American craft beer trends

01-Oct-2018 By Lotte Peplow

The US is a hive of craft beer activity, with a market that has significantly more going on than the UK’s. In this special feature, Britain-based beer sommelier, writer and judge Lotte Peplow reports on the latest trends from the Great American Beer Festival...

Mock pub aims to drive UK tourism and beer exports

24-Oct-2017 By Fred A'Court

A British pub set-up complete with bar, seating areas and even an iconic red telephone box at overseas trade shows could also be used to boost beer exports – with the added bonus of visiting a pub as a ‘must do’ activity during a visit to the UK.

£350k refurbishment for Star Pubs & Bar site

09-Oct-2017 By Georgina Townshend

Work has started this week on a £350,000 refurbishment to a Star Pubs & Bars site in Chelmsford, Essex.

Big beer cannot emulate craft, says Sierra Nevada ambassador

11-Sep-2017 By James Beeson

Multinational drinks organisations attempting to buy up the craft beer market will never be able to lead the way in innovation, according to the world’s first craft-beer brewery.

Exclusive

Camden Town Brewery reveals collaboration plans

10-Feb-2017 By Nicholas Robinson

Camden Town Brewery will collaborate with at least two US brewers in AB InBev’s (ABI) craft beer portfolio this year and is open to working with independent London craft brewers, The Morning Advertiser (MA) can reveal.

Pubs Code

Greene King accuses Pubs Code of "confusion” over stocking rights

19-Dec-2016 By Michelle Perrett

Greene King has blamed the pubs code of creating “inconsistency and confusion” by omitting to clarify stocking rights.

Great British Pub Awards

Pub Awards: Best Live Entertainment finalist - Two Brewers, Clapham, London

30-Sep-2016 By MA

The Two Brewers is a well-established gay bar that has been operating for 35 years, with 80% of customers regulars. 

Comment

"Saisons were originally designed for farm workers not craft beer hipsters" - on beer flavour

25-Jul-2016 By Pete Brown

When I used to work for the marketers of big mainstream lagers such as Stella Artois and Heineken, we were often at loggerheads about what most drinkers wanted from beer.

Beer

“There are too many brewers chasing too small a market.” - SIBA's Mike Benner

12-May-2016 By Mike Benner

I keep hearing this statement, both from brewers and from licensees. Is the current ‘craft beer’ boom set to turn to bust as too many brewers fight it out for access to a declining number of pubs?

Beer

British brewers win seven awards at World Beer Cup 2016

09-May-2016 By Nicholas Robinson

Six British beer brewers have taken gold, silver or bronze across several coveted categories at the World Beer Cup held in Philadelphia, US, over the weekend.

Beer

Brewing up standards in higher education

04-Mar-2016 By Roger Protz

An interest in brewing has led to a high-tech teaching centre for university students. Roger Protz reports.

Comment

The return of lager: The beer that's harder to brew than IPAs or imperial porters

25-Feb-2016 By Pete Brown

Despite not having much of a chance of becoming the next great clairvoyant, Pete Brown could be on the right track by predicting a growth in quality lager.

PRICE ROW

Operators threaten to de-list Charles Wells beers following price hike

24-Feb-2016 By Emily Sutherland

Operators have threatened to de-list Charles Wells beers after the brewer and pub company announced yesterday it was raising prices of its own-brewed beers by 2%. 

Budget 2016

Budget 2016: Licensees want more than 'token' beer duty cut

18-Feb-2016 By Oli Gross

Another cut to beer duty in next month’s Budget won’t go far enough to support pubs, and more action is needed, licensees told the Publican’s Morning Advertiser (PMA).

Beer sexism: It’s spelled ale not male

05-Feb-2016 By Jane Peyton

Sexist marketing in the beer and pub industry has to stop. Jane Peyton asks brewers to market beer at people, regardless of gender and pubs to refrain from stocking beers with sexist pump clips

Alcohol guidelines

Lack of discourse over units is hard to swallow

14-Jan-2016 By Ed Bedington

Life is all about risk. Some things are riskier than others — paragliding naked over a tank of ravenous sharks while juggling a set of sharp knives, for example.

Industry blasted for lack of ethics in dealings with craft brewers

16-Sep-2015 By Emily Sutherland

Leading craft beer brewers have spoken of their frustration with pubs and bar chains who consistently fail to pay for beer on time.

Fleurets: How the pub industry has changed in the last 50 years

22-Oct-2014 By Barry Gillham

Fleurets chairman Barry Gillham is celebrating 50 years with the company. He reflects on how the pub industry has changed during the decades

The chance to make a meaningful change

06-Aug-2014 By Simon Clarke

Following the Monopolies and Mergers Commission report, prior to the Beer Orders 1989, it seemed the industry was going to be reformed after three previous investigations. But The Brewers Society submitted proposals and all six recommendations were watered...

Fair Pint campaigner: 'IFBB have nothing to fear from pubs code if they practice what they preach'

25-Jul-2014 By Simon Clarke

The Independent Family Brewers of Britain (IFBB) this week described the Government's pubs code proposals as "an insult to the way we do business". Fair Pint campaigner, Simon Clarke, says they have nothing to worry about if they are treating...

Target of cutting 1 billion units of alcohol by 2015 on track

28-Apr-2014 By John Harrington

The drinks industry is on track to meet its target of removing one billion units of alcohol by 2015, having reached 25% of the target in the first year (2011-2012), a new report shows.

