In Order to Build A Strong Proposition for Independence, the UK Beer Industry Needs to Stop Comparing Itself to the USA

I enjoyed Sam McMeekin’s presentation on the importance of independence at this weeks Brewer’s Congress, organised by trade publication The Brewers Journal , and held at the Institute of Civil Engineers. Along with a few others—including Paul Jones at Cloudwater—The Gipsy Hill Brewing Co. founder has for a long time been vocal about the value of independence to the small scale brewing industry. It is a strong line, and one I largely agree with.  His presentation included the damning statistic that since 2015 the production volume of what you would ostensibly define as “craft beer” within London has gone from 100% independent to being just 27%. This is due to the sale, in full or in part, of Meantime, Camden Town, London Fields, Brixton, Beavertown, Fourpure, Fuller’s and Hop Stuff to Asahi, AB-InBev, Carlsberg, Heineken, Lion and Molson Coors, respectively. It is the third time I have seen him present this data, and I have used these statistics at least once myself earlier this ye

by Matthew Curtis · source ↗