Anthony Fuller, chairman of the Independent Family Brewers of Britain, has learned a trick or two from professional politicians: when you're under attack deflect the criticism by throwing mud at your accuser rather than answering the question put to you. In his response to the complaint that the IFBB refused to allow Cain's Brewery in Liverpool to join the association, he singularly fails to address the main point made by Cain's and myself that he changed the criteria for membership after Cain's had applied to join. Instead, he accuses me of being inaccurate when I suggested the IFBB acts as a closed shop where the annual Cask Beer Week is concerned. I shall return to that point, but let me once again ask Mr Fuller to answer the main question: why was Cain's request for membership turned down? When Sudarghara and Ajmail Dusanj, the owners of Cain's, applied to join the IFBB in October 2002, they were presented with four rules of membership: that the brewery is family owned; it owns pubs; it brews cask beer; and it is also a member of the British Beer and Pub Association. The Dusanj brothers were able to tick all four boxes and sat back to wait for their membership to be accepted. Fourteen months later they were astonished to hear that their application had been refused as the IFBB had added a fifth requirement for membership: that a brewery had to have been in the hands of the same family for 10 years. I wrote two weeks ago: "An organisation cannot legally, morally or ethically change its rules to exclude a company that the met the criteria for membership that existed when the application was first made." Astonishingly, in his letter, Anthony Fuller makes no reference to this serious charge at all. His rebuttal deals only with the fact that brewers, trade associations and free houses do not have to be members of the IFBB to participate in Cask Beer Week. The claim is rather like saying that anyone is free to join the Freemasons. This may be true, except the Freemasons do not advertise for membership and applicants are thoroughly vetted before they are told to put on the blindfold and roll up their trousers. Cask Beer Week is not as open as Mr Fuller claims. Sudarghara Dusanj tells me: "I can categorically confirm Anthony Fuller has never invited Cain's to participate in Cask Beer Week, nor has he ever said we could advertise in their double-page advertising campaign in the national trade press prior to the event." The same holds true for Woodforde's, the Norfolk-based family-owned brewery that has also been turned down for membership of the IFBB. Managing director Mike Betts tells me he can't recall being invited to take part in Cask Beer Week, either. The IFBB, in order to avoid any suggestion of bias against the Dusanj brothers, has made much of the fact that it has been even-handed in also rejecting Woodforde's. This has come as a surprise to Mike Betts. He says Woodforde's never applied to join the IFBB, but merely made an inquiry about membership. The brewery is a relatively small company and Mr Betts wasn't certain membership of the IFBB would be an advantage. He made his inquiry in order to learn more about the association and was astonished to discover he had been rejected for membership when he had never formally applied. The more Anthony Fuller blusters, the worse it gets. It begins to look as if Wood-forde's is being used as a stalking horse to deflect the image of Cain's being rejected because the Dusanj brothers' faces don't fit. Let me give Anthony Fuller a piece of well-honed advice: "When you're in a hole, stop digging." The reason for rejecting Cain's application does not hold water. The fact that the IFBB changed its rules to exclude Cain's leaves a deeply unpleasant taste in the mouth. It is in the best interests of all concerned to draw a line under the matter without further delay. I appeal to Anthony Fuller to admit he made a mistake, to withdraw the 10-year rule for new members, and to welcome Cain's Brewery into full membership of the IFBB. www.protzonbeer.com
