Consumer watchdog is being called on to investigate the beer market with allegations that big brewers are misleading drinkers about their products’ “craft” credentials and geographical origin.
UK-wide consumer organisation CAMRA (Campaign for Real Ale) has Competition & Markets Authority (CMA) to launch a review of whether small breweries are being unfairly elbowed off the bar by larger rivals’ anti-competitive tactics.
In its annual Beer in UK report, Camra said the difficulties independent brewers faced had been made worse by “misleading” claims that left drinkers unsure what they were buying.
According to the report, seven of the top 10 selling “craft beers” in the UK are made by just four global brewing companies, the report found. The names mentioned in the report includes Beavertown (Heineken), Camden Town and Goose Island (ABInBev), Meantime (Asahi), and Blue Moon (Molson Coors).
The report adds that meeting the consumer demand for more interesting beers is left to smaller independent breweries, but these are routinely excluded from outlets by the practices of the international brewers who "distort the beer market by controlling distribution and sales", appearing to act as a “tight oligopoly” – a monopoly in all but name.
The report further claims that "aggressive discounting is occurring in the off-trade, at the expense of sales to the on-trade".
Between 2000 and 2024 on-trade beer prices increased by 118%, slightly above the Retail Price Index, while off-trade beer prices rose by only 27%, the increases often being applied to the same brand, states the report.
Camra is demanding that beers sold in the UK should clearly name the company that owns the brand, and the place where it is brewed, through an industry code of conduct or, failing that, new labelling legislation.
“Independent brewers are making some of the most interesting and exciting beers, focusing on high-quality ingredients, reviving traditional styles or exploring new possibilities, but they can’t get them onto bars or into shops.
"They can’t compete with the stranglehold that global brewers have on access to market, or their mass marketing campaigns. Consumers want beers from independent brewers but struggle to find them because the big four brewers dominate and dictate the status quo.
"Ordinary people who like beer are expected to pay up and shut up, accept the illusion of choice, all while successive governments treat beer and pubs as a cash cow," Ash Corbett-Collins CAMRA Chairman, said.
Camra also wants the CMA to investigate allegedly uncompetitive practices used by big brewers to stop smaller rivals gaining access to pubs.