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SIBA news All the news from SIBA HQ
SIBA BeerX UK 2022
A huge thankyou to everyone that made it along to BeerX UK 2022 in Liverpool in March. It was our busiest BeerX ever and a triumphant return after two years away.
The atmosphere in the room was amazing, with brewers, suppliers, industry representatives and media able to network once-more and attend some of the fantastic panels, seminars, tastings and talks taking place across the event. A further thankyou to all of our speakers and sponsors - including our Headline sponsors Kegstar and Stage Sponsors Breww, Charles Faram and Crisp - who helped make BeerX UK 2022 the UK's biggest beer and brewing event.
The audio from the AGM is also now live on the Toolbox homepage as are a number of the speaker presentations which are on the Members' Toolbox under Filing Cabinet > BeerX > BeerX 2022 Presentations.
The SIBA Craft Beer Work Force Report
As part of Delivering for Brewers, we are delighted to introduce our first Craft Beer Work Force Report.
The Craft Beer Work Force Report draws on data from our members’ survey 2022 to provide a guide to the UK’s craft beer workforce. It profiles the average salary levels by position and includes data on working hours, qualification, age, diversity and travel to work. The members’ survey was completed by 310 brewers, representing over 44% of SIBA’s brewing membership with a production range from below 10 hectolitres (hl) per annum to 60,000 hl. We hope that this will be a useful tool for your brewery.
You can find the report online at Toolbox > filing cabinet > facts & figures > Workforce report.
Code of Conduct: SIBA Events
Following the passing of Resolution 1 at the SIBA AGM in March, which set out the standards expected at SIBA events from all parties, SIBA would now like to share some supplementary Code of Conduct documents with members.
Two documents have been added to the Toolbox Filing Cabinet under 'Code of Conduct' - the first is a detailed "Code of Conduct - SIBA Events” document which sets out for SIBA Staff, Directors and Regional Beer Festival / Event organisers how the new Members Charter amendment should be put into practice. Namely that discrimination of any kind, including, but not limited to age, disability, gender, race, or sexual orientation will not be tolerated at SIBA events. Additionally that aggression, harassment, abuse and anti-social behaviour will not be tolerated at SIBA events. If you are running an event in anyway affiliated with SIBA then you need to read and understand the above document. The second document is a poster/flyer which advises event attendees of our stance and what to do if they have an issue - this should be printed off and displayed at SIBA Events. The SIBA Competitions Team will ensure this poster is displayed at all SIBA Competitions this year.
If you have any questions regarding the above please email SIBA's Head of Comms Neil Walker via neil.walker@siba.co.uk.
New team member joins SIBA
We are delighted to announce that Will Lockwood has joined our Public Affairs and Policy Team as Public Affairs and Policy Officer.
Will, who has a background in politics, having worked for several MPs, a political party and an arms-length government body, will be working on our Members’ Survey, engaging with politicians across Westminster, Scotland and Wales and leading on the response to the Deposit Return Scheme in Wales. Some of the most important work SIBA does is engaging and helping members engage with their local MPs. Part of Will’s role will be to help members organise a meeting with their MP or to help you arrange a brewery tour with them.
If you want to speak to Will to get his help you can email him on will.lockwood@siba.co.uk or give him a call on 07511209258.
Cask lager and New England IPAs voted the best beers in the UK
Harviestoun’s Schiehallion Cask Lager and Red Willow’s Perceptionless New England IPA took home Overall Champion Gold in the Cask and Keg Awards at SIBA’s Independent Beer Awards 2022 finals during BeerX, with Lakes Brew Co taking the best bottled or canned beer with their NE Session IPA.
