A National celebration of independent beer, pubs and people
A new, UK-wide beer week has 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.
Indie Beer Week will take place from the 11th to the 20th of April, taking in two weekends to ensure there’s time to give indie beer a try. It is a national celebration of great, independent beer and a chance for pubs and independent breweries to enthuse and inform their customers on the merits of drinking indie. It will promote ‘independent beer, pubs and people,’ and build on the Indie Beer campaign, which launched at the end of 2024.
Adnams has been fiercely independent since it began in 1872 and is proud to support the Indie Beer campaign. Our independence has enabled us to forge our own path and become a distinctive brewer that champions local ingredients. Our independent spirit is anchored to our home – so you know that it’s Adnams beer, brewed in Southwold, as it has always been. It offers that assurance of quality and speaks to our passion and our values.
Our Head Brewer, Dan, and Production Director, Fergus mused on the importance and value of independence ….and the definition of independent and came to the conclusion that it is something that people really value as an idea, but it’s really hard to define what it is in practice. It’s meaning often only emerges in the rear-view mirror when that independence is lost.
Independence doesn’t mean that the beer is always better, but it often means as a brewer that you have the freedom to make it better. Independence doesn’t mean that the decisions we make are better, but it often means we can make decisions that are influenced by our place in the local community and the desire to be a positive presence in the towns and cities where we work and live.
Independence doesn’t make us more innovative, but there must be a reason why multinationals often buy independent brewers and add their products to their offering.
Our Independent spirit is probably the reason why we added a distillery in 2010 before the craft distilling boom started, and invested in alcohol-free technology back in 2018, before the recent rush into low/no.
Indie Beer Week is open to anywhere and anyone who serves or sells beer from local independent breweries. This year, Adnams stores claimed their highest ever position in Harpers Wine and Spirit Magazine’s annual review of independent wine merchants – the Top 50 Indies, and we were thrilled to see our ranking jump to 11th place in this year’s chart. When you shop with us, you’re buying indie beer from a Top 50 Indie – it can’t get more independent than that!
The campaign is supported by consumer and industry organisations representing the beer and pub sector including the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA), British Institute of Innkeepers (Bii), and the Independent Family Brewers of Britain (IFBB). In such a crowded market, it helps independent producers stand out, encourages everyone to drink local and develops informed and knowledgeable drinkers going forward.
“Along with SIBA’s Indie Beer campaign it will shine a light on genuinely independent breweries and makes it easier for consumers to find out what is or isn’t independent via the IndieBeer.uk website,” said Neil Walker, of SIBA.
Check out the campaign website to find out all about it and drink indie beer.