Inspired by Record Store Day, Indie Beer Shop Day is an annual celebration to showcase the independent beer shop sector in the UK on Saturday 17th July 2021.
With a month to go until the first national Indie Beer Shop Day celebration, three national brewery collaborations have now been announced. These collaborations represent the independent beer scene across the UK; Pilot in Scotland, Abbeydale Brewery in Sheffield, and Reading’s Double Barrelled Brewery. These beers will be exclusively available in the 80+ independent beer shops that have signed up for the event, from all around the country. News of the beer styles and ingredients will be released in the coming weeks. All of the breweries featured have an independent ethos and have actively supported the beer shop sector throughout the pandemic.
Indie Beer Shop Day‘s goal is to aid a coordinated recovery and revitalisation 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, to discover and hunt out, released on Saturday 17th July.
The national beer collaborations will be available in a two-week run-up to the day, launching in stores from Friday 2nd July. The celebration finale is on Saturday 17th July when there will be a virtual beer tasting evening hosted by renowned beer broadcaster and writer, Pete Brown.
What’s on?
You can expect events, exclusive beer collaborations and more throughout the day across the whole of the UK; from Perth to Truro, 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. Shouting about the vibrancy and positive footfall these businesses drive to their local high streets, input and support to their local economy and ultimately their community and beer supply chain.
Why it’s important
Outside of pubs and taprooms, beer conversations often only focus on supermarkets. As passionate owner-operators, beer shops are important places for people to discover beer and begin their journey. Bottle shops are often the places where people spend longer to search, find, and learn more about the wonderful world of beer – breweries, history and beer styles. The indie beer shop sector is a vital link and valuable connection between brewery and customer within their communities.
Many high streets have 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 the competition with lower operational cost bases. In addition 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 50-70p recirculates back into the local economy. Showing the great value local businesses bring to their community and economy. For the same £1 spent out of town or online only 5p trickles back into the local economy. This is why Indie Beer Shop Day feels so passionate about supporting its sector.
Get involved
If customers don’t have a local beer shop and rely on mail order for accessibility, the remaining beers will be made available online from Monday 19th July across the independent beer shop network. With the virtual tasting available to rewatch on Instagram Live TV via the Indie Beer Shop Day account. Focusing on making the event as inclusive as possible.
Indie Beer Shop Day takes place on Saturday 17th July 2021. We’ll be sharing information from participating North East bottle shops on our social media, but give them a follow for more updates: