The European Beer Consumers' Union (EBCU) is a consumer organisation founded in 1990 in Bruges, Belgium, by three national beer organisations: CAMRA (United Kingdom), Objectieve Bierproevers (Belgium) and PINT (Netherlands).
The European Beer Consumers' Union (EBCU) is a consumer organisation founded in 1990 in Bruges, Belgium, by three national beer organisations: CAMRA (United Kingdom), Objectieve Bierproevers (Belgium) and PINT (Netherlands).
In 2003, Objectieve Bierproevers was replaced by Zythos.
In 2008, the member organisations signed up to a constitution which defined the formal aims and structure and the role of traditional beer as a "prime component of European culture, history and daily life".[ citation needed ]
Beoir, an Irish consumer organisation setup in 2010 to promote Irish craft brewing and microbreweries, [1] became the organisation's 13th member in 2012. [2]
In 2012, Terry Lock, chairman since 1999, retired and Henri Reuchlin from the Netherlands was elected to replace him. [3] Bo Jensen from Denmark replaced Henri Reuchlin as chairman in 2018, serving until 2022. [4] In 2022, André Brunnsberg of Finnish organisation Olutliitto was elected Chair. [5]
As of March 2023, the union's website listed 19 members from 17 European countries: [6]
| Country | Acronym | Organisation Name | Founded |
|---|---|---|---|
 Spain | ACCE | Asociación de Cerveceros Caseros Españoles | 2009 |
 Ireland | Beoir | 2010 | |
 Austria | BierIG | BierIG Österreich | 2002 |
 Iceland | Bjórmenningarfélag Íslands | 2021 | |
 Poland | Bractwo Piwne | 1995 | |
 United Kingdom | CAMRA | Campaign for Real Ale | 1971 |
| Spain | CELCE | Club Español de Coleccionismo Cervecero | 1987 |
 Denmark | DBE | Danske Ølentusiaster | 1998 |
 France | FNABRA | Fédération Nationale des Associations Brassicoles | 2002 |
 Germany | GBCU | German Beer Consumers Union | 2019 |
 Switzerland and  Liechtenstein | GFB | Gesellschaft zur Förderung der Biervielfalt | 1991 |
 Italy | MoBI | Movimento Birra | 2003 |
 Finland | Olutliitto | 1992 | |
| Poland | PSPD | Polskie Stowarzyszenie Piwowarów Domowych | 2010 |
 Czech Republic | SPP | Sdružení přátel piva | 1990 |
 Sweden | SÖ | Svenska Ölfrämjandet | 1985 |
 Netherlands | PINT | Vereniging Promotie Informatie Traditioneel Bier | 1980 |
| Italy | Unionbirrai | 1999 | |
 Belgium | ZYTHOS | Zythos | 2003 |
The union campaigns on European level to:
The Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) is an independent voluntary consumer organisation headquartered in St Albans, England, which promotes real ale, cider and perry and traditional British pubs and clubs. With just over 150,000 members, it is the largest single-issue consumer group in the UK, and is a founding member of the European Beer Consumers Union (EBCU).
The Party of European Socialists (PES) is a social democratic and progressive European political party.
Heineken N.V. is a Dutch multinational brewing company, founded in 1864 by Gerard Adriaan Heineken in Amsterdam. As of 2019, Heineken owns over 165 breweries in more than 70 countries. It produces 348 international, regional, local and speciality beers and ciders and employs approximately 85,000 people.
Pale ale is a golden to amber coloured beer style brewed with pale malt. The term first appeared in England around 1703 for beers made from malts dried with high-carbon coke, which resulted in a lighter colour than other beers popular at that time. Different brewing practices and hop quantities have resulted in a range of tastes and strengths within the pale ale family.
Craft beer is a beer that has been made by craft breweries, which typically produce smaller amounts of beer, than larger "macro" breweries, and are often independently owned. Such breweries are generally perceived and marketed as emphasising enthusiasm, new flavours, and varied brewing techniques.
