The View Through My Glass Bottom

Julian Grocock ...and still counting the cost

‘By the way, we have lost more than 200 breweries from our mailing list in the last 12 months.’

The closing words of Chris the Editor ’s email – sent primarily to advise me of my latest article deadline – make a solemn and compelling case for me to continue to focus on the depressing industry themes of the moment

And I’m sorry if that exacerbates the gloom, but we really cannot turn a blind eye to what’s happening, in the rose-tinted hope that the survivors will emerge revitalised and ready to restore a familiar semblance of normality.

As I write, the crisis feels significantly worse with the news that a business as well-established and successful as Black Sheep Brewery is appointing administrators – possibly the final step in an increasingly desperate strategy to attract investment, via takeover or merger, after being ‘hit very hard’ by the pandemic and punishing operational costs

Furthermore, the effect across the industry is reflected by the statistic that 153 pubs called time for good in the first three months of this year, compared with a 2022 total loss of 386 – an increase of almost 60% ~

So where does this leave us? It might not help that I’m highlighting the problems without proposing practical solutions, but I’m hoping there are sharper-brained tacticians out there, still active in our threatened sector, who can formulate a pragmatic way forward What I believe must be taken on board is that this is not just the latest phase in a timeless cycle of economic ups and downs, which we just have to ride like a roller-coaster The changes are far-reaching and potentially irreversible, and ultimately about more than their money-based roots Their cultural – and community – implications cannot be overlooked Nor can we ignore the effect on health We know that alcohol-related deaths rose during Covid lockdowns, due I am sure to a rise in drinking away from social (and controlled) environments – by which I do of course mean pubs Subsequent figures, however, have shown this higher trend has persisted beyond the worst of the pandemic The pubs are open again, but death rates remain above previous averages – reported by news media with an element of surprise, as though it was newsworthy because it was unexpected

Surely I’m not the only person who isn’t surprised ~

I did once experience a socially ingrained drinking culture that wasn’t pub-based Forty years ago, I went on holiday to Denmark with my girlfriend (now my wife) to stay with one of her closest college friends, who was living in a rural community with the chap she’d fallen for when he was working on her parents’ Yorkshire farm There was a bar in the village, but I was told it was a place for loners and misfits (Needless to say, I insisted on going there; it was dimly lit and bleak, with no more than half-a-dozen punters, and must have struggled to maintain commercial viability ) What my new friends did, with their longstanding local circle, was take turns to host social evenings – not full-on parties, you understand, but just high-spirited and good-natured get-togethers, fuelled mostly by a case or two of big-brand bottled beer Do we want something like that here? It was enjoyable, the company was excellent, and I did learn how to flick the crown cork off the top of one bottle with the unopened top of another. But the far more valuable thing it taught me was just why British pubs deserve such an iconic worldwide reputation My Danish friend has always been fanatically enthusiastic about them, and on his visits he’s consequently enjoyed the company of strangers well beyond any concept of an exclusive ‘local circle’ And I have of course already told you about the friends I only have because I’m a pub person ~

I know I began this article with reference to brewers, and apologise again for drifting off into the on trade But I will repeat myself: businesses across our sector are united in their difficulties, and must remain so in their quest for solutions I hope the passion that brought me into this industry still thrives, from mash tun to cellar, and in every other intrinsically connected and essentially integral specialist support corner

A long time ago now, as SIBA’s chief executive, I hosted an Annual Conference with Canned Heat’s classic LET’S WORK TOGETHER! as our theme Well, the heat is pretty much out of the can now, so the song’s exhortation has never been more important

So, astute industry strategists, where are you and are there any answers?

Julian Grocock

Julian Grocock is a former pub landlord, managing director of Tynemill/Castle Rock, and chief executive of SIBA.

Extensive experience in beer and pub politics, brewery and pubco operations, and on the front line in the pub trade...‘from cellar to ceiling’.