Sun 5th Nov 2017 - Pub beer sales drop 3.6% in third quarter Pub beer sales drop 3.6% in third quarter: Sales of beer in Britain’s pubs suffered a 3.6% drop in the third quarter – the worst third-quarter performance for five years. The figures, released in the latest quarterly Beer Barometer from the British Beer & Pub Association (BBPA), has prompted urgent calls from the trade body for a halt to yet more beer tax rises in the Budget on 22 November. The 3.6% fall in on-trade sales from July to September represents 35 million fewer pints sold in Britain’s pubs, bars and restaurants compared with the previous year. It was the biggest third-quarter fall since 2012 when on-trade sales dropped 5.2%. The BBPA said beer sales have been hit by the “substantial” 3.9% tax rise in the March Budget and a further rise is forecast by the chancellor in his second Budget, this month. BBPA chief executive Brigid Simmonds said the move, coupled with pressure from “sky-high” business rates, would see many more pubs closing. Instead, she has called for a one penny cut in duty in the Budget. She said: “When the government was cutting or freezing beer duty from 2013 to 2015, sales of British beer stabilised, after years of steep decline. With sales down this quarter, following the Budget tax hike, urgent action from the chancellor is needed. Beer has had a 39% tax rise in the past decade. With tax rates 14 times higher than in Germany, these levels are unsustainable. We need fair taxes for British beer, so brewers and pub operators can invest in thriving pubs, and take advantage of new opportunities to export more beer around the world as we leave the EU.” The barometer showed total beer sales across the on and off-trade in the quarter fell 1.9% compared with the previous year. Off-trade sales were down 0.2% in the third quarter – its first quarterly drop for a year.