Brewers hit out at guest beer push

Family brewers are fighting back against a campaign aimed at giving licensees the right to serve guest beers in their pubs.

The Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) wants to see the introduction of a guest beer law, which would ensure all pub companies with 30 or more pubs would have to allow a cask ale not brewed by themselves into their outlets.

However, Paul Wells, managing director of Bedford family brewer Charles Wells and chairman of the Independent Family Brewers of Britain, told The Publican that many brewers would suffer if they could not keep a full beer tie.

"If smaller family brewers lose the certainty of the tie then they won't be able to reinvest in their pubs or their brewery," he said.

Mr Wells added that while companies like his own offered guest beers, forcing others to follow suit would seriously undermine the cask category as a whole. "I would ask CAMRA not to undo the great work that has been done over centuries by family brewers," he added.

CAMRA's campaign was launched in the spring after members voted on the issue at the group's Blackpool AGM.

Jonathan Mail, head of public affairs at CAMRA, declared: "We are not calling for the tie to be removed or be weakened. The excellent beers provided by family brewers would also be able to compete for and benefit from the new markets as small as they may be, provided by a guest beer law."

Chris McLean, licensee of Shepherd Neame tenancy, the Railway Hotel in Faversham, Kent, believes forcing guest beers on pubs will not help the cask category. "I don't think it is the greatest idea from CAMRA. Choice is not the answer. I specialise in one Shepherd Neame beer and have no interest in selling guest beers. Either you are the master of one beer or sell a lot of average ones."