Judged by brewers and industry experts and organised by SIBA, the awards run across a huge range of beer style categories in cask, craft keg, bottle and can. The Overall Champion Cask beer is Harviestoun’s Schiehallion, a cask lager that impressed judges with a clean flavour and superb aromatics. In the keg beer competition Red Willow’s Perceptionless, a hazy ‘New England’ style American IPA, took home the Overall Gold. Tom Lewis, Red Willow’s Brewer and Cellar Manager, was on hand to accept the award. He said: “We’re genuinely humbled to win against what are always an amazing group of breweries and a really tough competition. We think this is one of our most consistent beers, with great flavour, mouthfeel and balance which makes it super drinkable – we’re really proud of it and glad the judges agreed!” In the bottle and can competition it was Lakes Brew Co’s NE Session IPA that was judged to be the best in the UK, described by judges as being ‘hazy, hoppy and tropical!’, it won the Overall Champion Gold Award in the Bottle and Can Awards. Matt Clarke, Lakes Brew Co Founder and Head Brewer, accepted the award: “We have only been brewing eight months so to win this award is just amazing, it’s such a new beer for us – in fact we’ve only brewed it three times! It feels great to be recognised in this way and I’m glad the judges enjoyed the beer. It’s got a soft mouthfeel and some great tropical aromas, but we keep the bitterness balanced which just keeps you drinking it.” SIBA Competitions Chair Neil Walker congratulated the winners on their huge achievement: “The 2022 awards were possibly our most important ever, being the first National beer competition back in BeerX for two years. A huge, huge well done to all of the winners as to earn a place on this list is to be named the very best of the best in the UK. Particular praise of course needs to go to Harviestoun, Red Willow and Lakes Brew Co – who were named our overall Gold Champions – three truly outstanding beers which you should be incredibly proud of.”
For the full list of winners from the BeerX finals see pages 72-79.
Free Energy Audit for SIBA Members
SIBA Supplier Associate Member Unyfi has helped a number of SIBA members following the recent surge in energy costs, and is now offering a free Energy Audit to all Member breweries.
Unyfi is offering it’s time and a full energy audit to all members at no cost. The aim being to discuss your current energy situation, what your options are, when and how far in the future you can renew your supplies and give you a chance to ask questions to an impartial expert.
Call 0330 223 2093 or email tom. faithful@unyfi.co.uk or thor.wyles@ unyfi.co.uk for more information quoting reference SIBA and find out more about Unyfi at www.unify Struggling independent brewing businesses need support now, not aspirations for the future said SIBA in its response to the Chancellor's Spring Statement.
Speaking on the day of the statement, SIBA’s Chief Executive James Calder said: “Today the Chancellor announced plans to help businesses in years to come, but these aspirations for the future are not the immediate support that struggling businesses facing closure need right now. The energy and supply crunch are an urgent and potentially devastating situation, with most small brewers seeing energy rising between two and three hundred per cent - and vital business supplies, from malt to beer cans rising exponentially. “Rising costs combined with Covid debt repayments mean businesses facing financial ruin and an uncertain future, with many unlikely to survive until the Autumn Budget. While the fuel duty reduction will help businesses running vehicles, most small brewers are still waiting for the assistance promised a year ago under the Covid-19 Additional Relief Fund. This vital money is yet to be paid by local authorities and breweries do not receive the 50% discount for hospitality. In today’s announcement the Chancellor missed the opportunity to prioritise these payments and expand CARF for another year, to provide the support small businesses need now to survive.”
Spring Statement highlights
• Fuel duty cut by 5% per litre • National Insurance thresholds rise to £12,570 from July • Income tax will be cut 1p in 2024 • Employment Allowance increased by £1,000 from £4,000 to £5,000 to support small businesses. • Increase in the Household Support Fund of £500m • VAT reduced on energy saving materials such as solar panels from 5% to zero for five years for households • Two new business rates reliefs brought forward to April 2022. There will be no business rates on green technology such as solar panels. • Ahead of the super-deduction deadline, the
Government intends to work with businesses to consider cuts and reforms to support future investment. • The 50% business rates relief for hospitality and retail comes in as planned.
New industry wide Alcohol Labelling Guidance
The Portman Group has published its updated Alcohol Labelling Guidelines, which provide best practice guidance for communicating alcohol and health-related information on labels.
