UK: Wetherspoons pubs drop Russian beer from their menus

UK pub company Wetherspoons has dropped Russian beer from its menus in response to the ongoing war in Ukraine, the Metro UK reported on March 2.

Baltika Lager is brewed in St Petersburg, the birthplace of Vladimir Putin.

All bottles of the 5.4% beer – which cost £2.99 each – will be returned to distributor Carlsberg.

It is not known how much the move will cost the pub group.

In a statement, Wetherspoons said: ‘In light of the situation in Ukraine we just felt that we could not stock it anymore.

‘As of today all those beers won’t be available in any Wetherspoons pub and either have been or are in the process of being returned to the Carlsberg distributor.

‘We are not implying in any way that anyone involved with the brewery is directly involved with what’s going on, but we thought in light of the current situation our pubs don’t want to be serving Russian beers.’

Baltika Lager had been offered as part of the Wetherspoons World Beers selection as a way of introducing beers from across the globe to its customers.

One employee at Wetherspoons referenced boss Tim Martin, responding: ‘Big Tim doing bits to help the war effort, good lad.’

Another said: ‘That’s it, Putin is fuming.’

Baltika Breweries’ beers, such as Baltika Lager, are distributed by the Carlsberg Group, which also sells Carlsberg, Heineken and Kronenbourg.

These lagers are all safe from the chop however, as they are brewed in Denmark.

Vodka fans at all Wetherspoons branches will also be able to continue to enjoy Smirnoff.

04 March, 2022