Although adopted with the best of intentions, since it came into general use in Britain the term \u2018craft beer\u2019 has been the cause of some confusion (and a good few arguments). It originated in the United States where its meaning is subtly different from how it has come to be used here. Now however the Society of Independent Brewers and Associates (SIBA) is leading the way with a new term, \u2018Indie Beer\u2019, possibly echoing \u2018Indie\u2019 music. This is supported by a new campaign which I think that all beer drinkers, whatever their preferences, can support. It has CAMRA\u2019s support.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The main thrust of this campaign is to make sure that drinkers do not confuse the products of the genuine independent brewers represented by SIBA with those produced by breweries that are wholly owned by multi-national producers such as A-B InBev, Asahi, Carlsberg, Heineken and Molson Coors. All of these companies have invested in \u2018craft\u2019 breweries to a greater or lesser degree, although their interest has recently been on the wane. They all also have large advertising budgets. Examples of this in London include Beavertown and Brixton (both Heineken), Camden (A-B InBev) and Fuller\u2019s (Asahi).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In fairness, these breweries do try to operate as separate entities as far as possible and they brew some beers that many drinkers enjoy. The campaign isn’t attempting to stop people from buying these products but simply to make sure that the customer is aware of their background and that independent breweries might be offering alternatives as good, if not better. It has never been CAMRA’s purpose to tell people what or what not to drink. The aim is to provide information to help drinkers make their own informed choices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
SIBA\u2019s stance is based on a survey that they commissioned from YouGov, which clearly indicated that such confusion existed. Andy Slee, SIBA\u2019s chief executive, said, \u201cFor lots of breweries across the UK, \u2018independent\u2019 has become a lot more valuable and relevant to what they do than \u2018craft\u2019, the meaning of which has been blurred by macro-ownership of craft beer brands. The \u2018indie beer\u2019 campaign focuses on what unites breweries in the UK rather than what divides us. Independent brewers are a force for good in the local communities they represent and it\u2019s essential global beer companies are not taking credit for the hard work of true independent brewers<\/em>.\u201d CAMRA\u2019s national chairman, Ash Corbett-Collins, added, \u201cCAMRA is delighted to be supporting SIBA\u2019s Indie Beer campaign. We know that finding independent and local beer is often a top priority for our members and beer drinkers across the UK. It\u2019s great that SIBA are committed to transparent communication about ownership in beer. Unfortunately, we often see global brewers market their own brands as if they were independent, tricking consumers in the process. It is vital that consumers have access to the right information about where their beer is being brewed, and whether it\u2019s in independent ownership<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The campaign, which also has the support of the British Institute of Innkeepers and the Independent Family Brewers of Britain, includes a \u2018brewery checker\u2019 website indiebeer.uk<\/a> which can be used to check a brewery\u2019s status. Qualifying breweries are indicated by an \u2018assured\u2019 mark. This logo will also appear on handpumps and bottle labels. You can find out more at What’s Brewing<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To qualify for this independent status (and membership of SIBA) a brewery must be UK based, not be owned by another brewer and produce less than 1% of the beer produced in the UK.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Independent brewers employ around 10,000 people, operate some 2,000 pubs bars and taprooms and contribute millions to the UK Exchequer. That said, encouraging people to drink \u2018indie\u2019 beer is dependent on there being pubs to serve it. Please see the coverage of the recent budget in the News and views column. Although adopted with the best of intentions, since it came into general use in Britain the term \u2018craft beer\u2019 has been the cause of some confusion (and a good few… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":4957,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4956","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-editorial"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/londondrinker.camra.org.uk\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4956","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/londondrinker.camra.org.uk\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/londondrinker.camra.org.uk\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/londondrinker.camra.org.uk\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/londondrinker.camra.org.uk\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4956"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/londondrinker.camra.org.uk\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4956\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4958,"href":"https:\/\/londondrinker.camra.org.uk\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4956\/revisions\/4958"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/londondrinker.camra.org.uk\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4957"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/londondrinker.camra.org.uk\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4956"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/londondrinker.camra.org.uk\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4956"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/londondrinker.camra.org.uk\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4956"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
Tony Hedger<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"