“Christmas isn’t the same without a pint at the local with friends and family.” – Emma McClarkin, BBPA

The British Beer & Pub Association (BBPA) is expecting beer sales in pubs to be 90% lower than normal this December, a devastating decline of 270 million pints over the last Christmas season.

With Covid-19 infection numbers escalating in the UK, PM Boris Johnson has imposed new measures that could be the end of many pubs and breweries.

The pre- lockdown restrictions have been divided by three different tiers…

• Medium / Tier 1: Rule of six if meeting indoors or outdoors; pubs and restaurants shut at 10pm
• High / Tier 2: No mixing indoors; rule of six applies outdoors; pubs and restaurants shut at 10pm
• Very high / Tier 3: No mixing indoors or in some outdoor spaces; pubs and bars not serving meals are closed

BBPA’s Emma McClarkin

But with Covid-19 numbers on the rise in the United Kingdom, those restrictions were further tightened in Tier 2 and Tier 3 starting on December 1st.

In Tier 2, pubs and restaurants may now only serve alcohol as part of a substantial meal, meaning that venues that are primarily drinking outlets without restaurants must close. And in Tier 3, pubs, bars and taprooms must remain closed except for delivery and takeaway operations.

The BBPA’s unsettling prediction, the result of beer sales volume survey that the trade association has conducted monthly for the last 20 years, showed the extreme impact the tier system is having on the viability of pubs and breweries this Christmas.

And the BBPA is calling on the UK government to drastically reduce the tier restrictions pubs are currently facing, or provide them with the substantial support they’ll need to survive the winter.

Emma McClarkin, chief executive of the BBPA, was uncompromising in her assessment of the dire situation UK pubs are facing going into the holidays…

 “These stark numbers show that this Christmas could be the last for many of our pubs. With trade up to 90% lower than usual, many pubs simply won’t survive without government either easing the restrictions or providing more support for pubs and brewers.”

“The one-off payment for pubs of £1,000 doesn’t come anywhere close to compensating for up to 270 million lost pint sales or almost £1 billion hit to their turnover.”

 “The saddest thing of all is that our pubs should be properly open this Christmas. 270 million lost pints reflect 270 million lost opportunities for friends, families and communities to be together enjoying their local pub this Christmas.”