Craft breweries in the UK: industry profile

The term “craft beer” has no officially recognised or universally agreed definition and is often used loosely for marketing purposes. It is generally understood by consumers (according to SIBA research) to describe beer produced in contrast to industrial brewing: made on a smaller scale by independent, local or artisanal brewers. Large multinational drinks companies Heineken, AB Inbev and the C&C Group have increasingly entered the sector through acquisitions of craft brands. These beers are known colloquially as 'Crafty'.

The craft product tends to be keg (pasteurised) rather than cask (unpasteurised), although not exclusively.  It is seen to be more innovative than traditional real ale brewed by breweries such as Greene King, Adnams, Harvey's or Hall & Woodhouse (which will be mostly cask) and appeals to a younger demographic.

Like many other sectors of the hospitality industry, brewing in general was hard hit by the Covid-19 pandemic. Independent brewers‘ average production had however returned to pre-covid levels by 2023, although in 2025 suffered it's first fall since 2020 (by 10%). Overall average beer production was still 6.6% below pre-pandemic levels in 2025 (Morning Advertiser Beer Report 2025).

Average (mean) production by SIBA member breweries (SIBA Independent Beer Report 2026)

However the number of breweries dropped from 1,828 in 2003 to 1,578 in 2026, due to increased mergers and acquisitions and market pressures. SIBA points out that this may explain the increase in average production as the remaining breweries have picked up the custom of the closed breweries.

UHY reported that the turnover of the UK’s top 25 independent brewers reached a record £1.72bn in 2024, a 9% increase on the previous year. IBISWorld industry report Beer Production in the UK (March 2026) reports that "Revenue is expected to grow at a compound annual rate of 3.2% over the five years through 2025-26 to £9.5 billion, including a forecast dip of 2% in 2025-26. Profit is also expected to nudge downwards in 2025-26, reflecting producers' struggle with rising operational costs." This forecast however is for ALL beer production, not that just classed as 'craft'.

The Morning Advertiser Beer Report 2025 reported that Craft beer sales, after a decade of growth, had a 1.5% downturn in value during the 12-month period to Feb 2025, dropping from £1.23bn to £1.20bn and a downturn in sales volume from by 6.1% year-on-year, decreasing from 1.23m hectolitres to 1.16m.

CO₂ shortages caused by disrupted fertiliser production (which in turn depends on natural gas supply) could threaten operations in brewing and fizzy drinks industries, with UK authorities warning of possible gaps on supermarket shelves if the Iran war continues.

There are several market segments in brewing:

Segmentation by beer style

• Lager
• Ale
• Stout (and porter)
• Low/No alcohol
• Imported beers

According to the SIBA Independent Beer Report 2026, growth in the on-trade continues to be concentrated in a small number of styles. No- and low-alcohol beer recorded the strongest performance, with on-trade value sales rising by 34.4% between 2024 and 2025. Stout also performed well, increasing by 24.4%, while craft stout grew by 16.3%.

Premium, world and speciality lagers all recorded reasonable increases in value, although growth in craft segments was more muted. Craft lager sales rose by 1.8%, while craft keg ale saw marginal growth of just 0.8%. By contrast, all other beer styles experienced a decline in on-trade value sales, with craft cask ale recording a significant fall of 16.7%.

The UK remains a net importer of beer. Figures from The Brewers of Europe show that imports exceeded 8 million hectolitres in 2024, with 97% sourced from Europe, while exports totalled just over 4.3 million hectolitres, 60% of which went to European markets. Both imports and exports have declined since 2022. Among SIBA members, only 8% export any beer at all, and exports account for just 0.5% of total volumes.

Segmentation by sales channel

• On trade (pubs, restaurants, clubs, brewery taps)
• Off trade (supermarkets, online shops and other retail)

The SIBA Independent Beer Report 2026 shows that the current split between on‑trade and off‑trade beer sales stands at 42% and 59% respectively. In 2015, sales were evenly balanced at 50:50, although the off‑trade share had already been increasing gradually.

This shift accelerated sharply during the Covid period, when the split moved to approximately 22% on‑trade and 78% off‑trade as hospitality venues were closed. Since then, the balance between the two channels appears to have stabilised, with the on‑trade/off‑trade split now plateauing at around current levels.

Segmentation by scale of production

• Macro (big brands - incudes 'Crafty' products)
• Large Regional breweries (Greene King, Fullers, Robinsons etc) brew beers and have tied pub estates. Mostly brew cask ale.
• Micro. Smaller breweries that tend to not have a pub estate but may have a brewery tap. The majority of craft brewing fits in to the Micro segment.

Segmentation by packaging

• Draught (cask)
• Draught (keg)
• Cans
• Bottles

There were no figures collected for packaging segmentation for 2020, but it's clear what impact Covid had on this segment with pubs not reopening until the 2nd quarter of 2001. (SIBA Independent Beer Report 2026). SIBA believe the the increase in bottles and cans can be partially explained as a being a consequence of more breweries having their own on-site/web shop where these would be the favoured packaging options.

