What styles are selling well and what beers are selling less so in UK bottleshops? Read on to find out.
Recent figures from UHY Hacker Young revealed that turnover of the UK’s top 25 independent breweries hit a record £1.72bn in 2024, an increase of 9% on the £1.57bn recorded in the previous year. Turnover has jumped 44% since COVID, up from £1.08bn in 2021/22, to £1.57bn in 2022/23.
But what beers are fuelling these figures? With 2025 well underway, what style are proving popular with consumers? At Ghost Whale, which has branches in Brixton and Putney, Ray Hadnett says IPA still rules the roost.
“Here at Ghost Whale, the question I’ve been continuously asked more than any other, is for directions to our juiciest New England IPAs, particularly at the not-so-sessionable strengths of 6.5-8%,” he explains.
“The seemingly never-ending haze craze has been chugging along for years now, courtesy of some of our best-selling breweries Track, Pressure Drop, and Beak, as well as younger but equally exciting outfits like Two Flints, Azvex, and Floc, who all persist in pushing the boundaries of hop saturation.
“Despite this constant push for lusciously fruity hoppy ales, a spike in West Coast IPA production over the last couple of months has been a welcome sight to our staff.”
“I wouldn’t be surprised if we see more breweries embracing styles like New Zealand Pilsners going forward,” Ray Hadnett, Ghost Whale.
Hadnett adds: “We’ve been treated to some excellent Westies from the likes of Pomona Island, Burnt Mill, and Baron, and have seen more and more breweries getting involved in turning out what had seemingly become a style pushed to the wayside due to the popularity of the Hazy IPA.
“A style I personally am enjoying at the moment, which seems to have been born off the effects of the in-demand New England IPA, is the New Zealand Pilsner, with iterations from Gravity Well, Pretty Decent, and Phantom all really impressing over the last couple months.”
He highlights the citrus, stone fruit, and white wine notes imparted by New Zealand grown hops that add a lovely complexity to an already hop-forward Pilsner, appeasing the palates of Hazy IPA drinkers who have become accustomed to that level of fruitiness in their beer.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if we see more breweries embracing styles like this going forward, on account of the fact that it allows them to purchase hops in larger quantities, to satisfy the stable market for IPAs while maintaining a diverse offering,” he explains.
Across London, Marius Andrici is the founder of A Pint of Hops, which celebrates its sixth anniversary in 2025.
“For our customers, the darker German styles have been gathering popularity. Styles like the Schwarzbiers, Dunkels, Altbier, Bockbier & Winter Festbier have been a hit both in bottle and on tap with both drinkers that enjoy their lagers and ales with us,” he notes. “Sometimes that complex depth really resonates with the consumer and they go on a journey across those styles.”
Elsewhere, the sour and hoppy styles sold at A Pint of Hops remain popular and especially in canned format. “Customers prefer this package and most times the labels stand out with the colourful artworks on the cans,” he says.
“We find it hard to sell the bottle format at the same rate as cans for these styles and many times they do reach their expiry date and at times we need to discontinue the lines.”
On a personal front, A London Porter from The Kernel has been a go-to for Andrici and he has also enjoyed the growing availability of high-quality UK lagers. “There are too many breweries to list here, but it’s great to see that more UK breweries working hard at perfecting their own version of German & Czech-style lagers.”
