Small breweries have been dealt a blow after the Scottish Government refused to guarantee their drinks could be served under rule changes on guest beers.
The Scottish Pubs Code enables “tied” pubs to set aside one tap for a beer outwith those permitted by the owner.
It was hoped the legislation would mean small breweries - including those in Dundee - had the opportunity to showcase their drinks in bars and pubs they wouldn’t otherwise have been able to work with.
The Society of Independent Brewers (SIBA) made a number of pleas to ministers to stipulate that such small businesses would have that opportunity.
However, the Scottish Government has now confirmed no such stipulation will be in place, meaning the guest slot could be occupied by large, global brands in another blow to the industry.
In a letter to SIBA, business minister Ivan McKee said: “The Scottish Government has looked further into the proposals of restricting guest beers to small brewers.
And while he said he was “committed to supporting small brewers”, he added: “We cannot use the code to restrict guest beer arrangements to any particular type or category of producer, such as small brewers.”
Scottish Conservative North East MSP Maurice Golden said: “Many saw the key point of this legislation as being something that would stand up for small brewers in the face of the increasing influence of big drinks business.
“It ought to have assured local brewers that their products could get to customers, and indeed provide more variation and selection for drinkers.
“Instead, we have a situation where these ‘guest beers’ could just be taken up by another big name which you could have anywhere.”
And he added: “There should be a balance in Scotland’s pubs, and this code was supposed to guarantee that.
“Instead, it’s another blow for small breweries alongside all the other stiff challenges they face.
“I hope the Scottish Government is able to have a rethink on this and give small breweries the exposure and the support they deserve.”
Jamie Delap, regional director of the Society of Independent Brewers, said:
“Time and time again we hear from pub goers that they want the opportunity to drink beer from Scotland’s small brewers in local pubs and we hoped that the guest beer agreement was going to help achieve this.
“Despite reassurances last year, we now learn that the Scottish Government is powerless to deliver this objective.
“Instead the way the guest beer agreement is defined is likely to lead to more bland beer from global brewers being sold, which is a missed opportunity to improve consumer choice and help Scotland’s small brewers.”
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