British beer quality worst in world, says Gilliland

Beer quality in UK pubs is the worst in the world, says a key player from the brewing industry.

Stewart Gilliland from Interbrew - maker of Stella Artois - slammed beer standards in the UK's 60,000 pubs during an exclusive interview with The Publican.

He said: "The UK is alone in having probably the worst quality of draught beer in the world and I find that quite astounding given the great brewing tradition we have and the number of pubs."

In what was more of a lament than an outright attack, Mr Gilliland was reiterating the need for more focus on beer quality.

With the British Beer & Pub Association (BBPA), Interbrew has spearheaded an industry-wide initiative aimed at raising draught beer quality. A host of brewers ranging from Coors to JW Lees have backed the campaign.

BBPA spokesman Mark Hastings said: "It is broadly recognised that there is a lot of work to be done on the quality of beer that we deliver in pubs. We need to be able to boast about our beer like the French boast about their wines."

Mr Gilliland, 46, who is moving to Canada to head up Interbrew's Labatts business, added: "There are very few markets in the world where the on-trade is so strong and yet we consistently serve our consumers poor quality beer. I think everybody is finally waking up to this now."

Click here​ to read our interview with Stewart Gilliland.