Irish beer production slumped in 2021 but recovery under way

Beer production fell sharply in the Republic last year, down 46 per cent on 2020, according to figures released by the employers’ lobby group, Ibec. The numbers employed in the sector also fell by a fifth.

The group’s Drinks Ireland|Beer division suggests the fall in production was due to a drop in demand following the tough anti-virus restrictions on the hospitality sector that were in place for large parts of 2021. Its Beer Market report says about 60 per cent of beer typically is consumed in pubs, but that fell to 29 per cent in 2020 before recovering somewhat to 46 per cent in 2021.

The production dip in 2021 followed a fall of 13 per cent the previous year.

While total beer sales fell by 1.2 per cent last year compared with 2020, and consumption per person fell 2.3 per cent, the sector began to stage a clear recovery in the second half of 2021 as the on-trade reopened and trends for home consumption began to moderate.

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Figures provided in the Drinks Ireland|Beer report suggest sales volumes were at pre-pandemic levels during the third quarter of 2021.

Stout demand

More than 32 per cent of all beer sold in the Irish market last year was stout, a return to pre-pandemic normality. Stout’s share had dipped to about 25 per cent in 2020, when pubs were largely closed for chunks of the year. Lager sales, which spiked during periods of lockdown, fell back significantly in 2021.

Non-alcoholic beer sales were just 1.5 per cent of the total, although the proportion is four times larger than it was just four years ago.

The value of beer exports fell 3 per cent last year to €246 million, according to the Ibec report. Britain followed by the US is the biggest export market for beer produced in Ireland. Sales from the beer category contributed about €351 million in exchequer receipts.

Peter Mosley, the managing director of the Porterhouse Brewing Company and chairman of Drinks Ireland|Beer, said the Beer Market report "illustrates the significant impact the pandemic continued to have on Irish brewers last year, with production particularly hit". He said the sector was now in recovery mode.

The Irish drinks industry, through Ibec and other lobbying groups, is renewing its campaign for a budget cut in the excise charged by the State on alcohol. Excise rates in Ireland are among the highest in Europe.