I worry about the beer industry, it sometimes keeps me awake at night. Following the unprecedented experience of the pandemic and lockdowns that changed our lives, to the newly realised cost of living crisis, the breweries and pubs we love are up against it. The reality is that many will not survive these challenges, and some already haven’t. 

While, relatively speaking, things have been pretty good for the past 10-15 years—during which the number of breweries in the UK has more than doubled—now, whether you’re operating a production brewery, or a hospitality business, the outlook is bleak. The cost of everything is increasing, from raw materials such as hops and malt, to chemicals, carbon dioxide, aluminum cans, and the devastating increases to utility bills. That’s even before you’ve considered your staff, and increasing their wages so they can work through this crisis too. When looking at the big picture, it feels like not only are the glory days over, but that we are yet to see the true extent of the damage this will cause to these livelihoods. 

But there’s always hope. Right? In this episode I decided to take a look at how the cost of living crisis is affecting the beer industry from two different perspectives. Inspired by the classic Red Dwarf episode ‘Confidence and Paranoia’ I listen to both of these internal voices, to try and make sense of what’s happening out there at the moment.

This was inspired by the interview featured in this show with William Burgess, co-founder of Gan Yam Brew Co. Based in Kendal, on the edge of the Lake District. Back in February on a visit to the brewery I had the opportunity to William about what it’s like to set up a business during the middle of a pandemic, without really understanding (at this point) how the cost of living crisis was going to make things even worse. But if things are truly so awful, then why exactly are new breweries like Gan Yam deciding to make a go of it at all? Listen on to find out…

This episode of The Pellicle Podcast is sponsored by Hand & Heart. We’ve partnered with them to offer listeners of The Pellicle Podcast a free 30-minute advice session. You could be a business owner wondering what the hell DEI means, an employee wanting to upskill, thinking about starting a business, or at a loss of how to develop your current business. To sign up head to www.handandheart.eu/pellicle.

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