Where the independent brewing industry does business: A look at the biggest BeerX ever

The British beer industry like many others is not without its struggles; far too many pubs are closing, breweries are struggling to remain profitable and drinkers are bemoaning the rising price of a pint. But a recent brewing industry trade show, which pulled in a record number of over 3,680 trade visitors, is showing British independent beer still means business.

The annual BeerX trade show in Liverpool is organised by the Society of Independent Brewers and Associates (SIBA) and attracts brewers and brewery employees, beer buyers and industry professionals to a two-day exhibition of brewing equipment and services, as well as talks, panel debates and tutored tastings. It brings together the British brewing industry under one roof and as well as the trade exhibition also includes awards for beer and brewing businesses, which were once again this year presented by Sunday Times beer columnist and author Pete Brown;

“It’s an honour to be asked each year to present the Business Awards and the Brewing Awards. We hear so much about the challenges facing the industry at the moment and the bad news. For two days we focus on the positives and you realise that amid the nightmarish conditions, independent brewers are still doing brilliant stuff and succeeding.”

BeerX, which was recently named “Event of the Year” at the prestigious Trade Association Forum (TAF Awards), hit some impressive and record-breaking numbers this year across a variety of areas; 3,680 trade attendees, 125 exhibitor companies, 265 beers available via the trade-only beer showcase, 30 seminars, panel debates and tutored-tastings from industry experts, 20 business award winners, and finally 18 fringe events taking place in pubs, bars and taprooms across the Liverpool. This year the event achieved an industry-leading 95% approval rating with exhibitor companies, one of those was Headline partner ekeg, CEO Christian Barden had this to say on this year’s BeerX;

“BeerX was a fantastic showcase of positivity and resilience within the independent brewing industry. Catching up with so many customers, collaborators, colleagues and friends was fantastic. The expanded European and North America appeal was welcome too. Team ekeg were delighted to have the opportunity to launch the new brand and business at such an important event in the international industry calendar.

All events need a payback, so for our Commercial Directors to grow our renting, servicing, and tracking pipeline with over 60 potential new customers was a big positive.”

BeerX UK was this year a truly international event, with a keynote address from Bart Watson the President & CEO of the American Brewers Association, talking about the state of independent craft beer in America. The Independent Brewers of Europe - including representatives from Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Finland, Czech Republic, Poland and Ireland – also launched their first ever joint report “The state of independent brewing: Insights across Europe 2026”.

Winners from the Indie Beer Awards presented at BeerX will now go forwards to compete in European Beer Star in Germany and the World Beer Cup in America, seeking to make clear that British beer can perform with the very best on the World stage. Andy Slee, SIBA Chief Executive commented;

“It was superb to welcome brewing colleagues from across the Globe to BeerX 2026 and hear that the same challenges face independent breweries there as they do at home in the UK; meeting the demand for indie beer in the face of Global beers’ market dominance and issues with taxation, rising costs and profitability. But by working together we can tackle these issues head on and ensure independent beer gets its fair share of the market, wherever in the world that market exists.

I also want to say a huge well-done to all of this year’s Indie Beer Award winners and wish you the best of luck in the European Beer Star and World Beer Cup competitions – how amazing would it be if one of our British-brewers took home a Gold for Pilsner in Germany or for IPA in America? With this partnership there’s a very real chance and we’re hugely proud to be showcasing British beer on the World stage.”

BeerX 2027 has already been confirmed for the 17^th & 18^th March at Exhibition Centre Liverpool and will seek to build on the success of its most successful year ever in 2026.

In case you missed it here were the key announcements from BeerX 2026:

• UK's best Indie Beers revealed in historic night for British brewing

  
  

• Scotland’s Fyne Ales named Brewery Business of the Year at SIBA Business Awards 2026

  
  

• Europe’s independent brewers show determination as survival and energy prices tops agenda for 2026

COPY ENDS

Notes to Editors:

Event Attendance

2026 - 3,680

2025 - 3,493

2024 - 2,995

2023 - 2657

2022 - 2,672

Supporting event and awards images: Click hereEvent speaker programme and other info available via www.beerx.org

For all inquiries, please contact us at: neil.walker@siba.co.uk

Third-party news items are published as received for informational purposes. Publication does not imply endorsement by the Guild. Please use the contact details within the post for any enquiries.