BEER sales across the UK grew 1.5 per cent in the second quarter, meaning 31 million extra pints were consumed versus this time last year.

The figures, published in the British Beer & Pub Association’s quarterly Beer Barometer, reveal further signs of reversing a long period of decline.

However, the numbers also showed that this reversal is being driven by at home consumption – bad news for the pub trade.

Buoyant off-trade sales during Euro 2016 were a big source of the boost, with sales rising by 4.8 per cent. On-trade sales slipped by 1.9 per cent, although the BBPA noted this was one of the lowest Q2 drops for the on-trade in recent years.