I found out some amazing figures, in conjunction with the Quaffale website, about Brewery start ups in the UK.
Over the last 15 years the figures are :-
2000 - 40
2001 - 58
2002 - 56
2003 - 72
2004 - 74
2005 - 79
2006 - 88
2007 - 80
2008 - 92
2009 - 74
2010 - 116
2011 - 155
2012 - 212
2013 - 211
2014 - 191
That’s an amazing increase in the last 5 years. Obviously quite a few of these are short lived or so small that they make little impact, but it is an incredible change in the UK beer scene.
I wonder whether this rate of change can be maintained? |
Interesting stats.
Not sure it can be maintained and already evidence of that in the figures dipping a little post 2012.
Late ’12 through to summer ’14 seemed to be boomtown in London, but things have quietened down a bit since then, although there are still new ones cropping up. |
Well, of course it can’t be maintained forever.
But if the US is anything to go by, there’s still plenty of scope for more breweries here. I think we’ll continue to see more small players with local emphasis popping up. Breweries with dreams of getting big will need to be very ambitious given current circumstances.
Aside from new breweries opening, what will also be interesting is seeing how existing - but recently opened - breweries continue to grow and competition ramps up. In London, there are a number of breweries that have recently expanded or are in the process of doing so.
Kernel expanded a few years back. Not sure they are looking to grow more at this point.
Camden is building a new brewery to bring more/all production in house, and maybe increase production.
Brew By Numbers just took over another railway arch.
Partizan just took over another railway arch.
Redchurch is looking to expand.
Beavertown is in the process of building a barrel-aging/sour beer warehouse.
And I’m sure there are other London breweries that have continued to expanded slowly - a new fermenter here, a new fermenter there. |
Where do those figures come from Glen? They’re not quite the same as the ones on Quaffale.
It needs to be compared with the number of closings:
2000 - 57
2001 - 35
2002 - 26
2003 - 30
2004 - 34
2005 - 25
2006 - 35
2007 - 34
2008 - 25
2009 - 27
2010 - 23
2011 - 28
2012 - 35
2013 - 24
2014 - 15 |
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The net decrease in 2000 was largely attributable to the closure of a large chain that put brewpubs into bowling alleys. Otherwise it’s been onwards and upwards.
People have been saying the growth is unsustainable for years. The fact is that it’s a pretty big market of which the small players still have a relatively small stake and there’s still plenty of market share up for grabs.
Also, I think there are a lot more "lifestyle" brewers about today. By which I mean those that do not have to make a full time family-supporting living out of it - part timers, retirement projects etc etc. Which also means that many of the closures are not financial failures as such. This sort of operation isn’t going to have much enterprise value and when the brewer, for one reason or another, decides he/she’s had enough they tend to just fade away. Of course, the kit invariably ends up with another startup even if the business itself doesn’t continue. |
Originally posted by Leighton
But if the US is anything to go by, there’s still plenty of scope for more breweries here.
Even more, I’d say. I’ve read quite a bit about the US craft scene through the (relatively short) ages and the periodic shakeouts that have occurred. I’ve been staggered by the amount of capital that US brewers seem to have needed to get things off the ground compared to here. Mind you that has largely been in relation to those that haven’t lasted the distance so there may be a lesson there. Also, there’s rather less regulatory hassle to go through in setting up in the UK and more/easier routes to market. |
Chris, these are Quaffale’s numbers plus a retrospective addition of Breweries that were not picked up at the time. Agreed that closures should be taken account of, I’ll have a look what my numbers throw up. |
I believe that there is still room for growth, particularly as the London type scene can move through some of the larger conurbations that haven’t caught up yet. The West Midlands, for instance, must be ripe for the opening of a few craft keg Brewpubs. |
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net openings
2000 - -17
2001 - 23
2003 - 30
2003 - 42
2004 - 40
2005 - 54
2006 - 53
2007 - 46
2008 - 67
2009 - 47
2010 - 93
2011 - 127
2012 - 177
2013 - 187
2014 - 176
Still shows a big rise since 2010, but may suggest a plateau since 2012 rather the 2013 being the peak. I had no idea there were do many new breweries.
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So more new openings in each of last few years than Scotland, Wales and NI altogether (yes some have opened in those 3). NI brewers have doubled since I moved here 5 years ago, with at least 50% more planned this yr |
Originally posted by imdownthepub
I believe that there is still room for growth, particularly as the London type scene can move through some of the larger conurbations that haven’t caught up yet. The West Midlands, for instance, must be ripe for the opening of a few craft keg Brewpubs.
A lot more of the small breweries are also putting beer into bottles these days. That opens up a whole host of potential sales outlets, albeit often small scale. And outlets that are not burdened by the pub system to boot. It’s noticeable that I often stumble across a few local bottled beers in rather unexpected places. |
