Beer group calls for clarity in beer styles

The European Beer Consumers Union (EBCU) has used the Great British Beer Festival (GBBF) as the launch pad for a new campaign calling for clarity and honesty in defining beer styles.

Members of the body have are concerned that brewers have been defining beer styles in different ways which could be to the detriment of the consumer.

It is now hoping to establish a list of approved beer judges for national beer organisations - such as CAMRA - to ensure competitions across Europe reflect traditional beer styles.

Terry Lock, EBCU chairman, said: "We believe it is time that the beer competitions are seen as fair. For example a competition to find the best "Tripel" should truly reflect that beer style and not be judged to a set of criteria that suits a particular brewer.

"By having a number of independent consumer judges, and issuing guidelines on beer styles, we feel that we can protect the consumer from being misled.

"We also want to raise awareness of beer styles amongst ordinary drinkers, so we are launching an initial list of beer style descriptions today at CAMRA's Great British Beer Festival to reach out to over 60,000 drinkers, which has got to be a good start."

He added: "Wine drinkers would not be tricked into believing that a Riesling was a Chablis, or a Burgundy a Rioja, so why should beer drinkers have the wool pulled over their eyes by clever marketing? What we are calling for is consistency and clarity for the beer drinker."