The UK’s once-booming craft beer industry is facing a sobering reality, as new data reveals that 43 breweries went insolvent in the year to February 2025 — the highest number in recent memory.
According to figures compiled by UHY Hacker Young, the surge in insolvencies highlights the intense pressure facing independent brewers, many of whom are struggling to stay afloat amid rising costs, a saturated market, and increasingly cautious consumers.
Breweries lost to insolvency over the past year include well-known names such as Hackney Brewery, Burton Town Brewery, and Fourpure, the south London craft brewery once used as a backdrop for a 2021 political photo op featuring then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Chancellor Rishi Sunak.
“The craft beer boom was one of the most exciting recent trends in food and drink,” said Brian Johnson, partner at UHY Hacker Young. “Unfortunately, it’s a sector that attracted too many entrepreneurs who struggled to break even.”
The UK’s craft beer market has grown exponentially since the mid-2000s, with a wave of independent breweries emerging to meet consumer demand for small-batch, locally brewed alternatives to big-name lagers. But the post-pandemic landscape has been far less forgiving.
A “perfect storm” of rising production costs — including energy, ingredients, equipment, and staffing — combined with stagnant or falling consumer spending has placed many brewers under unsustainable pressure.
Recent hikes in the national minimum wage and employer national insurance contributions have further inflated wage bills, while the ongoing cost-of-living crisis means many households are scaling back on discretionary purchases like craft beer.
“Weak consumer spending means many breweries will have to adapt to leaner times,” Johnson added.
Insolvencies are only part of the picture. A report released in February by the Society of Independent Brewers and Associates (SIBA) showed the UK lost 100 breweries during 2024, bringing the total number down from 1,815 to 1,715 — a steeper decline than in previous years.
The data suggests that in addition to formal insolvencies, many breweries are quietly closing their doors or exiting the market through mergers, sales, or voluntary closures.
“For smaller brewers who rely on loyal local followings, even a slight dip in demand can tip them over the edge,” Johnson said. “With so many brewers competing for attention, it’s increasingly hard to survive.”
While some breweries continue to innovate and thrive, the current climate suggests that the era of unchecked growth in craft brewing is over. The sector is being forced to consolidate, streamline, and refocus — with brands that can scale smartly or find a strong niche likely to emerge strongest.
For others, however, it may be last orders — a sobering sign that Britain’s love affair with craft beer may be entering a more mature, and less crowded, phase.
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Is it last orders for the UK craft beer sector as brewery insolvencies rise?