The UK Lost 100 Breweries Last Year

A new report shows that it’s not just the US and Germany—the UK is experiencing a drastic decline in craft beer and breweries too. When looking at how many breweries existed at the beginning of 2024, it’s a little startling to see how many were left standing at the start of 2025.

The Society of Independent Brewers (SIBA), an organization representing the interests of independent breweries in the UK, revealed there were 1,715 breweries at the start of 2025, 100 fewer than the January prior. That equates to one brewery shuttering about every three days in 2024. Yikes.

This dip represents the largest number of UK breweries to shut down in a year ever. To put it into perspective, a mere eight shut down in 2023. A small glimmer of hope, though, is that the majority of 2024 closures occurred in the top half of the year as the final quarter saw far fewer.

Like the rest of the world, craft brewers across the UK have fallen victim to all the familiar problems plaguing the industry. Margins have dramatically tightened due to inflation and that likely isn’t going to change in 2025. More competition from mainstream companies also isn’t helping. On top of all that, craft beer interest is waning as non-alcoholic offerings are gaining popularity as a shift to more health-conscious drinking habits takes hold.

SIBA insists, though, that there is still a “strong demand for independent beer” in the UK, according to their release. But even if interest isn’t waning, the reality is that the costs of running a brewery are making it very difficult for small operations to exist.

It’s rapidly evolving into an eat-or-be-eaten landscape, and unless you’re the bigger fish in the pond, it’s becoming very difficult to survive.

The release mentioned that many of the indie brewers who closed their doors “can’t sell into enough of their local pubs and make enough of a profit to remain viable.” SIBA hopes that 2025 sees a “turn in the right direction” and a focus on stability comes into play. That being said, SIBA said a lot of their hope rests in the government offering more support.