Know Your Beer: EBCU launches consumer education campaign on beer labels

Beer labels contain a lot of information. Some of it is required by law. Some is voluntary. Some is marketing. Knowing the difference is not always straightforward, and that is exactly what EBCU’s new Know Your Beer campaign is designed to help with.

The campaign launches today at knowyour.beer, a free multilingual educational resource covering six topics: alcohol content and beer style, ingredients and allergens, producer and origin, marks and certifications, freshness and dates, and storage and serving. A separate section covers what consumers can reasonably expect from bars and restaurants, and what questions are worth asking.

The site is built around a simple premise. Most beer labels are technically correct, but technically correct is not the same as easy to understand. Terms like “brewed by”, “produced for”, and “distributed by” mean different things. A best-before date is not the same as a packaged-on date. A competition medal on a label tells you something, but not always what you might assume. EU geographical indications, certifications, independent brewer logos, and organic marks each work differently and are governed by different rules. Know Your Beer explains all of this in plain language.

The campaign draws on EBCU’s 2023 beer labelling survey, which gathered responses from 2,666 consumers across 26 European countries. The findings pointed consistently toward the same need: consumers want clearer information and a practical way to use it.

Know Your Beer is available in English, German, French, Italian, Spanish, Polish, and Dutch. Further language versions are planned.

Visit the campaign at knowyour.beer.