London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Tuesday, Oct 07, 2025

Covid: Pub alcohol ban sees barrels of beer poured away

Barrels of beer are being poured down drains as Wales' hospitality industry prepared for the alcohol ban to come into force.

Pubs, restaurants and cafes are banned from serving alcohol from Friday evening and must close at 18:00 GMT, other than for takeaway service.

Businesses said it was "a devastating hammer blow" after going to lengths to keep customers safe.

They said the restrictions will also significantly impact the supply chain.

At the Glamorgan Brewery in Llantrisant, Rhondda Cynon Taf, staff have been pouring barrels of beer down the drain because it now cannot be sold in pubs.

On Thursday, 58 of the company's 64 employees went back onto furlough.

'A kick in the teeth'

Barrels of beer are being poured down the drain due to the ban


Director David Atkins said the new measures are "an absolute kick in the teeth".

"This time last year we probably turned over about £1.5m for the month of December. This year, it's £50,000.

He added the majority of their beer - about 45,000 pints - will have to be thrown away.

'Why 6pm?'

Pubs began clearing tables and chairs as the ban came into force at 18:00 GMT on Friday

At The Cricketers pub in Pontcanna, Cardiff, staff were also pouring away beer on Friday afternoon.

Simon Buckley, of Evan Evans Brewery which supplies the pub said: "How can it be right and safe to open to serve food in pubs but not alcohol? It defies logic.

"Why is 6pm the bewitching hour as opposed to 10pm? In these difficult times - and the month of December particularly - the lost revenue is significant."

'A hammer blow'


James Cunningham, manager of the Ruthin Castle Hotel in Ruthin, Denbighshire, said customers have appreciated the safety measures put in place and the new rules were "incredibly frustrating".

"Whenever they can, people want to try to come out and enjoy themselves in these very, very testing times," he said.

He described the measures as a "devastating hammer blow" to the hospitality industry.

"Figures show that less than 5% of all settings of infection happen in hospitality - and yet here we are once again taking the hammer blow," he said.

"There's no guarantee those restrictions are going to be lifted," he said.


'It's like a death sentence'


Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
France: Less Than a Month After His Appointment, the New French Prime Minister Resigns
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated that Hungary will not adopt the euro because the European Union is falling apart.
Sarah Mullally Becomes First Woman Appointed Archbishop of Canterbury
Mayor in western Germany in intensive care after stabbing
Australian government pays Deloitte nearly half a million dollars for a report built on fabricated quotes, fake citations, and AI-generated nonsense.
US Prosecutors Gained Legal Approval to Hack Telegram Servers
Macron Faces Intensifying Pressure to Resign or Trigger New Elections Amid France’s Political Turmoil
Standard Chartered Names Roberto Hoornweg as Sole Head of Corporate & Investment Banking
UK Asylum Housing Firm Faces Backlash Over £187 Million Profits and Poor Living Conditions
UK Police Crack Major Gang in Smuggling of up to 40,000 Stolen Phones to China
BYD’s UK Sales Soar Nearly Nine-Fold, Making Britain Its Biggest Market Outside China
Trump Proposes Farm Bailout from Tariff Revenues Amid Backlash from Other Industries
FIFA Accuses Malaysia of Forging Citizenship Documents, Suspends Seven Footballers
Latvia to Bar Tourist and Occasional Buses to Russia and Belarus Until 2026
A Dollar Coin Featuring Trump’s Portrait Expected to Be Issued Next Year
Australia Orders X to Block Murder Videos, Citing Online Safety and Public Exposure
Three Scientists Awarded Nobel Prize in Medicine for Discovery of Immune Self-Tolerance Mechanism
OpenAI and AMD Forge Landmark AI-Chip Alliance with Equity Option
Munich Airport Reopens After Second Drone Shutdown
France Names New Government Amid Political Crisis
Trump Stands Firm in Shutdown Showdown and Declares War on Drug Cartels — Turning Crisis into Opportunity
Surge of U.S. Billionaires Transforms London’s Peninsula Apartments into Ultra-Luxury Stronghold
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Jeff Bezos Calls AI Surge a ‘Good’ Bubble, Urges Focus on Lasting Innovation
Japan’s Ruling Party Chooses Sanae Takaichi, Clearing Path to First Female Prime Minister
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Taylor Swift’s ‘Showgirl’ Launch Extends Billion-Dollar Empire
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
×