SL-021 On the Frontline — The Shifting State of U.K. Retail

Welcome to this special episode of Sightlines, part of Good Beer Hunting's continued coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic. I'm Jonny Garrett. The U.K. is now several weeks into near-total lockdown, with everyone told to stay indoors barring medical emergencies, food shopping, and one bit of exercise a day. While internet and TV services are thriving, the high street and hospitality industry have been devastated. Over the last month, I have been writing Sightlines pieces that try to describe and analyze that devastation. In this episode, I'll be giving you first-hand insight into the kind of conversations I've been having day in, day out with people in the beer industry. We'll hear from three very different businesses on the frontline, and I'll ask how each one has been affected by shutdowns—and what their futures might look like on the other side of this crisis. I talk to the owner of London bottle shop mini-chain We Brought Beer, who decided he had to close despite seeing record sales. You'll also hear the surreal story of the night all the U.K.'s pubs closed for the first time in history from the perspective of a London publican. We'll start further up the supply chain, though. DEYA Brewing Company in Cheltenham only recently went through a major funding and expansion phase, and is supposed to be paying off its bills through brewing unprecedented volume and serving at its new taproom. Instead, it's barely brewing once a week and has thousands of pounds worth of stock going slowly out of date. Founder Theo Freyne has had to tear up his business plan for the next decade, but despite the uncertainty is upbeat about his brewery's prospects. This is the Sightlines podcast. Listen in.