Third of craft brewers run taprooms
British craft brewers are reviving the tradition of brewery taprooms as an antidote to the national trend of pub closures and the dominance of Big Brewers.
About a third of small breweries now run a tap bar, according to a report by the Society of Independent Brewers (SIBA), which also highlights a burgeoning micropub scene as brewers take over empty shops on their local high streets.
“A high percentage of our members now have tap rooms and they are becoming as important to local communities as pubs are,” said Mike Benner, the Chief Executive of SIBA. “They have always existed but are making a comeback because today consumers are very much into the idea of independence and local beer.”
The craft revolution has reinvigorated a beer market that had been in long-term decline. An estimated 500 million pints of indie brews were consumed in 2017, or 6.5 percent of total UK beer sales. Craft beer sales increased 1.7 percent in 2017, which was more than double the 0.7 percent growth reported by the wider beer market, SIBA says.
Cask beer production, however, is in sharp decline as the popularity of American hoppy-style beers and IPAs see brewers switch to kegs. A recent poll among SIBA’s 800+ members also found that craft brewers now bottle or can a fifth of their output to target the move towards drinking at home rather than in the local pub.
“Cask beer is seen as the pinnacle of brewing by most people but there is a shift towards other formats,” said Mr Benner. “It is struggling because it’s a pub-based product. It’s still hugely popular, because in a traditional British pub it will never go out of fashion, but the way people spend their time is evolving.”
The survey of SIBA’s members showed other evidence of changing tastes, with nearly one in ten respondents regularly making a gluten-free beer. “Not so long ago, cask ale represented well over 80 percent of production,” argued Mr Benner. “It is now 69 percent. More brewers are also introducing low-strength and gluten-free beers and there has also been a shift towards lager styles.”
Last year, the number of craft or micro-breweries exceeded 2,000 for the first time since the 1930s. At the same time, 18 pubs close every week, according to the Campaign for Real Ale.
SIBA defines a craft brewer as one that is not owned by a global company and produces less than 200,000 hl beer a year.
