Warning as Britain is on the brink of a BEER shortage after bad weather wrecked harvests of key crop
BRITAIN is on the brink of a beer shortage after being caught on the hop by bad weather.
The nation is set for one of its worst ever harvests after being soaked by rain.
Farmers say wheat crops will be cut by almost a fifth.
Industry experts fear a shortage of wheat beers, bread and cereals and an over reliance on foreign imports.
They predict England will this year face one of its three worst harvests since detailed records began in 1983.
The rest of the UK is in a similar position.
Record rainfall last winter started the problem.
The UK wheat harvest is expected to be 10-12million tons, 18 per cent down on 2023.
Wheat farmer Roger Palmer, 66, of Preston, said: “There’s no doubt there will be a shortage.”
In the Midlands, thousands of tons of wheat hit by a fungus in soggy fields was rejected.
Farmer Charles Goadby, of Nuneaton, Warks, said it was an “absolute nightmare”.
The Campaign for Real Ale warned of pub closures if punters with less choice stay away.