Preparations are under way for the London Craft Beer Festival, which will take place on 17th and 18th July, welcoming 25,000 people across three sessions.
This will include an expanded industry-only trade event on the Friday, from 10.30am until 4.30pm. This will bring together buying teams from major UK supermarkets, and leading on-trade pub groups representing more than 10,000 sites.
The trade event is being delivered in partnership with distributors Real Drinks and The Beer Company, alongside the British Beer & Pub Association. It will include:
- We Are Beer industry talks and tastings
- The unveiling of the Good Beer Drinker Insight Report
- The 2026 We Are Beer Top 50 UK Beer Awards
- Structured networking and meeting opportunities
“This is now the single biggest gathering of beer buyers, brewers, and hospitality operators in the UK,” said Greg Wells, managing director and co-founder of We Are Beer.
“The scale of buying power in attendance makes this a genuinely market-moving event. Deals are done here. Partnerships are formed here. This is where the UK beer industry comes together.”
Tickets and trade accreditation are available now at londoncraftbeerfestival.co.uk.
The first wave of breweries has also been revealed, including craft pioneers like Brooklyn Brewery and Thornbridge, fast-growing modern leaders like Verdant and DEYA, cask heavyweights such as Timothy Taylor’s and Bass, and world lager icons Budweiser Budvar and Bitburger. More than 150 breweries and over 800 beers will feature across the weekend.
Then there’s the entertainment; from live music and DJ’s to games and giveaways. And this year LCBF is going big on food. We Are Beer has teamed up with food influencer and food challenge queen Kate Ovens to curate this year’s line-up.
Expanding beyond beer, the festival will launch WET LED, its first dedicated spirits and cocktail destination, in collaboration with DrinksOne.
