Coronavirus: Old beer tipped down drain 'could impair sewer bugs'

Bugs that help to clean sewage could become "impaired" if too much old beer is tipped down the drain.

Severn Trent Water is asking pubs to call them before disposing of beer that has gone off while venues were closed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

It comes as pubs in England were given the green light to reopen on 4 July.

One landlady in Nottinghamshire said she faces a struggle dealing with undrinkable beer ahead of her pub reopening.

As thousands of pubs were forced to close their doors to drinkers in March, gallons of cask ale that were being conditioned in cellars went off.

In addition to new guidance on social distancing, disposing of such large quantities has left landlords with a problem.

Lynne Bryant, who runs the Martins Arms in Colston Bassett, Nottinghamshire, said getting rid of unsellable beer from the cellar was "a huge problem" ahead of the pub reopening.

"I've got beer coming in on 1 July, and I've got a cellar full of old beer," she said.

Grant Mitchell, from Severn Trent, said pouring away large quantities of ale presented potential pollution and flooding problems, and also affected the ability of bacteria breaking down waste in the sewage system to do their job.

"The huge quantities of alcohol to be discharged into the sewers could cause us a problem, so we need to manage it," he said.

"None of us work well if we have had a few beers and it is the same for the bugs so we need to keep it in moderation."

Mr Mitchell said breweries, landlords and pub managers need to control the disposal so urged people to get in touch first.

"We appreciate we've got to get rid of this beer somehow," he said.

"We're happy to help, however we don't want to jeopardise the system."

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