The UK consumed 31 million extra pints from April to June, compared with the same period in 2015, according to new figures from the British Beer & Pub Association’s (BBPA) Quarterly Beer Barometer.
However, though off-trade sales rose by 4.8% during the UEFA Euro 2016, on-trade sales fell by 1.9%. The BBPA said the slump was one of the lowest second quarter drops for the on-trade in recent years. Beer sales have risen by 1.2% over the past year, and have been relatively stable since early 2013 following years of decline, it said.
BBPA chief executive Brigid Simmonds said: 'These are yet more encouraging figures, and the football has given a real boost to sales. It is quite clear we owe a huge debt of thanks to the cuts in beer duty from 2013. I hope the government continues with this pioneering change in approach, and we continue to see support for fairer taxes for British beer.'
David Cunningham, programme director of There's A Beer For That and Britain's Beer Alliance, said: 'We can see that the campaign messages of quality, diversity and versatility of beer and our focus on encouraging people to pair different styles of beer with their meals, is beginning to have a positive impact on consumer perception behaviour. This in turn is playing a part in the recovery of the category.'
