Indie Beer Week 2026 Begins Today as 700 Breweries Now Back the Campaign

Indie Beer Week 2026 begins today, promoting ‘independent beer, pubs and people’ via a string of events taking place in pubs, bars and brewery taprooms across the breadth of the UK.

Events are being run by many of the 700 breweries who now actively support the campaign, up from 400 last year, as well as venue supporters such as bottle shops, pubs and bars.

Taking place from the 10th to the 19th April (taking in two weekends), Indie Beer Week will see meet the brewer events, tap takeovers, beer festivals and more take place across the UK. The national beer week was launched by the Indie Beer campaign last year as part of a drive to make it easier for consumers to identify beers from genuine independent breweries rather than Global beer giants.

“Indie Beer Week is a celebration of everything that is great about UK beer, with festivals, beer launches and beer events of all kinds taking place in all corners of the nation – wherever you are, there is a brewery near you which is part of the Indie Beer campaign, many of which are running some brilliant events over the next ten days. And if you’re unsure if the ‘craft beer’ you’re buying is the real deal then use the brewery checker tool on our website and know for sure.” Neil Walker, Indie Beer Campaign.

A central part of the Indie Beer campaign is to make it easier for consumers to find out whether the beer they’re buying is independent, or actually owned by a Global beer company, by offering a Brewery Checker tool via the www.indiebeer.uk website. The Brewery Checker holds information about every known UK brewery and whether they are independent, or actually owned by ‘big beer’.

The campaign was launched at the end of 2024 in response to confusion amongst consumers over which beers were independent, after YouGov polling found 75% of people surveyed believe consumers are being misled when purchasing beer from once independent craft breweries, such as Beavertown, Camden, and Fullers that are now owned by Global beer giants Heineken, Budweiser and Asahi respectively. The figure for beer drinkers surveyed was even higher, with 81% of beer drinkers believing consumers are being misled.

Since launch the Indie Beer campaign has had real cut through with consumers, with an impressive 31% of young (18-24) beer drinkers now aware of the campaign and a growing fanbase of beer drinkers signed up in support. The campaign also recently announced a partnership with premium supermarket retailer Waitrose, who have backed the campaign with a new “Indie Beer” section on their online store and planned in-store promotion in support of the campaign.