UK Craft Distillers Unit in Call for Spirits Inclusion in Small Producer Relief Scheme in Advance of Autumn Budget

In a November blog post, Liam Hirt has explicitly asked the Chancellor to extend Small Producers Relief to alcohol over 8.5%. 

Currently, a lower rate of Alcohol Duty is only permitted on products with an ABV of less than 8.5%.

Hirt is arguing that the current framework unfairly excludes small producers of gin, whisky, rum, and other higher-strength drinks.

Liam Hirt told That's Food and Drink: “Duty relief for beer and cider has proven its value. It has helped small producers compete with global corporations, encouraged hundreds of new entrants, and driven diversity and innovation. 

"Extending the same support to spirits would deliver exactly the same benefits - and strengthen the UK's position as a world leader in craft distilling.”

The Small Producer Relief Scheme was introduced to correct structural disadvantages faced by small drinks producers. However, by restricting eligibility to products below 8.5% ABV, it excludes the vast majority of craft spirits, which typically sit at 37.5% ABV or higher.

“This limitation discriminates against distillers and contradicts the scheme's intended purpose. There's no public health basis for this exclusion,” he added. 

“A unit of alcohol in a gin is no more harmful than a unit in a beer. In fact, many spirits consumed with low or zero-sugar mixers have fewer calories than most beers or ciders. According to recent HMRC data, spirits duty receipts have fallen by up to £700 million over the past two years, despite duty increases. 

"A reformed, inclusive SPR could reverse this decline by encouraging investment, compliance, and sectoral growth - boosting long-term revenues for the Treasury.”

Spirits sales now represent 38% of pub alcohol profits according to The Scotch Whisky Association, despite a smaller share of total serves, and over half of consumers report a preference for spirits when drinking out.

Hirt went on to say: “Premium and locally made spirits are key to pub profitability and consumer engagement. Giving small distilleries access to duty relief would allow more collaboration between pubs and local producers, keeping value in local communities.”

With the UK craft spirits sector continuing to grow in global reputation but facing mounting tax pressures, small producers say reform is long overdue.

“The UK's duty framework should reward innovation, not penalise it. Including spirits in Small Producer Relief would deliver fairness, drive exports, and strengthen the entire drinks ecosystem - from distilleries to pubs to the Treasury.”

The full list of co-signees include:

Liam Hirt - Circumstance Distillery

Richard Foster - Exploring Whisky

Shaun Watts - Ludlow Distillery

Paul Abbott - Grasmere Distillery

Jordan Lunn - West Midlands Distillery

Anthony  - Spirit of Birmingham

Stephen Russel - Copper Rivet

Jordan Morris - Abingdon Distillery

Jared Cave - Integrity Malts

Ben Mordue - Elsham Wold Distillery

Laurence Coinsbee - Wharf Distillery

Matt Kay - London Distilling Co

Karl Bond - Forrest Distillery

Phil McLaughlin - Weetwood

Dan Humphries - Summerton Whisky Club

Amy Seton - Grain and Glass

Tim Ethrington-Judge - Avallen

https://circumstancedistillery.com/content.php?content_id=40

The Chartered Institute of Brewers & Distillers launches updated Master Brewer and Master Distiller Programmes for the Industry

The Chartered Institute of Brewers & Distillers (CIBD) is delighted to announce the launch of updated programmes for its highest level of qualifications, Master Brewer and Master Distiller.

The CIBD is the established, trusted expert in developing education in the sciences of brewing, distillation and associated areas world-wide. Shaped by comprehensive input from business leaders, Learning & Development professionals, academics, and Masters candidates, the two new Master programmes are built to meet real-world needs. 

This engagement confirmed that the skill sets required by the industry have evolved and the relevance of key topics such as sustainability, digitisation, continual improvement and critical thinking are more important than ever in day-to-day brewing and distilling operations.

To ensure the updated Master qualifications are of the highest standards the CIBD engaged with a cohort of leading ‘unique contributors’, experts in their fields, to write the specialist content for the revised syllabi. 

An additional cohort of industry leading experts and academics was used to carry out a peer review process to ensure that the specialist content was ‘applied learning’ and relevant to the new industry skills and role requirements identified.

In addition to significant content changes the new Master programmes will also be assessed differently. This will involve a combination of controlled assignments, formal examinations, the creation of an ‘evidence of learning’ portfolio and will ultimately culminate in a viva with industry experts who will assess each candidates’ skills, knowledge and overall readiness to meet CIBD Master level qualification and be prepared for key roles in the workplace.

On this announcement, Deborah Kennedy, CIBD Chair of the Board of Examiners, who over the past 18 months has led the development of the two new Master programmes, told That's Food and Drink: “Today’s senior brewers and distillers must have an applied understanding of new technological advancements being made within brewing and distilling operations. 

"However, it is no longer enough just to have strong technical knowledge and competence, a successful leader, must be able to operationalise and lead across the end-to-end value chain.

The new qualifications test application and leadership, contain electives that reinforce expertise, and have new assessment methodologies that help examiners’ gauge candidate’s skills, knowledge, and overall readiness to lead within the workplace.

Knowledge of disciplines such as finance, procurement, and governance together with the opportunities presented by digital & AI technologies, sustainability and operational excellence will be how our successful Master candidates will differentiate themselves from others as they develop their careers”.

Dr Megan Sheehy, CIBD President added: “The input, and support, we have had from industry and academia in shaping the syllabi for the Masters, our flagship qualification, has been detailed and insightful and we are very appreciative of those who have been involved. 

"The new programmes have been developed by the industry for the industry to meet the needs of not only today but the future. This launch follows on from the institute being granted Royal Charter and reinforces how the CIBD is committed to continually raising the standards of scientific, technical and operational understanding within the industry”.

Join us for a live webinar on 29th September at 10am BST (GMT +1) to know more about the changes to the Master syllabi, the process we followed and how the changes affect you.

https://www.cibd.org.uk/