Ten European associations for independent breweries have joined forces. They want to stand up for diversity and against the big corporations.
Brewers’ associations from ten countries have joined forces to “defend the diversity of hand-brewed beer specialties”. The “Independent Brewers of Europe” want to “form a counterweight to the ever-increasing advance of beer multinationals in Europe”, as they announced. Although the association was founded in Vienna in January, it has only now been made public.
The independent brewers see the heritage of regional brewing traditions in danger. The market is increasingly dominated by a few large international breweries that align their production “consistently with mass tastes.” They also criticize the price wars instigated by the corporations, their dominance in advertising and what they see as unfair market practices.
An alternative for smaller breweries
The association consists of associations from Germany, Finland, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Austria, Poland, Switzerland, the Czech Republic and the United Kingdom, which describe themselves as independent. Together they claim to have almost 3,000 members.
The German representative is the Association of Private Breweries, which sees itself as an alternative interest group for small and medium-sized breweries. It exists parallel to the German Brewers Association, which is a member of the umbrella organization “The Brewers of Europe” at European level.
There is a high level of concentration in the beer market worldwide. According to an annual report published by the world’s largest hops trader BarthHaas, the four largest companies alone are responsible for around half of beer output. At the same time, however, there are still many small breweries.
Source: Stern