Trappist beer is brewed by Trappist monks. Thirteen Trappist monasteries—six in Belgium, two in the Netherlands, and one each in Austria, Italy, England, France, and Spain—currently produce beer, but the Authentic Trappist Product label is assigned by the International Trappist Association (ITA) to just ten breweries which meet their strict criteria. As of 2021, Achel is no longer recognized as a Trappist brewery because it does not have any living monks.
Consumer organizations are advocacy groups that seek to protect people from corporate abuse like unsafe products, predatory lending, false advertising, astroturfing and pollution.
Beer in Belgium includes pale ales, lambics, Flemish red ales, sour brown ales, strong ales and stouts. In 2018, there were 304 breweries in Belgium, including international companies, such as AB InBev, and traditional breweries, such as Trappist monasteries. On average, Belgians drink 68 litres of beer each year, down from around 200 each year in 1900. Most beers are bought or served in bottles, rather than cans, and almost every beer has its own branded, sometimes uniquely shaped, glass. In 2016, UNESCO inscribed Belgian beer culture on their list of the intangible cultural heritage of humanity.
Beer in the United States is manufactured in breweries which range in size from industry giants to brew pubs and microbreweries. The United States produced 196 million barrels (23.0 GL) of beer in 2012, and consumes roughly 28 US gallons (110 L) of beer per capita annually. In 2011, the United States was ranked fifteenth in the world in per capita consumption, while total consumption was second only to China.
Beer in South Africa has a long history, with a corporate history dating back to the early 20th century.
Brewing in Ireland has a long history. Production currently stands at over 8 million hectolitres, and approximately half the alcohol consumed is beer.
Beer in Poland has been brewed for well over a thousand years and has a significant history of tradition and commercial beer production. Poland is Europe's third largest beer producer, producing 36.9 million hectolitres, coming after the United Kingdom with 49.5 million hl and neighboring Germany with 103 million hl.
Beer is the most popular alcoholic drink in New Zealand, accounting for 63% of available alcohol for sale. At around 64.7 litres per person per annum, New Zealand is ranked 27th in global beer consumption per capita. The vast majority of beer produced in New Zealand is a type of lager, either pale or amber in colour, and typically 4–5% alcohol by volume.
Beer in the Netherlands mostly comprises pale lagers like Heineken and Grolsch. Heineken is the world's second-largest brewer.
Beer in Japan mostly comes from the country's four major breweries, Asahi, Kirin, Sapporo and Suntory, which mainly produce pale lagers around 5% ABV. Beer is immensely popular, far ahead of sake consumption.
Blue Moon Belgian White is a Belgian-style witbier brewed by Molson Coors under the name the Blue Moon Brewing Co. It was launched in 1995, and was originally brewed in Golden, Colorado.
Alvinne is a small brewery in the hamlet of Moen near the Belgian city of Zwevegem, founded in 2002.
The Brewers of Europe is a Brussels-based organisation representing national brewers' associations to the European Union. It was founded in 1958 as the "Communauté du travail des Brasseurs du Marché Commun – C.B.M.C." before becoming "Brewers of Europe" in 2001. The organisation represents the interests of more than 10,000 breweries in 29 European countries, employing more than 200,000 people and producing around 40 billion litres of beer per year. It aims to promote and protect the European brewing industry, working with policy makers and stakeholders to create a favourable regulatory environment for European brewers. The Brewers of Europe is also committed to promoting responsible beer consumption and environmental sustainability in the brewing industry. They have developed initiatives such as “BeerWisdom” which aims to encourage responsible beer consumption, “Proud to be clear” which calls the brewers to be transparent on labelling ingredients and the "Brewers Forum" which brings together European brewers to discuss key industry issues such as environmental sustainability, innovation and consumer trends. The Brewers of Europe is led by a president elected by the members of the organization for a three-year term. The current president is Lasse Aho. The organization is also supported by a Secretary General based in Brussels, which provides advice and support to the organization’s members.
Ukrainian golden ale is a local Ukrainian beer style, originating in the Donets'k region in 2009.