Back in 2016, I was met with a mixture of ridicule, astonishment, disdain and – sometimes, but less often – admiration when I started talking about how I thought there was a gap in the market for alcohol-free craft beer. Fast forward to today and I suspect no one in the drinks industry thinks low/no is anything other than a fast-growing trend and a category…

The number of UK breweries becoming insolvent has tripled in the past year, with smaller brewers worst hit, according to data cited by tax and audit firm Mazars. Using Insolvency Service data, the company said the number of insolvencies rose to 45 in the year to March 31, 2023, up from 15 in the previous year. Paul Maloney, associate director at Mazars, said the insolvencies…

Big brewers and brands are taking cues from their smaller counterparts to add appealing riffs on lager styles. Nigel Huddleston reports Britain loves lager. Despite its European heritage running counter to the mood of the times, and the craft brewing-fuelled rise of 50 shades of pale ale, lager has, for several decades, had the largest chunk of the UK beer market by some…

Meantime beer has rebranded its core range as it looks to target the craft beer market. Taking inspiration from Greenwich, where Meantime is brewed, the Asahi-owned producer has created a “new visual brand identity” that will see changes to its packaging. The new cans and bottles feature locations found in Greenwich, such as the Greenwich Observatory, the Greenwich Peninsula and Design District.

While Heineken’s recent 100% buyout of London’s Beavertown Brewery has brought despair from many quarters of the craft brewing scene, many commentators regarded it as inevitable. The Guardian’s Rob Davies said that, with Heineken owning a 49% stake since 2018, it “was always going to happen”, while beer writer Melissa Cole described it as “no big surprise”. Clearly they weren’t taking Beavertown owner Logan…

While IPAs, stouts and APAs have enjoyed time in the sun, their more mainstream cousin has only just begun to re-emerge from the shadows. Goodbye Eurofizz, hello grown-up lager. Millie Milliken reports   “I’ve literally had people apologise for ordering it in here,” says Jake Doherty, manager of Cheltenham’s Bath Road Beers, of lager drinkers in his beer shop and bar. The stigma…

Speciality beer maker Green Times Brewing has extended its range of CBD ales. It has launched the 5% abv Take Five CBD New England IPA in 33cl cans. The beer is made with Citra, Simcoe, Mosaic and Columbus hops and infused with 10mg of THC-free cannabis oil extract. It joins a range that includes an CBD IPA and CBD alcohol-free IPA. Owner Thierry Florit said:…