The Society of Independent Brewers and Associates (SIBA) have today welcomed news that the Chancellor intends to support the independent brewing industry with an announcement in Wednesday’s Autumn Budget.

“Being able to reach people who want local beer is the number one issue facing our independent breweries who often cannot sell to the local pubs in their community. These issues are across the sector, even in so called ‘free house’ pubs who are technically free to buy from whoever they choose.

“We know that there is lots of demand for locally produced independent draught beer alongside more global brands, but consumers often can’t enjoy them in their local pub because the supply is dominated by a few globally owned breweries.

“This is why a Government led review into these issues is an important first step to explore the right solution for the sector, ensuring all breweries have access to sell draught beer and that consumer demand is met.”

“If the government delivers it could be potentially excellent news for beer drinkers, local pubs and breweries of all sizes at the heart of communities across the land.”

“We also hope that the Chancellor will also consider increasing draught beer duty relief to 20% and maintaining the business rate relief to give a real boost to the sector.” Andy Slee, SIBA Chief Executive.

SIBA’s new ‘Indie Beer’ campaign launched this week to make it easier for consumers to discover truly independent breweries across the UK, with bottles, cans and beer pumpclips set to carry the Indie Beer mark.

The campaign also features a ‘Brewery Checker’ tool which allows beer drinkers to find out in seconds whether the beer they’re buying is independent, or owned by a Global beer company via www.indiebeer.uk