Almost a third of young people surveyed by YouGov recognise the Indie Beer campaign, established by the Society of Independent Brewers and Associates (SIBA).
The news comes as the inaugural Indie Beer Week gets under way, with many events planned around the country.
The YouGov research of more than 2,000 consumers, commissioned by SIBA, found that 18- to 24-year-olds were much more likely (31%) to be aware of the Indie Beer campaign, compared to just over one in 10 (11%) of beer drinkers nationally.
“What this research clearly shows is that the Indie Beer campaign is resonating with younger consumers, many of whom are drinking less but drinking better, choosing quality beers from local, independent breweries,” said Neil Walker, of SIBA.
“The campaign is all about ensuring that every person who is trying to support independent beer is actually doing so and making it easier for people to make an informed choice.”
A key part of the Indie Beer campaign has been to use social media and pub point of sale material to promote a brewery checker tool. This allows people to quickly look up any brewery and find out if they are genuinely independent or owned by a global beer company.
SIBA says the Indie Beer website has seen more than 52,000 brewery checker searches since launch and now has over 28,000 active users.
Indie Beek Week runs from 11th-20th April and will be launched at MaltingsFest, in Newton Abbot, which starts today and runs until Saturday.
“The response to the first ever Indie Beer Week has been superb, with special events, beer festivals, tap takeovers, and meet the brewer events happening all across the UK,” said Neil.
“We’re really proud to be launching at the MaltingsFest in Newton Abbot, one of the longest running independent beer festivals in the UK, and a huge supporter of the campaign.
“Every glass at this year’s festival, which features over 320 different independent beers, will carry the Indie Beer mark as a badge of honour.”
There are now more than 500 independent breweries across the UK actively signed up in support of the Indie Beer campaign. It is supported by consumer and industry organisations, including the Campaign for Real Ale, British Institute of Innkeepers, and the Independent Family Brewers of Britain.
All breweries listed as independent on indiebeer.uk need to meet the campaign’s widely accepted criteria for an independent brewery. This can be summarised as a brewery with less than 1% market share, UK owned, and independent of larger brewing operations.
“We’ve had incredible feedback from our customers about the Indie Beer Campaign, and it’s something we’re really passionate about being a part of,” said Jo Farn, of Attic Brew Co, in Birmingham.
Ian Fozard, of Rooster’s Brewery, in Yorkshire, added: “As research shows that a significant percentage of the population wants to consume local, independently produced food and drink products, Indie Beer week is an important initiative to promote the whole campaign.”
