Wholesaler warns soaring cost-of-living has left UK facing beer bottle crisis

The UK is on the brink of a bottled beer shortage as stocks of glassware plummet and production costs soar, a leading Scottish wholesaler has warned.

Suppliers are already starting to deal with a glassware shortage, as prices jumped by 80% in the last 12 months due to rising energy costs.

The warning comes after beer experts in Germany said the country could be facing a glasware shortage this summer, with their small and medium-sized breweries expected to bear the brunt.

And it is only a matter of time before the shortage is felt within the UK’s beer industry, according to Julie Dunn, operations director at one of Scotland’s largest wholesalers, Dunns Food and Drinks.

Craft beers from small producers and micro-breweries could face a shortage of glass bottles Pic: Dunns

She said: “It won’t be long before the glassware shortages hits UK consumers. Our wine and spirits suppliers from around the globe are facing ongoing struggles that will have a knock-on effect.

“As a result, there could be less variety in the bottled beers we see on UK shelves.

“Specialist bottles and glassware hold a very important place in the heritage of the beer industry and I expect that while some breweries will convert to cans to ensure consistent supply, others will look at this as devaluing the brand, so will inevitably pass the additional cost onto beer drinkers.

“We sell a huge amount of beer from Germany, so I would expect us to feel a fairly seismic hit in the very near future. However, Dunns will always endeavour to source the best possible range it can.”

Scotland’s largest wholesalers, Dunns Food and Drinks in Glasgow Pic: Dunns

Beer accounts for more than £7.1 billion of spend in 2020 – putting it as the most popular, alcoholic drink choice in the UK.

Scottish brewers have already taken action to combat the rising production costs.

Edinburgh-based brewery Vault City Brewing will switch to predominantly can-only releases next month.

Co-founder Steven Smith-Hay, the company’s co-founder, said the company are paying approximately 65p per bottle currently – which is around 15p more than six months ago.

He added: “If you think about the volume of beer we’re bottling even as a microbrewery, the costs really start to pile up. It’s just not viable to keep going in that direction.”