Beer boom goes flat as breweries call last orders

The UK's independent brewing industry is contracting, with a net loss of 150 businesses last year, as rising costs and market access barriers squeeze small producers [1]. Companies House data shows 320 brewing businesses shut in 2025, while only 170 opened, reducing the total number of UK beer brewing companies to 2,320 as of April 2026 [1]. This figure is down from a peak of 2,594 in 2022 [1]. The decline is exemplified in Burton-upon-Trent, once the heart of British brewing with 30 breweries; today, only eight remain [1]. Tim Webb of the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) identified a core issue: "The big problem that breweries have got, and it is getting worse, is access to market," citing the dominance of large brewery companies owning draught lines in pubs [1]. The industry also estimates two pubs closed every day in the first quarter of 2026 [1]. This consolidation contrasts with other global markets. For instance, as of April 2021, the state of Ohio in the U.S. was home to 366 breweries, supporting an estimated 83,000 jobs [3]. To survive, UK brewers are diversifying. Andy Slee, chief executive of the Society of Independent Brewers and Associates (SIBA), stated, "In order to survive, you just can't stay doing what you were doing before" [1]. Many are opening taprooms to serve beer directly, a crucial revenue stream as supermarket sales are often blocked by price undercutting [1]. The sector's challenges are long-standing. Consumer groups like the Society for the Preservation of Beers from the Wood, founded in 1963, have long advocated for traditional cask ale, highlighting a persistent interest in heritage styles even as the overall market shrinks [6]. Brewers also face a "suffocating level of taxation," with SIBA lobbying for a tax reduction on draught beer [1]. While the government has reviewed market barriers and launched a business rates support package, the net loss of companies continued into 2026 across most English regions [1]. London was the only area not to see a net loss last year [1].