The Portman Group Alcohol Labelling Guidelines can be found at portmangroup.org.uk/codeguidance/ If you have any questions please email political@siba.co.uk
Through SIBA’s Labelling Guide we have signposted to the Portman Group’s guidance in the past, however we are for the first time publicly supporting the updated Alcohol Labelling Guidelines. This new guidance does not introduce any additional regulatory burden for SIBA Members and mirrors the ‘advised’ section published in our own Labelling Guide. When the Portman Group contacted us last year, SIBA raised the issue that we could not support the revised guidance because it included a recommendation to actively signpost to Drinkaware – something that carries a substantial cost of £1,500 per year. This is impossible to justify for small breweries, especially at a time of increasing costs. We therefore met with Drinkaware and worked with them to review this. We are pleased to say that after SIBA’s intervention they have reduced the fee to £50 per year for small brewers who turn over less than £2.5 million per year. This change is being introduced in mid-June on their website and those looking to sign up before then will also receive the new price. This also comes at a time when the self-regulation of the alcohol industry is under increasing threat from those who would prefer it to be fully regulated by the Government. Our support for the revised guidelines helps to reassure the Government that everyone, from the largest to the smallest brewery, is committed to providing the information consumers need to make informed choices about the products they buy. We may not agree with every decision that the Portman Group reaches, but on balance self-regulation is much better for our industry than the alternative; direct Government regulation and intervention. For example in some countries that do not have a self-regulatory framework, alcohol labelling must be signed-off by an appointed Government official prior to sale. SIBA’s support of the revised guidance also does not mean that we will not continue to challenge future policies or regulations if they restrict small brewers or consumer choice. For example, SIBA still has legitimate concerns about The Portman Code of Practice on the naming, packaging and promotion of drinks (which is separate from this guidance) and attempts to restrict single serves to four units as well as label restrictions on graphics and colours. Similarly, we continue to communicate to the Department of Health the additional burden and costs that calorie labelling would place on small and independent brewers. At the same time, you are not expected to change your labels overnight to reflect these guidelines. This is the recommended best practice and you are encouraged to consider this and SIBA’s Practical Guide to Labelling when introducing a new label or updating your old ones. Below you can find some additional Frequently Asked Questions about the guidance and the SIBA team would be happy to answer any of your questions.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does the Portman Group guidance recommend?
It recommends that four elements are included on packaging: 1. Unit alcohol content per container (and optional per typical serving) 2. Pregnancy logo/message 3. Active signposting to Drinkaware.co.uk 4. Chief Medical Officers’ Low Risk Drinking Guidelines 2016
Does it include calories?
The guidance includes further voluntary information you can include such as calories but this is not a requirement or contained in the key four recommended elements. The Government is expected to consult on alcohol labelling as part of the obesity strategy which may include calories.
How is this different from SIBA’s Labelling Guide?
The Portman Group guidelines has always been included in SIBA’s Labelling Guide as recommended by the industry.
How is this different to the Portman Code of Practice?
The Portman Code of Practice applies to the naming, packaging and promotion of alcoholic drinks and allows anyone to make a complaint against any product. This is a separate document to the Alcohol Labelling Guidance.
What do I need to do?
This is useful guidance alongside SIBA’s labelling guide for when you are looking to introduce a new label or change your current labels.
What are Drinkaware’s new costs?
Drinkaware are reducing the cost of the trademark logo licence to £50 +VAT for small brewers who have a turnover of £2.5m or less per year. Those with a turnover above this will have to pay a higher amount.
When will Drinkaware’s prices change?
Drinkaware has said that these changes will be made on their website by mid-June but that anyone looking to enter into a license agreement can receive the new lower price.
