FIFTY MILLION pints of beer and cider may be poured down the drain, warns CAMRA

Fifty million pints of beer and cider could be due to end up down the drain after unused barrels go out of date in pub cellars across the UK. 

If public venues continue to remain closed into the summer months due to coronavirus, many of the barrels they had bought are likely to pass their three of four month best before period. 

This will leave publicans with little choice but to either return full barrels back to the brewery, some of which have promised to replace them free of charge, or to document themselves pouring away the spoils as duty-free waste. 

Tom Stainer, chief executive of the Campaign for Real Ale (Camra) told The BBC: ‘It’s a very sad waste of all the work and talent that goes into producing great beer.

‘People won’t get to drink it and all those resources have been used up for nothing.’

Mr Stainer estimates that of the 39,000 UK pubs each has around 15 barrels in its cellar on average. With the average keg holding 88 pints this means around 51 million pints could be currently spoiling in cellars.

Lager and other pasteurised beer can last up to three to four months however unpasteurised craft beers and real ale has a short cellar life of six to nine weeks meaning many ordered before the lockdown may be nearing their sell by date before they can be drunk by the public. 

An initiative called Pub2Me are inviting pubs to register their stocks for delivery or collection for consumers in the area. Each participating pub will display their menu card, with a selection of drinks and food options they are able to offer for collection and possibly delivery.

Keris De Villiers, landlady of the Ram Inn in Wandsworth, south-west London, told the BBC that unfortunately having people queuing on the narrow pavements outside wasn’t an option for them.

She told the publication: ‘We could do takeaways but that would mean selling beer on the corner of a very small pavement. That wouldn’t be socially responsible, with the need for people to keep their distance from one another. The whole situation is heart-breaking.

‘Our brewer literally talks to his tanks when he’s at work every day. People really care about the beer they’re making. It’s a craft and people are passionate about it.’ 

In order to get rid of now useless beer, known as ullage, some pub landlords have resorted to tipping it down the drain, however they may need to document this in order to be exempt from paying duty on the alcohol – and to prove they have not profited. 

Treasury rules state that no duty needs to be paid on spoilt beer, however it is usually brewery representatives who officiate this process. As they are not able to visit during social distancing this has now fallen on some pub owners to document their own wastage.

Wastage that returns to breweries still in the barrels may be boiled down and turned into fertiliser or animal feed. The alcohol could also be extracted to make hand sanitizer. 

While sales have been non-existent in pubs since PM Boris Johnson ordered their closure on March 20, the sale of alcohol in supermarkets has shot up by a fifth in the last month.  

A spokesman for the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy said: ‘Pubs are at the heart of our communities and an important part of local economies. 

‘We’ve asked them to temporarily close in order to help protect people and reduce the spread of the virus. But we are also delivering support to help businesses, including pubs, through the coronavirus pandemic.’