The European Beer Consumers Union comes to Dublin

On the 14th and 15th of November Beoir will host a meeting of the European Beer Consumers Union for the first time. 30 delegates from eleven different countries across Europe will gather in Dublin for two days of debate and discussion covering a number issues of relevance to beer drinkers.

Among the topics is the current status of European Union Directive 1169/2011 concerning the information which should be made available to consumers on beer packaging. The EBCU has long deemed the current situation unsatisfactory, as producers are not obliged to list the ingredients of beer, nor the place of production. Both of these elements are essential if the consumer is to make a truly informed choice about the beer they drink.

Beoir wholeheartedly supports the EBCU’s campaign to have ingredients and place of production made mandatory on beer labels, and salutes those Irish craft breweries who already have this information visible on their products.

The EBCU was founded in 1990 by three beer consumer organisations: CAMRA (UK), PINT (Netherlands) and Zythos (Belgium). It has since grown to thirteen member groups with a combined membership of over 200,000 people. Beoir is the newest member of the group, joining in 2012. Two plenary meetings of the delegates are held every year.

The Dublin meeting will be the 50th since the EBCU’s foundation and delegates will be visiting two of Dublin’s independent breweries: The Porterhouse and JW Sweetman. Alfie Byrne’s pub and L. Mulligan Grocer will also feature in the social programme for the weekend.

More information on the aims and work of the EBCU can be found on its website at www.ebcu.org.