SIBA’s South West, North East and Wales & West regions have become the first to showcase the revamped SIBA Independent Beer Awards
Quantock Brewery and Cheddar Ales were named Champion Beers of the South West at the very first new-look SIBA Independent Beer Awards for 2022. Meanwhile, Revolutions Brewing 'Swoon' was named Champion Beer of the North East in the second showing of SIBA’s new-style regional beer competitions and Bewdley Brewery and DEYA have taken home the two top awards in Wales & West. The awards have been updated this year to reflect the evolving modern craft beer sector in the UK. In the South West, ‘We’re gonna need a bigger boat’, a modern 6.3% New England style hazy IPA took home the top award in the keg beer competition for Quantock – the first time keg has ever been judged at the event as part of the huge shakeup of the awards in 2022. The Overall Champion of the Cask beer competition went to ‘Piney Sleight’ by Cheddar Ales, a Session IPA of 4% with huge aromas of pine and citrus. Buster Grant, SIBA Competitions Chairman, said: “The South West competition is the oldest of all SIBA competitions Nationally so it seems apt that this is where we launched our new and improved SIBA Independent Beer Awards 2022 – featuring a brand new set of keg categories, an international-standard scoring system and hugely experienced ‘lead judges’ on each table. I would like to say a huge congratulations to all of this year’s winners and in particular Quantock and Cheddar Ales, who really were the best of the best, not only being named best-in-class in their category but then going on to become Overall Champions. Very well done and good luck in the National Finals in Liverpool next year!” The awards were presented at MaltingsFest at the old Tucker’s Maltings site. Further north, it was Revolutions Brewing in Castleford that took home the Overall Champion award in the North East Independent Beer Awards, which took place at Gateshead Rugby Club. Local MPs Grahame Morris MP and Ian Mearns MP joined the judging and helped hand out awards to this year's winners. The Overall Champion is picked once all the category Champions have been picked, making it the very best of the best at the awards. This year it was 'Swoon', a rich and delicious 4.5% Chocolate Fudge Milk Stout by Revolutions Brewing in Castleford, West Yorkshire, that took home the coveted Overall Champion award. Collecting the award was Revolutions Brewing Founder Mark Seaman: "It's fabulous to get this recognition for what has become our flagship beer. For a chocolate beer it's really balanced and there's a nice bit of bitterness alongside the sweet chocolate flavour - we're very proud of it and amazing to win the Overall Champion Award." In the Wales & West competition at Ludlow Castle, Bewdley’s ‘Red Hill’ proved a hit with judges in the Cask Bitter category before going on to win the overall Champion of the Cask Award. DEYA’s ‘Steady Rolling Man’ took the top spot in the Pale Ale category before going up against winners from a diverse range of other beer style categories in a new look Bottle & Can beer competition – with everything from IPA’s and Pale Ales to Sour and Wild Ales being judged. Collecting the award for Overall Cask Champion was Tim Wilkins of Bewdley Brewery who said: “It means everything to win, it’s quite emotional really we’ve put in so much hard work and it has paid off. We use the best ingredients and spend the time and care to make sure our beer is brewed right, we are so thrilled to have won.”
SIBA responds to the announcement of details on England, Wales and NI's Deposit Return Schemes for drinks containers
Responding on behalf of SIBA to details of the proposed DRS schemes across the UK and NI, SIBA’s Chief Executive James Calder said: "Independent brewers sell their beer all over the UK and NI. They sell directly to consumer, to supermarkets, to small bottle shops, online and to wholesalers. The news today that glass will be excluded from England and Northern Ireland’s deposit return scheme (DRS) systems should be cautiously welcomed as it signals that glass, as a material, is unworkable within the proposed system and Government have recognised this. But the UK’s independent brewers will now have to engage with three separate DRS models - one in Scotland, one in Wales and one in England and NI. This level of complexity and red tape is a further burden on an already heavily-regulated brewing industry, and comes as breweries are recovering from the pandemic and dealing with huge inflationary rises. “Governments from across the country need to get their heads together and develop one, unified and simple system working in conjunction with our brewing members. “This announcement will also threaten the ability of consumers to choose and enjoy beer from breweries around the country, because in many parts of the UK and NI the cost of supplying independent beer will be prohibitive for small breweries."
