Beer sales in British pubs have fallen by 35 million pints

UK beer sales have fallen by their biggest margin in five years, according to industry leaders.

Sales of beer in pubs, bars and restaurants are at their lowest since 2012.

Sales in pubs, bars and restaurants have fallen by 3.6% in the three months to the end of September compared to the same period in 2016, a new report from the British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA) reveals.

The drop in sales is equivalent to Brits drinking 35m fewer pints than they were last year.

The British Beer & Pub Association is the leading body representing Britain’s brewers and pub companies.

Beer sales were hit hard by a 3.9% tax hike in the 2017 March Budget, according to the BBPA.

In response to the latest figures Brigid Simmonds, chief executive of the BBPA, has joined the WSTA in calling for a freeze on “unsustainable” alcohol duty in the upcoming Autumn Statement.

“When the Government was cutting or freezing beer duty from 2013-15,” said Simmonds, “sales of British beer stabilised, after years of steep decline.

Simmonds said that “urgent action from the Chancellor is needed” to prevent further damage to the industry on the 22 November.

“Beer has had a 39% tax rise in the past decade. With tax rates 14 times higher than in Germany, these levels are unsustainable.

“We need fair taxes for British beer, so that brewers and pub operators can invest in thriving pubs, and take advantage of new opportunities to export more beer around the world as we leave the EU.”