Punch teams up with new brewers for its spring range of cask ales

22-Apr-2014

Punch Taverns is working with seven new brewers in its Finest Cask scheme this spring.

The trade is alive and kicking

18-Mar-2014 By Pete Brown

The number of pub closures may be on the up but innovation is rife in the industry, says Pete Brown.

Brewers charge more for less

18-Feb-2013

The decision to raise beer prices and reduce ABV will save the global brewers money, but squeeze our pubs, argues Roger Protz.

Licensees face further beer price increases in 2013

10-Jan-2013 By Adam Pescod

Major brewers have revealed their wholesale beer price increases for 2013, with licensees facing rises of up to 5p per pint in some instances.

Government beer tax stamps plan could be illegal

16-Jul-2012 By Gurjit Degun

The Government’s plans to introduce a tax stamp for bottles and cans of beer could be illegal, according to lawyer DLA Piper.

Beer tax fraud inquiry: small brewers could face £14m hit over duty suspense

27-Jun-2012 By Gurjit Degun

Small brewers transporting beer under duty-suspense in the UK will have to pay in excess of £14m per year if the Government does not go ahead with excluding those producing fewer than 200,000 hectolitres (HL).

BBPA issues ten point plan to tackle duty fraud

24-May-2012 By Michelle Perrett

The British Beer & Pub Association  has issued a ten point plan to HM Customs and Excise  to tackle beer duty fraud.

GBBF trade tickets now available

07-Jun-2011 By Michelle Perrett

Licensees and brewers can now apply for free tickets for the Great British Beer Festival (GBBF) trade day on Tuesday, 2 August.

Kegwatch to increase charges

08-Apr-2011 By Tony Halstead

Kegwatch is to increase the charge it makes for re-patriating lost beer containers to brewers and other suppliers by £1 from May to help plug a...

Don't fall for the gloss, beer tie needs reform

14-Mar-2011 By Simon Clarke

The surface of recommended licensed trade reforms has barely been scratched, says Simon Clarke.

Robert Sayles: Is the price of beer being 'manipulated'?

28-Feb-2011 By Robert Sayles Robert

In 1890, English economist Alfred Marshall published his work, 'Principles of Economics' which outlined how the principles of supply and demand...

Whitbread pubs add low-salt soups to menu

21-Jan-2011 By Lesley Foottit

A number of Whitbread brands have introduced a variety of lower salt soups to their menus. Brewers Fayre, Beefeater Grill and Table Table now offer...

Caroline Nodder: Over-indulgent niche brews will only interest beer geeks

08-Dec-2010 By Caroline Nodder

I have spent my life in the pub trade trying to avoid beer geekery. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love beer. All types of beer. From mild to...

Brewers face tough new eco targets

07-Dec-2010 By James Wilmore

Brewers are facing tough new targets as part of a bid to make the industry more eco-friendly. A 17.5 per cent cut in CO2 emissions and an 11 per...

Enterprise in talks with 'dozens' of SIBA brewers

22-Nov-2010 By Ewan Turney

Enterprise Inns is in conversations with dozens of SIBA brewers about taking on one of its pubs with a free of tie deal on cask beer.

Rent concessions are the industry's sticking plaster

22-Nov-2010

"A further review of the licensed trade is proposed from the Business, Innovation & Skills Committee (BISC, the successor to the Trade and...

Tax needn't be taxing - but its effects can be damaging

11-Oct-2010 By Hamish Champ

Tax, as the advertisements for the Inland Revenue say, needn't be taxing. Try telling that to Europe's - and the UK's - brewers. A new report by...

Chris Maclean: Hogsheads, firkins and kilderkins - does the future of cask lie in the pin?

25-May-2010 By Chris Maclean

I have an old eighteenth century school maths book. In it is the following problem; "If in a family consisting of seven persons there are drank out...

Fair Pint could back beer tie for family brewers

25-Mar-2010 By Ewan Turney

Fair Pint could support family brewers' right to tie tenants if they distance themselves from the major pubcos and resign from the BBPA.

Quality Focus: Recruiting the smile

25-Mar-2010

Recruit the smile, and the training can follow later. That's the modern mantra used in barstaff recruitment. Genuinely outgoing personalities who...

National Cask Ale Week: Savour its success

11-Mar-2010

Every week on the BBC's Saturday Kitchen show, a guest journalist is invited to select a wine to go with that week's featured dish. It's always wine,...

Brewers have fun with festive brews

03-Dec-2009 By Sonya Hook

Competition for witty ale names is high this year as brewers inject some festive fun into the on-trade. Three Sheikhs to the Wind is the quirky...

Cask is among our finest achievements

23-Sep-2009 By Stephen Oliver

Cask ale is one of Britain's glorious legacies to the world, says Marston's managing director Stephen Oliver.

Big brewers set to join new-look SIBA

07-Aug-2009

The campaigning future of the Society of Independent Brewers (SIBA) will be shaped from October 1 as the UK's biggest brewers decide whether they...

GBBF brewers hope to capitalise on cask success

03-Aug-2009

Brewers will this week attempt to attract more consumers into the burgeoning cask ale category at the Great British Beer Festival (GBBF). The event...

Whitbread to sell four pubs

27-Jul-2009 By The PMA Team

Whitbread has instructed Christie + Co and Gerald Eve to jointly market four pubs including three Brewers Fayre venues.