As we head into a new decade, one of the shining commercial lights has been the UK’s Craft Beer Industry. Brewhouse & Kitchen looks at what the next decade will mean for brewpubs in the UK and how they’ve prepared themselves to take advantage of this.

There is no better way to see in the New Year than surrounding yourselves with friends and family. Brewhouse & Kitchen loves to see people getting together and heading down to one of their 22 pub sites across the UK to try out their diverse range of drinks – from craft beers to non-alcoholic beverages.

The rise in popularity of no and low-alcoholic drinks, as well as the emergence of brewpub experience days, are just some of the ways that the craft beer industry has been developing in 2019.

For many years, the craft beer industry has grown from strength to strength and continues to develop, with new concepts being created all the time. With the New Year fast approaching, Brewhouse & Kitchen comments on some of the ways they will be shaping the craft beer industry and brewpub experience in 2020.

1. The rise of brewpub experiences
With the craft beer scene still remaining extremely competitive, brewpubs across the globe will continue to seek new ways to draw people into pubs and remain ahead of the competition. As the popularity of immersive experiences continues to grow, Brewhouse & Kitchen is leading the charge around immersive experiences in the hospitality industry.

The experience arm of the B&K business is incredibly valuable, with their Academy covers increasing by 19.9% year on year thanks to their diverse range of experiences including beer & gin Masterclass, Beer & Food pairing events and brewery experience days.

2. The ‘Brewtel’
The drinks and hospitality industry continues to find ways to innovate the brewpub experience, with Wetherspoons planning to open new pubs and hotels in various locations in Scotland. Brewhouse & Kitchen are not late to the game either – they plan to open ten new bedrooms within the Worthing brewpub currently in development and a further 17 in their already established Chester brewpub in the new year.

The 22 strong brewpub group has identified a total of 72 potential bedrooms across all of their sites in the UK, allowing those who love craft beer to not only drink and dine in their favourite brewpub but to completely immerse themselves in the whole brewpub experience and enjoy spending the night staying in a really unique setting.

3. New pints to take to the pumps
Brewhouse & Kitchen have announced the launch of its brand new lager, Icon Craft Pilsner. Following the success of their premium Legend Craft Lager – which is now the groups, biggest selling beer brand and accounts for just under 20% of their total beer volume – Icon 4% Craft Pilsner is aimed to have an even broader appeal and has been designed with the current trend of drinkers turning towards lower ABV products across the market.

Golden, crisp and refreshing, the new Pilsner recipe has been brewed in conjunction with Shepherd Neame and will form a core part of the brewpub group’s existing own brewed beer portfolio (with a focus on own brewed beer volumes and the introduction of their Legend Craft Lager the brand has grown sales of its own beers from 36% to 43% over the last 12 months).

Gail Bunn, Marketing Manager at Brewhouse & Kitchen: “With the New Year fast approaching, we cannot wait to open our doors to the local community so that they can see the new year in with those they love most. It has been a really interesting year for the craft beer industry, and here at Brewhouse & Kitchen, we continue to listen and react to customer demand to ensure our consumers have the best experiences possible across all of our brewpubs.

It will be exciting to see what 2020 means for the brewpub industry and which new concepts will come from it. The team at Brewhouse & Kitchen will be continuing their efforts into the New Year in order to create the ultimate brewpub experience for customers both old and new.”

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