Drinkers need a wet summer, brewers warn
By: JimOldfield
April 14th, 2012
Beer supplies are under serious threat unless the UK sees some prolonged rainfall in the next few months, drinkers have been warned.
Yields of barley – of which 1.7m tonnes are used annually by the UK brewing industry – are being seriously compromised by the worst drought in the UK since 1976.
Britain’s biggest brewer, Molson Coors – which, among others, own Cornish real ale brewery, Sharp’s – has engaged in a survey which showed 32 per cent of barley farmers saw their yields fall during the dry spring of 2011, with this year’s figures expected to be worse.
The result could be yet more increases in the price of a pint as brewers struggle against the elements and the Government’s Beer Escalator taxes.
Aside from the quantities of barley available, quality has also been compromised by the drought, which has led to increased nitrogen levels in
The Environment Agency warns that despite recent rain, river levels have continued to fall in many parts – adding that levels are “exceptionally low” over two thirds of the UK for the time of year.
