Britain is running low on beer

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Brewing giant Carlsberg-Tetley was forced to ship in emergency supplies of lager from abroad because of this summer's heatwave, it emerged today.

The company said the soaring temperatures in the last two months have led to a 40% increase in sales across the country as drinkers sought to quench their thirst.

Workers at Carlsberg-Tetley's plant off London Road, in Northampton, struggled to cope with demand and called for extra supplies and lager vats from the firm's head office in Denmark.

Spokeswoman Donna Cresswell called the demand in recent weeks "unprecendented".

"We've seen a huge increase in the amount of lager sold during the heatwave," she said.

"Everybody has been working flat out to meet demand but we've also had to call over to Copenhagen to get them to ship some extra supplies in.

"Right now, every moment of the day is counting. We've been manning the equipment for 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Not a moment is being spared."

Brewing at the plant is already a round-the-clock operation with a staggering 3,000 cans being filled each minute.

Four new vessels capable of holding one million pints and a new canning line were recently installed at a cost of £14 million.

The extra vats were brought across from Scandinavia to "top up" the existing equipment as the warm weather continues.

 

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