With just 5 weeks to go till the first national Indie Beer Shop Day celebration on 17 July, three hotly anticipated national brewery collaborations have now been announced.
Local representation comes from Abbeydale Brewery in Sheffield, plus South Yorkshire and Reading’s Double Barrelled Brewery and Pilot in Leith, Scotland, who will each release an official collaboration beer. These beers will be exclusively available in the 80+ independent beer shops around the country who have signed up for the event, including Sheffield’s Hop Hideout, Banner Hops, Beer Central, Pangolin Craft Beer, Craft and Berry and Pensistone Beer Shop, with news of the beer styles and ingredients released in the coming weeks. All the breweries have an independent ethos and have actively supported the beer shop sector throughout the pandemic.
Indie Beer Shop Day’s goal is to aid in a coordinated recovery and revitalization of each local high street up and down the UK, much like Record Store Day with its anticipated special vinyl releases increasing and pushing a positive footfall and revenue impact. In addition there will be local level unique beer collaborations releasing on Saturday July 17th, driving much needed excitement and a positive spotlight on this hard-working group of small businesses.
Shelves of beer at Pangolin Craft Beer
The national beer collaborations will be available in a two week run up to the day, launching in stores from Friday July 2nd. Culminating the celebration on Saturday 17 July will be an evening of virtual beer tasting hosted by renowned beer broadcaster and writer Pete Brown, enabling beer shops and their customers globally to meet online, share a beer together, toast the safe return of their beloved retail venues and champion local breweries. Expect events, exclusive beer collaborations and more throughout the day across the whole of the UK; from Perth to Truro, from Whitley Bay to Cardiff, Yorkshire and everywhere in between.
#IndieBeerShopDay has been organised by a group of five independent UK beer shops who have forged a path together to highlight their sector and host this annual celebration. They recognise the vibrancy and positive footfall these businesses drive to their local highstreets, as well as supporting their local economy and ultimately their community with the beer supply chain.
Often beer conversations focus across on and off trade, with off trade only spotlighting the supermarket sector. As passionate owner-operators, beer shops aka ‘the local bottleshop’ are important places on a consumer’s beer discovery and journey, often places where consumers can spend longer and valuable time searching, finding and learning more about the wonderful world of beer – breweries, history and beer styles. Whether it’s their first time exploring craft beer or their regular visit, customers will always be guided by friendly and welcoming beer shop staff. The indie beer shop sector is a vital link and a valuable connection between breweries and customers within their communities.
Sean Clarke at Beer Central
Many high streets had been suffering prior to the pandemic with footfall due to complex challenges, including the encroachment of large online companies who are able to operate on slim margins and undercut competition with lower operational cost bases. In the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, the UK high street has suffered a catastrophic year. For every £1 spent in a local business, around 50-70% recirculates back into the local economy, demonstrating the great value local businesses bring to their community and economy. In contrast, for the same £1 spent out of town or online only 5p trickles back into the local economy, which is why Indie Beer Shop day is so crucial in supporting its sector.
If customers don’t have a local beer shop and rely on mail order for accessibility, remaining beers will be made available online from Monday July 19th across the independent beer shop network, and the virtual tasting will be available to re-watch on Instagram Live TV via the Indie Beer Shop Day account. Indie Beer Shop day is focusing on making the event as inclusive as possible, so that everyone and anyone can get involved.
