The recent regulations that have been placed on Wales from December 4th mean that large quantities of beer in Welsh pubs and restaurants could be wasted.

Unlike in other parts of the UK, pubs and restaurants operating in Wales have been banned from selling alcohol, including as a takeaway option. If this measure is to last for a month, this will result in 33 million pints of beer going to waste, the equivalent of 6 Olympic swimming pools and 99 thousand bathtubs – that is on top of the 370 million pints of beer already under threat with the English tier system regulations.

A family-run kitchenware store has revealed that over 33 million pints of beer could be wasted due to limitations on the sale of alcohol throughout December in Wales.

Oliver’s Kitchen has used publicly available data to conduct research into how much beer is estimated to be wasted over the month of December, on top of the potential wastage throughout England.

Further figures and information can be found here: https://www.oliverskitchen.co.uk/blogs/oliver-s-kitchen/560-million-pints-wasted-in-covid-lockdown-2

Due to rising concerns over Coronavirus cases in Wales, the government has ordered all pubs and restaurants to shut at 6pm and not serve any alcohol, including takeaway orders. With the English government tier-system, meaning approximately 370 million pints of beer could be wasted, the recent Welsh regulations bring this number to over 400 million pints of beer in total across the two countries. In Wales alone that is the size of 6 Olympic swimming pools and just under 100,000 bathtubs.

Research also revealed that the UK public spent over £5.7billion* on beer in 2019, with Wales making up 5% of the UK, it is estimated that venues could lose out on over £285 million in December on beer sales.

The restrictions placed on pubs in particular may be having an impact on more than just the economy; a survey conducted by the Campaign for Real Ale (Camra) found that 32% of respondents identified the pub as the best place to meet friends, with the study also suggesting that the sense of community provided in a pub can be beneficial to one’s overall wellbeing**.

Oliver’s Kitchen is a family-run cookware store committed to helping the public to eat fresh. Its kitchenware makes batch-preparing food and cooking easy whilst being high enough quality to stand the test of time.

Oliver Warburton, founder of Oliver’s Kitchen, said,

“It really is a shame that so much beer is being wasted, not only for the owners of the venues who are losing money, but also for their regulars who rely on their local watering holes for socialisation. Pub culture is such an important part of the UK, whether you are a drinker or not, and to lose that would be totally detrimental to the wealth of the community both economically and socially.

“Now more than ever, the public must do all they can to follow government guidelines in the hope that life can get back to normal as soon as possible, for businesses and individuals alike.”