Trouble brewing as glass bottle makers close down

CRAFT brewers in Scotland face a glass bottle crisis after a number of manufacturers closed.

The craft beer industry has thrived on the back of consumer demand for bottled brews in recent years, with dozens of new independent firms popping up.

But the Brewers Association of Scotland has warned they face paying a premium rate for glass as a number of furnaces across the UK close.

Some breweries are increasingly turning to cans, despite some beer drinkers maintaining it tastes better in a bottle.

The bottle shortage is the latest blow to the industry after a lack of carbon dioxide last year caused chaos for soft drinks makers and breweries. Scott Williams, managing director of family-owned microbrewery Williams Bros and the association’s chairman, said the lack of glass would hit small brewers hardest.

He said the big brands would be given priority, forcing craft brewers to import more expensive alternatives from abroad.

Mr Williams said: ‘It’s not so much a shortage as an issue of availability.

‘The glass manufacturers would struggle to produce any more than they did last year, so smaller or regionals [brewers] will have to import bottles or focus more on cans.’

National agency Scotland Food and Drink has said it will protect the growing sector, which has about 130 breweries.