Beer sales in pubs fell by 9.9 per cent in the final quarter of 2008, putting a further big dent in the Treasury’s duty revenues, according to figures out today.

The decline, revealed in the latest UK Quarterly Beer Barometer, means that British beer drinkers quaffed 1.4 million fewer pints in pubs, bars and restaurants than during the last three months of 2007.

Supermarkets and off-licences, which until recently had remained relatively resilient, also saw a slowdown as Britain slid into recession, suffering a 6.5 per cent fall in beer sales.

The figures, from the British Beer & Pub Association (BBPA), show that overall beer sales through both the off-trade and the on-trade fell by 8.3 per cent during the quarter, taking the fall for the year a whole to 5.5 per cent compared with 2007.

On-trade sales for the year were down by 9.3 per cent while the off-trade decline was only 0.2 per cent.

The BBPA, which has been critical of the Government’s policies towards brewers and pubs, said that the fall in beer sales had reduced duty and VAT receipts by about £181 million since the last Budget in March.

This was despite an 18 per cent rise in duty on beer last year.

Rob Hayward, the BBPA chief executive, said: “These figures highlight the extreme economic pressures hitting Britain’s beer and pub sector. Beer sales are sinking and many pubs are struggling to survive.

"Pub closures have escalated to nearly six a day. Unfortunately, Government tax policy is only making a difficult situation worse.”

Mr Hayward said that the mandatory code of practice being brought in under the Crime and Police Bill would add up to an extra burden to pubs of £300 million this year.

He added: “It’s time for the Government to a great British industry.”

The decline in beer sales prompted a fresh profit warning today from Adnams, the Suffolk brewer and pub operator.

Although the family controlled company outperformed the market, its volumes last year still fell by 6 per cent while its pubs had found trading in November and early December "especially tough".

Adnams said that although it was well-placed to withstand the recession, trading since its interim results in August had been "less strong than we had anticipated" and its 2008 profits would be "substantially lower" than those for 2007.

The news comes a day after hundreds of pub landlords gathered outside the offices of Punch Taverns and Enterprise Inns to protest against the amount they are charged by the companies for their beer.

The Fair Pint campaign is calling for the scrapping of the beer tie that governs supplies.

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