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Hi

Just to introduce myelf (and follow on from Joris's message

I, for my sins, am the chairman of the European Beer Comsumers Union, whichh is the group of volunteers that contains all the National Beer consumer groups across Europe.

For several years we have hoped to see a Irish organsiation and would happily assist with help and advice. Many of our organisations have formed as a result of small brewers initiatives and I beleive that this would be a way forward for Ireland. (allowing for the fact that N. Ireland is part of CAMRA).

Please feel free to drop me mails and lets get some dialogue going.

Terrry

(email : <!-- e --><a href="This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.">This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.)

Welcome aboard <!-- s:D --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_biggrin.gif" alt="" title="Very Happy" /><!-- s:D -->

Hi Terry, and thanks for signing up.

As I mentioned in the Joris's thread I'm not sure ICB is at this point yet, or if it could provide such a banner, but we'll take it under consideration <!-- s:) --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_smile.gif" alt="" title="Smile" /><!-- s:) -->

It's interesting. On the one hand, ICB isn't an advocacy group or a formalised, fee-charging, private members' club. And I don't think it should be.

However, on the other hand it is fulfilling a lot of the functions of the consumer groups in other countries: it provides a forum for debate and the exchange of knowledge, it organises events and it enters into dialogue with industry players. All of which is pretty good going for a seven-month-old.

If a proper consumer advocacy group were to be established, there's no doubt it would largely be made up of current ICB members. However, I can't think what it would do that isn't already being done here.

It has been said a couple of times on various threads that the best we as consumers can do for the local brewing industry is to share knowledge amongst ourselves and raise awareness of good beer when we're out and about.

Terry, Laurent (or anyone else): do you think there's anything that could be achieved by a more formal organisational arrangement?

Well, for a start, we will be extremely happy to have a permanent contact in Ireland, in order to have a possibility to exchange information, experience, to try and get to understand the specific strengths, trappings and idiosyncrasies of the Irish beer market, and ICB as it is can already be a very precious contact point.

Contacts with brewers and breweries in Ireland, large and small, is also something ICB could probably provide EBCU, for instance to encourage import of craft irish beers in our countries.

Getting formally organised makes organising sizeable events easier, and tends to lend the issues you raise further credibility when talking to the press, authorities or politicians (when trying to convince thelatter they should defend consumers' interests rather than big brewers').

The creation of such an organisation that could then join EBCU should not be a rushed affair. Things take time, awareness must be raised, spirits risen, apathy shaken, passions awoken, and a lot of thought be given to it, until there's enough of you ready to take the plunge.
We're talking the likes of two to five years to get something off the ground.

Cheers !

Laurent

Well I suppose a true advocacy group would try to include netless beer lovers, meaning a hard copy newsletter of some sort. That would require funding, hence membership fees, hence a formal structure. Having said that, the more members you have, the more seriously you are taken by people, hence more publicity for the cause of good beer.

I'm not sure if we should be thinking along those lines just yet though. Let's see if we can organise a pissup in a brewery first eh? <!-- l --><a class="postlink-local" href="www.beoir.org/community/viewtopic.php?t=781">viewtopic.php?t=781

Séan