New research released today shows almost a third (31%) of young beer drinkers surveyed now recognise the Indie Beer campaign, which has set out to promote beer from genuinely independent breweries and help people make an informed choice when purchasing a beer in pubs, bars or retailers.
The YouGov research of over two thousand consumers, commissioned by the Society of Independent Brewers and Associates (SIBA) who are spearheading the “Indie Beer” campaign, found that 18-24 year olds were much more likely (31%) to be aware of the campaign compared to just over 1 in 10 (11%) of beer drinkers nationally.
“What this research clearly shows is that the Indie Beer campaign is resonating with younger consumers, many of whom are drinking less but drinking better – choosing quality beers from local, independent breweries. The campaign is all about ensuring that every person who is trying to support independent beer is actually doing so and making it easier for people to make an informed choice.” Neil Walker, Indie Beer campaign.
A key part of the Indie Beer campaign has been to use social media and pub point of sale to promote a ‘brewery checker’ tool which allows people to quickly lookup any brewery and find out if they are genuinely independent or owned by a Global beer company. The Indie Beer website has seen over 52,000 brewery checker searches since launch and now has over 28,000 active users.
The new YouGov research has been released to mark the start of Indie Beer Week – taking place from the 11th to the 20th April – and being officially launched at the “MaltingsFest” Beer Festival in Newton Abbot, Devon, ahead of events taking place all across the UK.
“The response to the first ever Indie Beer Week has been superb; with special events, beer festivals, tap takeovers and meet the brewer events happening all across the UK. We’re really proud to be launching at the MaltingsFest in Newton Abbot, one of the longest running independent beer festivals in the UK and a huge supporter of the campaign. Every glass at this year’s festival, which features over three hundred and twenty different independent beers, will carry the Indie Beer mark as a badge of honour.”
There are now over 500 independent breweries across the UK actively signed up in support of the campaign and that number is growing daily as the Indie Beer campaign attempts to shake things up in the beer market and make consumers think about whether what they’re buying is the real deal – or actually owned by a Global beer giant.
The Indie Beer campaign and Indie Beer Week have been launched by the Society of Independent Brewers and Associates (SIBA), a not-for-profit trade association which campaigns for the fair treatment and promotion of independent brewers and supplier businesses in the UK. The campaign is open to all independent UK breweries and is supported by consumer and industry organisations representing the beer and pub sector, including; Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA), British Institute of Innkeepers (Bii), and the Independent Family Brewers of Britain (IFBB).
All breweries listed as independent on www.indiebeer.uk need to meet the campaign’s widely accepted criteria for an independent brewery – which can be summarised as a brewery with less than 1% market share, U.K. owned, and independent of larger brewing operations.
The UK-wide beer week is being run via the IndieBeer.uk website and social media channels. Any UK brewery, pub or beer venue can apply to have an Indie Beer Week event added free of charge.