With 85% of pubs now serving alcohol-free beers the British Beer and Pub Association is urging people to get out, banish the January blues and enjoy time with friends and family whilst supporting their local, regardless of what they’re ordering at the bar.
Up from 78% just three years ago, an estimated 39,000 pubs across the UK now serve a low or no alcohol beer, in addition to a whole range of other non-alcoholic drinks on offer at the bar.
With the cost-of-living biting and times tough for the British public, the BBPA is encouraging people not to make the start of the year even more blue by staying home, but instead to come together, stave off loneliness and support the pubs at the heart of their communities.
The call comes as pubs across the country continue to suffer after the third year in a row of disrupted trading due to train strikes as well as battling with extortionate energy bills and inflation.
In what would be a quiet time of year for pubs, the BBPA is asking people to remember how much joy spending time at the pub with those closest to us brings and to banish the January blues by supporting the struggling industry, an opportunity that has been off the cards for two years running at the start of the year.
Emma McClarkin, Chief Executive of the BBPA, said, “These are tough times for the country and people are understandably finding ways to cut back. But in what is usually an already gloomy time of year, we’re encouraging people to seek out their community hubs and come together with friends and family at their local. Not only will you be greeted with warmth and friendly faces, but you’ll be supporting much-loved businesses that urgently need help to survive.
“Pubs are all to all and regardless of what you’re ordering at the bar there is something for everyone. Our nation’s ingenious brewers have made great strides in developing new ranges of delicious low and no alcohol options over the past few years, so if you can please head down to your local and taste what’s on offer. A warm welcome awaits you and you might even find a new favourite tipple amongst friendly faces.”