Independent brewery near Worthing feels the strain of coronavirus restrictions

An independent family brewery is among many feeling the strain of the coronavirus restrictions.
Co-founders of Lister’s Brewery Katie Coakes and Phil Waites with their father Alan WaiteCo-founders of Lister’s Brewery Katie Coakes and Phil Waites with their father Alan Waite
Co-founders of Lister’s Brewery Katie Coakes and Phil Waites with their father Alan Waite

Katie Coakes, co-founder of Lister’s Brewery,  said the situation had improved over the summer after lockdown, with pubs and restaurants back open.

But she said: “Things have definitely slowed down again.

“The 10pm curfew has affected confidence. Publicans aren’t so keen on ordering, they don’t know what’s happening.”

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Her comments come as an industry body warns that independent breweries were being pushed to breaking point.

The Society of Independent Brewers said they were struggling to cope with a fall in beer sales which, even as businesses reopened, remained at just 51 per cent of what they would have expected for a ‘normal’ July.

Katie said the brewery was ‘particularly affected’ at the moment because it also supplies areas beyond Sussex such as Liverpool, where pubs and bars have been ordered to close.

Yet despite being impacted, the brewery will not be able to benefit from any of the financial support on offer.

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Being a small brewery had made it easier to adapt during the lockdown.

“We are doing our best to pivot the business, trying to make sure we get bottling started, looking at other products we can produce as well and sell directly to the customer,” she said.

“We are shifting focus here and there, to be able to come out the other side.”

And fortunately the pandemic did not disrupt the brewery’s plans to move from its previous location in Ford to the Duke of Norfolk’s Angmering Estate.

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The challenges of the pandemic come as the Government is set to slash the Small Breweries’ Relief, which was introduced to take account of small brewers’ relatively high cost of production and allow them to compete with global brewers.

The plans would reduce the threshold where brewers pay a 50 per cent reduction in beer duty from 5,000 hectolitres (hl) a year, or 900,000 pints, to 2,100hl.

Katie said that, while the proposal would not currently affect them: “It’s not a good thing. When the time does come that we are big enough that we are over the threshold, we will have prepared for it, we will have the time to. But it’s another kick when we’re down.”