The 49th edition of The Good Beer Guide, which is released today (Friday 12 November) stated this is the highest number of breweries recorded in the publication since it began in 1974 and a national rise after recording the first decline in numbers since 2008 in the previous edition in data captured up to the end of September 2021.
However, while 138 breweries have opened this year and are newly listed in the guide, 75 closed with some regions reporting higher or equal numbers of closures compared to new breweries.
This followed figures from the Society of Independent Brewers (SIBA), which found the total number of breweries in the UK fell for the first time in more than a decade in 2020.
Sector resilience
Numbers of breweries over the years:
1974 – 171
1983 – 209
1993 – 254
1997 – 389
1998 – 399
1999 – 435
2000 – 429
2001 – 448
2002 – 444
2003 – 465
2008 – 668
2009 – 711
2010 – 840
2011 – 1,009
2012 – 1,147
2013 – 1,285
2015 – 1,424
2016 – 1,540
2017 – 1,684
2018 – 1,755
2019 – 1,823
2020 – 1,816
2021 – 1,902
The guide, which is produced by the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA), surveyed 4,500 pubs across the UK and CAMRA has called on the Government to increase support for the pub and brewing sector, in a bid to help mitigate the damage from extended closures.
CAMRA national chairman Nik Antona said: “After the struggles of the past 18 months for the industry, it is great The Good Beer Guide figures are showing the resilience of pubs and brewers in the face of strife – an increase in brewery numbers after they dipped last year for the first time, as well as over 500 new pub entries.
“This is great to see, especially coupled with the news from the Government’s latest Budget, including the announcement of a new, lower rate of duty for draught beer and cider.
“However, the industry is still vulnerable in the aftermath of Covid-19 lockdowns. Breweries still face issues around costs of goods, lack of business rate relief and silence from the Government on Small Brewers’ Relief reform. We are calling on the Government to make sure the new draught duty rate applies to containers 20L and up so that all our small and independent brewers can benefit.”
Real beer
The foreword for this year’s edition of the guide was written by singer and pub owner James Blunt, who highlighted the importance of pubs to communities and encouraged Brits to support their locals.
He wrote: “While, in recent years, there might have been a trend for people to drink cheap supermarket beer at home, those people have been locked away for the best part of a year, and now those people want out.
“They can taste real beer from the tap and food cooked by a pro, and they can meet legally and joyfully.”
