British lager campaign body launches

A campaign to promote British-produced lagers will be formally launched with a beer festival in London between October 12 and 18.

Craft lager brewer Freedom Brewery stepped up its plans to form Lagers of the British Isles (LOBI) after its beers were banned at the 11th hour from a CAMRA beer festival last month. It was already feeling unjustly overlooked by the brewers' body.

Freedom had been promised a stall at the Burton-Upon-Trent festival but the offer was withdrawn after it had set up at the event.

Now, Freedom and its partners in LOBI are to trumpet the launch of the organisation during British Lager Week at the White Horse, Parson's Green.

The week will feature tasting sessions of lagers from brewers including Freedom, Cotswold, Hepworth's, Harviestoun, West beer and Rebellion; giveaways; meet the brewer events and beer and food matching.

Freedom Brewery sales manager and LOBI spokesman Mike Knight said: "The last few years has seen an increase in sales for many independent British lager brewers; and this hasn't been through expensive advertising campaigns, but simply by producing a high-quality, home-grown product the consumer wants.

"It's because we respect that the process of brewing lager is long and slow - and many commercial brewers are not prepared to bear the costs of doing it properly.

"This is not the case with smaller British lager brewers who have to make a quality product in order to survive. Anything less can mean the end for the independent brewer."