In December 1989, the Beer Orders were made after competition concerns about the Big Six brewers: Allied, Bass, Courage, Grand Metropolitan, Scottish and Newcastle, and Whitbread. The orders tried to loosen the tie between breweries and pubs. They also gave consumers more access to guest beers.

The Beer Orders are central to the modern story of the British pub as a battleground between choice, ownership, and community. They illuminate late twentieth-century writing about pub closures, corporate landlords, and the survival of local taste, reflecting broader societal concerns about authenticity and cultural heritage.