News: July 2012

Despite the combined attractions of The Queen's Diamond Jubilee and the Euro 2012 football finals, beer sales in the UK fell sharply in the second quarter of this year.

The British Beer & Pubs Association's (BBPA) quarterly Beer Barometer reveals that sales were down 5.3% during the period, with on sales suffering a 4.6% drop and off sales a 5.9% decline.

The BBPA claims that British drinkers consumed 115 million fewer pints than in the same quarter last year and places the blame on the March Budget, when beer duty was increased sharply once again.

It says that the small rise in revenue from beer duty the Government is receiving is being almost wiped out by a fall in income from employment and other taxes as less beer is being sold and jobs are lost in the brewing and pubs sector.