Major UK brewers have begun stockpiling malt and hops against an anticipated post Brexit shortage industry sources have confirmed.
Industry insiders have confirmed that the UK’s five biggest brewers; Molson Coors AB InBev, Heineken and Carlsberg, which together produce around 75% of the beer consumed in the UK have been importing considerably more malt and hops than normal, anticipating post Brexit shortages due to increased border checks as the UK switches to trading under WTA rules.
“At one time the UK produced all the malt and hops it needed to meet local demand but changing markets and tastes mean we now import the bulk of both products from Europe,” explains beverage market analyst Mitchell N. Butler, warning that even stockpiling may be insufficient to prevent a “beer drought”.
“Bulk buying by the big boys of brewing has caused prices to soar which is forcing many craft brewers out of business,” he added explaining that stockpiling is risky as malt deteriorates over time affecting the taste of the product.
“As it becomes impossible for the big brewers to maintain the distinctive flavours of their flagship lagers, we expect them to re-launch traditional keg beers such as Whitbread Trophy and Watney’s Red barrel, for which quality isn’t an issue,” he added.
A move likely to give real ale aficionados a heart attack, but a return to traditional brewing practices appears to be a very distant proposition.
“The traditional malting houses have all been converted into restaurants or flats and the once famous Kent hop fields are more likely to be growing quinoa or naga peppers,” explains Burdon Firkin of real ale pressure group CAMRA, pointing out that a return to traditional hop growing is also unlikely following the post Brexit ban on cheap farm labour from the EU.
On that issue though, there may be a solution, with Lord Tim Widdershins – recently ennobled for his services to Brexitry, pointing to the innovative employment contracts introduced by his Widdershins pub chain earlier this year.
“Replacing zero hours contracts with slavery has been a huge success and could be rolled out to the hop sector through the reintroduction of indentured agricultural labour,” he explained, adding that he had already identified a cheap source of electric cattle prods in North Korea.
“That’ll keep us competitive with those b*stards in Europe,” he smirked.