Europe's independent breweries are forming against the market power of the global beer industry. They want to counter the trend towards a uniform international taste with a conscious commitment to diversity and regional brewing culture. To this end, ten international brewers' associations joined forces to form the “Independent Brewers of Europe” (IBE) interest group.
Independent Brewers of Europe
The initiative for this strong, new presence of ‘Independent Brewers of Europe’ originated from the ‘Independent Breweries of Austria’, who has been passionately and vehemently advocating to preserve Austrian beer culture since its members joined forces almost three years ago. This is an urgent matter, because in Austria alone, a single brewing group has built up an astonishing amount of power, controlling around two-thirds of the entire market.
Common ground makes strong
The founding members from Austria, Germany, Finland, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Switzerland, the Czech Republic and the United Kingdom want to join forces and form a counterweight against the ever-increasing advance of the beer multinationals in Europe.
“We want to cooperate across borders,” says Hubert Stöhr, Chair of Independent Breweries of Austria and spokesperson for the IBE, describing the founding idea: ”We have a major goal in common. We want to protect the indigenous beer culture in all its diversity and enable its further development.”
The goal: driving change together
There is a lot at stake for IBE. The members are convinced that the heritage of European beer culture with its centuries-old brewing traditions (and the craft beer movement of recent years) is endangered by the increasing dominance of large international breweries. These global corporations are consistently gearing their production to mass tastes - diversity is being lost and the price war is becoming increasingly merciless.
The “Independent Brewers of Europe” want to counteract this downward spiral. They want to campaign for more diversity and freedom of choice. They want to support each other and ensure better visibility for independent breweries. The aim is not to fight against the global players, but to compete with them in a sporting and fair manner so that consumers have the opportunity to choose from more tasty products on the market.
The members of the IBE
The Independent Brewers of Europe is a federation of national associations of independent brewers. The following associations are kicking things off:
Germany: Private Brauereien
Finland: Pienpanimoliitto
France: Syndicat National des Brasseries Indépendantes (SNBi)
United Kingdom: Society of Independent Brewers and Associates (SIBA) Italy: Unionbirrai
Netherlands: craftbrouwers.nl
Austria: Unabhängige Privatbrauereien Österreichs
Poland: Polish Craft Brewers Association (PSBR)
Switzerland: The Independent Swiss Breweries
Czech Republic: Czech and Moravian Microbreweries Association
For a new awareness of quality
Europe's brewing culture in all its diversity can only be preserved if consumers are also involved. That is why the members of the Independent Brewers of Europe want to create a new awareness of origin and regional traditions. “Our member companies respect the established traditions of their region. They focus on good raw materials and brew with care,” says Stöhr. “You can taste this difference if you pay attention to it,” Jos Oostendorp from the Independent Dutch Brewers in the Netherlands is convinced.
Stefan Stang from the German Association of Private Breweries adds: “The value of regional breweries is not measured by the number of hectoliters produced, but by their commitment to communities, associations and voluntary work. This commitment knows no boundaries, which is why we look forward to working with like-minded, independent breweries in Europe!”
Photo: Ingo Pertramer/ Independent Brewers of Europe
Translated with DeepL.com (free version)
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