UK: British beer drinkers forecast to be turning soon to ale again

British drinkers are shunning lager and turning to ale in a boost to the country’s brewers, according to the chairman of beer maker Adnams.

Industry figures show sales of ale fell nearly twice as fast as sales of lager over the 10 years to 2014 as the overall demand for beer declined.

But Jonathan Adnams, the fourth generation of his family to run the Southwold brewer, said ale is now staging a comeback.

“The growth of lager relative to ale seems to be turning around, aside from premium and craft lagers,” he said.

But he also warned that UK total UK beer sales fell 1.5 per cent last year and lamented ‘the sad reduction’ in pub numbers across Britain.

“We too have seen the impact on our pub estate of changing consumer tastes and increasing competition from home entertainment, casual dining, fast food outlets, coffee shops and others,” said the 59-year-old.

The comments came as Adnams reported a dip in annual revenues from £66 million to £65.7million. But it raised its dividend from £1.36 a share to £1.44 a share after profits rose 7.3 per cent to £4.1million.

Adnams, who has worked for the company for 40 years and was paid £248,000 last year, welcomed recent cuts in beer duty announced by the Chancellor.

He also hailed the ‘vibrant and growing UK craft beer market’ but added that the resurgence of the industry – there are now 2,000 breweries in Britain – was making the market more crowded.

Adnams warned that 2016 would be ‘a tougher year for the economy’ than 2015 and added that the year got off to a slow start – partly due to drinkers signing up to ‘dry January’.

He said: “We saw somewhat lower January sales and it is hard to escape the conclusion that a growing interest in following dry January may have had a role in this.”

25 March, 2016