Having a beer with the best in brewing: How Britain’s independent brewing sector is fighting back against hospitality gloom

Our editor went to a celebration of beer and Britain’s most innovative brewing businesses

I went on a mission to learn about the best business in Britain’s independent brewing sector – and it would have been silly not to have a glass or two of beer on the way.

SIBA, the Society of Independent Brewers, took over Liverpool’s waterfront Exhibition Centre this week for its BeerX event billed as “the UK’s biggest beer and brewing event.”

It’s not a beer festival, though there are several busy bars. Instead it’s an exhibition of all the things that make beer happen. Kegs. Robot canning machines. Malt. “Dispense solutions”. Glasses. Brewing software. Logistics. Labels. “Beverage finance”. Lawyers, even. Plus there are awards, both for beers and for businesses.

It may be a tough time for hospitality, but the brewers and trade reps were certainly very upbeat about independent beer. The beer itself may have helped.

That beer was sold from a series of bars in the middle of the hall, with each bar representing a nation or region of the UK. As editor of a regional business news site, that made my task easier. Could I try a pint from all BusinessLive’s coverage areas? Yes I could – a third of a pint at a time.

I’d seen a van advertising historic Liverpool beer brand Higsons on the way to the venue, so when I saw the same logo on a pump clip on the North West stand I knew I had to try it. A rep for its brewer Love Lane called it a “classic English bitter” – that’s about right.

While around the stand I spoke to people from a couple of North West breweries – from Love Lane Brewery, which is a short walk away from the venue, and from Jennings Brewery a lot further north in Cumbria, which Google Maps told me would be a day and 17 hours walk away. Both were very proud of their beers, their taprooms, and the sector as a whole.

After wandering the hall again I went to the Midlands and West stand for a cinder toffee stout from Blue Monkey, just to be different. It was delicious, only lightly sweet with those Crunchie notes flowing through it. A third of a pint was about right.

After another look around, particularly at the canning lines and robot packer from Bolton’s Micro Can Canning Machines, I grabbed a third of Camra Man from Wales’s Weird Dad Brewery to enjoy over the keynote speech. I couldn;t resist the Half Man Half Biscuit theme, and it turned out to be a hoppy, vaguely tropical and pleasingly summery for this sunny day.

The keynote came from Sacha Lord, chair of the Night Time Industries Association. He said he remained disappointed at the Labour government’s attitude towards business, saying: “So many ludicrous decisions have been made – business rates, an absolute kick in the teeth.”

He said he was disappointed at the lack of support for hospitality, adding: “They either don’t understand or don’t care, it’s one of the two.” Asked what the Government could act on quickly, Mr Lord said: “VAT and business rates. With NI (national insurance) not far behind.”

Ahead of the day’s big event – the SIBA Business Awards 2026– I headed to the North East bar, for a third of Midas from Sunderland’s North Pier Brew Co, and a third of Old Freddy Walker from Bristol’s Moor Beer Co.

The Midas was another refreshing, crisp and citrus drink. The Old Freddy Walker was a complete contrast – a rich old ale, not sweet but somehow like dark chocolate in a pint. Plus, at 7.3%, a third was easily enough.

The awards themselves were hosted by writer Pete Brown, author of the excellent Hops and Glory among other books exploring Britain’s food and drink culture.

He joked that the event was bigger than Liverpool v Galatasaray – which was happening later that night – and said brewers shouldn’t fall for the idea that Gen Z doesn’t drink. Had anyone else, he said, seen St Patrick’s Day in Liverpool this week?

“I saw things that can never be undone,” he said. “I saw things that made me want to bleach my brain. And I was just on the 11.37 from Manchester Piccadilly.”

That all led to a pleasingly brisk awards do. Winners included Bristol Beer Factory in the Community Engagement category, with judges calling it a “huge asset to Bristol and the surrounding area”. I’d met a Jennings team member earlier and was pleased to see the team celebrating their win in the Concept Design category.

The Best Collaboration category was won by Newcastle’s Full Circle Brewing for its collaboration with fellow Tyneside icon Greggs, while Teesside’s Three Brothers Brewing won the Business Innovation category. Cumbria’s Fell Brewery won the Sustainable Business title.

The top award – Brewery Business of the Year 2026 – was won by Fyne Ales Farm Brewery in the Scottish highlands. Fyne Ales had earlier won the Best Independent Brewery Taproom title. Pete Brown said “With some of the best beers currently being produced in the UK, in a broad range of styles, a destination taproom and a business which continues to go from strength to strength this years winner was a unanimous choice with the judging panel.”

Now by this point on a weeknight I needed a break from strong ales, so I headed back to the South West for a Green Light from Devon’s Powederkeg Brewery. This was like a lemon biscuit in beer form, and vastly more flavourful than its 1% strength might suggest.

No and low-alcohol beers are a big growth area for many breweries, and there are so many good options now. Try a Green Light if you get the chance.

I left, pondering on Pete Brown’s words from earlier.

“Beer is hope”, he said. “When everything seems awful, as long as you can have beer with your mates, there is still hope.”

All the winners from the SIBA Business Awards 2026

UK’s Best Independent Beer Retailer

Pivovar (Winner)

UK’s Best Beer Bar or Pub – City

The Green Goddess, Blackheath (Winner)

Old Grey Mare Inn (Highly Commended)

UK’s Best Beer Bar or Pub – City

Brewers 1841, Ossett (Winner)

UK’s Best Independent Brewery Webshop

Hackney Church Brew Co. (Winner)

Marketing Implementation

Indie Rabble (Winner)

Charnwood (Highly Commended)

Community Engagement

Bristol Beer Factory (Winner)

Individual Design

Moonwake – Dolcita IPA (Winner)

Concept Design

Jennings (Winner)

Business Innovation

Three Brothers Brewing (Winner)

Commercial Achievement

Tap Social (Winner)

Employer of the Year

Sheep in Wolf’s Clothing (Winner)

Diversity Champion of the Year

Queer Brewing (Winner)

Best Collaboration

Full Circle x Greggs (Winner)

Fyne Ales x Co-Op (Highly Commended)

UK’s Best Independent Brewery Taproom

Fyne Ales (Winner)

Sustainable Business

Fell Brewery (Winner)

Muntons (Highly Commended)

UK’s Best New Independent Brewery

Howe Beer Project (Winner)

Independent Beer Champion of the Year

Jourdan Gabbini, Waitrose

Lifetime Achievement Award

Adrian Wood (Decd)

Supplier Associate of the Year

BREWW

Brewers’ Brewer of the Year

Fiona MacEachern

Brewery Business of the Year 2026

Fyne Ales