Back British lager says Innis & Gunn founder

25-Oct-2024 - Last updated on 25-Oct-2024 at 14:22 GMT

Back our beer: Innis & Gunn founder Dougal Sharp

The founder of Scottish brewery Innis & Gunn has urged lager drinkers to back British beers after research showed only 27% of Brits think the UK produces good beer.

The data, cited by the Perth-based business founded by Dougal Sharp, also found 15% of survey respondents believe the UK produces nothing well at all and more than 90% are unaware that Madri Excepcional, marketed as a Spanish lager, is actually brewed in the UK, with only 8% knowing its true origin.

Furthermore, 50% of Millennials are willing to pay more for continental beers, yet only 12% know Madri is UK-made.

The brewer has even gone so far as to test the theory that drinkers favour continental brands by using a pub in Edinburgh to sell an Innis & Gunn lager disguised as fictional ‘Ambaro’ lager with a Spanish label.

Cheese ranks higher than beer

The survey, conducted by Opinion Matters between 4 October and 7 October 2024, which found just 27% of Brits believe the country produces good beer, drops to 20% for those aged under 34.

In the eyes of the public, this puts homegrown beer below British cheese (46%), whisky (42%), film/TV (41%) and clothes (28%).

Sharp said of the research his company commissioned: “[Continental-style beers made in the UK] are all great beers from great companies but consumers are drawn in by the image and the promise of continental beer.

“They end up paying a premium price for them because of that marketing and the image. To me, it feels like a scandal.

“There’s no need to look to the continent for great beer when we’re producing award-winning homegrown lagers across the UK and there’s surely no need to be duped by supposedly continental lager.

So much quality here

“British beers are among the best in the world. There’s so much quality here and consumers should wake up to that.”

Data showed 50% of Millennials are willing to pay more for continental beer compared to 38% of all Brits and 34% prefer continental beer for its “unique and exotic flavours”.

Additionally, 37% of Millennials place importance on a beer’s country of origin when making purchasing decisions compared to just 29% of the general population and 21% of Baby Boomers (born post-WWII and up to the mid ’60s).

Sharp summarised: “When I read the survey results, it did make me feel like I’ve been shouting into an empty keg for the past 20 years – but I won’t stop.

“Homegrown lager is a movement worth getting behind and it’s time to give the incredible beer being proudly produced right here on our doorstep its time in the sun, as it were.”