Bitter aftertaste? The effect of Brexit on British craft beer export

This paper examines how Brexit-related trade uncertainty and the post-agreement regulatory environment have shaped export activity and adaptive responses among British craft breweries. Drawing on brewery-level panel data covering the Brexit negotiation period and 16 in-depth interviews conducted after the implementation of the UK–EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement, the study shows that export participation declined during the period of prolonged uncertainty, particularly in relation to EEA markets. The findings indicate that breweries with larger production volumes and workforce sizes were better positioned to maintain export activity, while regional embeddedness shaped breweries’ perceptions of vulnerability. Interview evidence further reveals differentiated adaptive responses, including export withdrawal, constrained persistence, and domestic market reorientation. The paper contributes to debates on Brexit, organisational vulnerability, and regional resilience by showing how export exposure, internal organisational capacity, and locally embedded market alternatives jointly shaped SMEs’ adaptation to post-Brexit trade disruption.