Who wants to drink a bland mass-market American beer while cheering on our World Cup teams when there are so many great independent UK brewers?
Indie Beer campaigner Neil Walker
To this end, the Indie Beer campaign has a handy tool to allow drinkers to check whether the beer they’re buying is a genuine independent brew.
“Britain is one of the world’s greatest brewing nations, with a beer heritage which stretches back hundreds of years and a thriving independent brewing sector today making world-class brews,” said Indie Beer campaigner Neil Walker.
“But for some reason, when it comes to supporting the home nations for football, British beer goes out of the window.”
American mega brand Budweiser are the official beer of the FIFA World Cup 2026, but fans are being encouraged to buy a homegrown pint — whether that’s in England or Scotland, who are in the competition, or Wales and Northern Ireland, who missed out this year.
“There are superb independent breweries across the the whole of the UK, many of which are making one-off beers specially for the World Cup, so there’s really no reason to support an American lager brand when cheering on England or Scotland over the next few months,” said Neil.
“Just put your postcode into the indie brewery finder to discover breweries near you, or if you’re in the pub use the brewery checker to see if the beer you’re buying is the real deal or actually owned by a global mega-brand like Bud.”
The Indie Beer campaign was launched to make it easier for beer drinkers to find out whether the beer they’re drinking is from a genuine independent brewery after a string of buyouts made things confusing for consumers. Even ‘craft’ beers that look independent might not be.
Neil added: “This isn’t about shifting people away from lager — there are superb lagers, stouts, and a huge range of other styles being brewed by indie breweries in the UK. This is about supporting the beer being brewed in your country when cheering on our teams this summer.”
The indie brewery finder and brewery checker can both be found here.
