More from the Ten Year Plan
Further to the mention of the Ten Year Plan for the NHS in the introduction, there is to be consultation on the definition of low alcohol beer. The proposal is to bring the UK definition into line with international standards by simply describing any beer with an ABV of 0.5% or below as ‘alcohol free’. The proposal has been welcomed by the British Beer & Pub Association (BBPA).
The plan also proposes changes to alcohol labelling. Additional nutritional information and health warnings are planned so as to bring alcoholic drinks into line with the current requirements for tobacco and food. This has not met with approval in all quarters. The chief executive of the Portman Group, who describe themselves as ‘the alcohol industry regulatory body for marketing’, commented, “We do not believe there is a case for wider health warning labels which may be disproportionate when overall alcohol consumption is falling and the majority of people already drink within the chief medical officer’s low-risk guidance”. According to one report, sales of alcohol-free beers have increased by 125% over the last two years.
Going down
The latest figures from the Society of Independent Brewers and Associates (SIBA)’s UK Brewery Tracker are not good. At the end of March there were 136 fewer active breweries compared to March 2024. The total has fallen to 1,641. The south east area, including Greater London, saw the biggest loss with 38 breweries closing. Some are closing of their own volition, not being able to see a viable future. In their Independent Beer Report for 2025, SIBA’s chief executive, Andy Slee, reiterated their complaint that most small brewers simply cannot get their beers into around 60% of the pubs within a 40 mile radius because of the beer tie, especially as operated by the large pub-owning companies who buy in the beer which they oblige their tenants to buy. The Government are well aware of this situation and the Chancellor of the Exchequer has promised that access to the market for independent breweries will be reviewed in this year’s Autumn Budget. In the meantime, CAMRA volunteers and staff continue to lobby Treasury officials on the matter.
40ft Brewery news
40ft, who recently celebrated their tenth birthday, are setting up a new brewery in a unit on the Blackhorse Beer Mile in Walthamstow. The venture will be financed by crowd funding. If all goes to plan, there will be a taproom at the new site which they hope will become a community hub. The existing taproom in Dalston will be retained and some beers may still be brewed there. They are also hoping to permanently reopen the Dalston RoofPark, where their beers were first served in 2015. Owner Steve Ryan told the Evening Standard, “The brewery is growing up, just as we are. Dalston is where I met my wife and the Walthamstow taproom is where we’ll bring our family. Both spaces will serve different needs of the community.”
Farewell to the Stag Brewery
After a prolonged planning battle, including a public inquiry, plans have been accepted for the redevelopment of the former brewery site next to the River Thames on the Lower Richmond Road in Mortlake. The £1.3 billion scheme will see the building of over 1,000 new homes, a school, shops and offices. There is however still a lot of opposition locally. Although Watney’s beers may not have been appreciated in certain quarters, the brewery was, in its day, one of the most technically sophisticated in the industry and it does mark the end of an important chapter in London brewing history.
