Europe craft brewers lobby together

Nine national craft beer organisations have eschewed the name ‘craft’ and formed the Independent Brewers of Europe (IBE) to lobby together on issues such as regulation, taxation and access to a market.

The IBE aims to become a “central point of contact for the European institutions” in order ”to promote and advance the mutual interests of their members with the European institutions and media”, says a press release issued by SIBA, The Society of Independent Brewers, (SIBA) UK.

 The nine organisations represent around 2,000 member breweries. “The IBE intends to convey its message both politically and commercially in Europe, where the small independent producer’s voice is often not heard,” according to the statement.

The nine founding members are:

• ICBI, Independent Brewers of Ireland, Ireland
• AECAI, La Asociacion Española de Cerveceras Artesanas Independientes, Spain
• SIBA, The Society of Independent Brewers, UK
• SNBI, Syndicat National des Brasseurs Indépendants, France
• Czech and Moravian Microbreweries Association, Czech Republic
• CRAFT, Craft Brewers Netherlands, Netherlands
• Unionbirrai, Italy
• Scanian Beverage Producers, Sweden
• Det Fri Øl, Denmark

Mike Benner, Chief Executive of SIBA said: “We’re very pleased to see progress in establishing a much-needed voice for independent brewing organisations across Europe. The craft beer revolution has spread across the continent and with well over 5,000 breweries the sector is well-placed to supply the diverse range of high quality beers demanded by today’s discerning drinkers. We know that beerdrinkers in the UK care about the provenance of beers and it’s clear that the same applies across Europe.”