Consolidation

Independent craft breweries bought by multinationals:

• Camden Town brewery bought by AB Inbev for £85m in 2015
• Meantime bought by SAB Miller in 2015. (later sold to Asahi who also bought Fullers)
• Brixton Brewery bought by Heineken in 2018
• London Fields bought by Carlsberg Marstons in 2018 for £4m (but closed in 2021)
• Beavertown bought by Heineken in 2022 (£100m+)
• Brewdog bought by Tilray for £33m in 2026 (after going into administration)
• Innis & Gunn bought by C&C Group for £4.5m in 2026

Consolidation has also occurred at a non-multinational level. The Keystone Brewing Group bought up several independent brewers in 2024, including Black Sheep and the Brick Brewery. Keystone was then bought up by the Saltaire Brewery (part of Paramount Retail Group) in 2026. The new group is now known as the Great British Drinks Company.

LGT Wealth Mangement explain the rational for this consolidation as "by acquiring distressed or under-capitalised breweries and integrating them into a larger, more efficient footprint, the group can reduce redundant cost, centralise sales and distribution and accelerate market reach."

Brewery closures

SIBA reported that “brewery closure rates increased dramatically during 2025 compared to previous years, with a 37% spike compared to the previous year.” This is due to increased mergers and acquisitions and market pressures forcing closures.

Access to market

Access to market is one of the biggest problems for smaller brewers as they find it more difficult to get supermarket listing and don’t typically own their own pub estate. The Chancellor’s announcement in the 2024 Autumn statement of a guest beers consultation was welcomed.  The latest report on this was an answer to a parliamentary question in October 2025.

In Scotland, the Guest Beer Agreement went live in April 2025. This gives freedom for tenanted pubs in Scotland that, once agreed by their Pub Company, permission to sell at least one guest beer in any format. SIBA's report on it's first year of operation found that not enough pub tenants were aware of the scheme, but those that did "the vast majority (71%) found it to be useful for their pub business. This increased to 94% for those who have applied for a Guest Beer Agreement. Nearly a quarter (23%) of those aware of it said it was improving trade, increasing to 86% for those who had an Agreement in place."

Pubs are still closing – 336 closed permanently in 2025 in England and Wales in 2025 according to the Guardian. This is leading to a greater reliance on supermarkets (where margins are smaller) and direct sales. A further report from UHY in March 2026 stated that "the number of pubs and bar companies collapsing into insolvency rose 2.6% from 769 to 789* over the year to December 31, according to analysis of insolvency data." This is put down to demographic and behavioural trends, such as the increase from working at home and more people are non-drinkers.

The proposed changes to Pub Business Rates announced in the Autumn Budget 2025 threatened to hit the industry hard, leading to large increases for the majority of pubs, where around 80% of the beer produced by small independent breweries is sold. However the government announced business rates support for pubs in January 2026.

Diversification

In order to widen their access to the market, more breweries are opening online shops/brewery taps, 45% of SIBA members now have a taproom and 54% have a brewery shop. Brewery tours are another venue stream, as is putting on live music such as Signature Brew in East London who also provide beer to many other local music venues.

In addition breweries are increasing production of low alcohol and gluten free beers to take advantage of these growing markets:

• breweries producing low or % alcohol beers has increased from 10 -15% of SIBA members from 2020 to 2023.
• breweries producing gluten-free beers has increased from 11 – 26% of SIBA members from 2021 to 2023.

The Morning Advertiser Beer Report (2025) (on trade only, all brewers not just Craft) report that low and no-alcohol beers have had a volume sales increase of a 105% over the last two years and a value sale increase of 125.4% in the same period.

Finances

SIBA report that "SIBA brewers are likely to have taken a hit to their bottom line in 2025", due to minimum wage and national insurance increases and prices received for the product not rising as fast as inflation. 32% of SIBA members expect turnover to fall in 2026, a rise of 2% on 2005.

UK brewers also have a disproportionately higher rate of alcohol duty than most other countries in Europe, with only Finland, Sweden and Ireland being comparable.

Heineken through ownership of Brixton and Beavertown (2024 turnover £105m) and AB Inbev through ownership of Camden Town (2021 turnover £34.3m), and the largest independent producer Brewdog (2024 turnover £280m). Many pubs will have a ‘craft’ beer from one of these breweries.

Other well-known craft brewers:

• Northern Monk (Leeds) turnover £16.3m, 109 employees (2024)
• Tiny Rebel (Newport) turnover £15.1m, 144 employees (2024)
• Thornbridge (Bakewell) turnover £14.6m, 103 employees (2025)
• Verdant (Cornwall) turnover £7.78m, 66 employees (2024) 
• Lucky Saint (who only produce no alcohol beers) turnover £21.7m, 67 employees (2025) 

• Brewers of Europe
• British Beer and Pub Association
• Camra, the Campaign for Real Ale
• Chartered Institute of Brewers and Distillers
• Independent Brewers of Europe
• London Brewers’ Alliance
• SIBA, the Society of Independent Brewers and Associates

• Industry guide: Alcoholic drinks
• Industry guide: Pubs and bars
• Industry guide: Vineyards and wineries
• Industry profile: Vineyards and wineries