Row between Cains and the IFBB worsens

Anthony Fuller, chairman of the Independent Family Brewers of Britain (IFBB), has launched a scathing attack on beer writer Roger Protz after he accused the IFBB of "smug complacency".

The storm erupted after the IFBB refused to allow Cains Brewery to become a member. It refused the brewer entry on the basis of a new rule which requires companies to have been brewing for 10 years.

Cains' new owners, the Dusanj brothers, claim the IFBB's decision means Cains will be at a competitive disadvantage against brewers who have access to the IFBB's joint promotion and marketing.

Mr Protz, who edits the Good Beer Guide, believes that the decision is outrageous. He commented: "The existing members want to keep their association as a tightly-controlled clique that profits from their collective purchasing and marketing advantages."

Mr Fuller (pictured)​, who is chairman of London brewer Fuller's, has refuted Mr Protz's comments as "inaccurate" and says they will make the job of promoting cask ale even harder. In an open letter Mr Fuller wrote: "The accusation seems more than a little unjustified. To have an influential journalist such as yourself dismissing our activity as 'smug complacency' only adds insult to injury.

"Ineligibility for IFBB membership brings no competitive disadvantage to Cains as has been claimed. As a group we developed Cask Beer Week, which promotes a product sector, not a brand."

But Mr Protz said that the letter failed to answer fundamental questions about why Cains was denied membership. "Mr Fuller singularly fails to address the central complaint made by both myself and the Dusanj brothers that the IFBB changed its rules after Cains Brewery had applied to join the association," he said.

"I look forward to Mr Fuller explaining a rule change which I have described as unacceptable legally, morally and ethically."

The Liverpool-based brewer qualified under the IFBB's four main membership criteria, namely that it was a British-based, family-owned business; that it owned pubs; that it brewed cask ale and that it was also a member of the British Beer & Pub Association.

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