The Covid pandemic has taken no prisoners and now Spanish brewers, large and small, have posted record losses with consumption in Spain recording a 12 per cent drop in 2020 and reaching lows only previously seen during the 2007-2014 financial crisis.
For the first time ever, due to Covid-related lockdowns and restrictions, Spaniards drank more beer at home than in bars. Until 2019, around 70 per cent of beer was consumed outside the home, but in 2020 that fell to 44 per cent.
I guess, with bars and restaurants having been closed for the most part of the past 15 months, this will come as no surprise, although we have not been prevented from taking a few cans home, but the increase in drinking at home was not enough to compensate for the overall drop in consumption though, as total sales fell by almost 30 per cent.
Now, with the beer flowing again across Spain, it appears that the British came to the rescue of Spanish brewers during the peak of the pandemic.
The export of Spanish beers has risen substantially.
Portugal was the biggest buyer of Spanish beer, with purchases up by 42.5 per cent compared to 2019, followed by the United Kingdom, which has knocked China into third place.
It just goes to show that the British love the taste of Spain, even when they could not get here.
I will drink to that!