Small brewers producing between 2100 hectolitres of beer a year (the proposed new "cliff edge") and 5000 hectolitres a year (the current "cliff edge") will be severely hit and we could lose many of them (1 hectolitre=100 litres =176 pints). Beyond the so-called cliff edge the relief tapers off and CAMRA are proposing that the top threshold for relief should be increased to 200,000 Hl per year, and a smother taper to help many of the medium size brewers.
About 80 medium size brewers initially supported the SBDRC groups backing for the Government proposals but most have reconsidered this and now less than 20 medium size brewers remain within this group and most are now supporting the petition, along with SIBA, CAMRA & the Campaign for Pubs. A lot of the initial medium brewery support for the Small Brewers Duty Relief Coalition was drummed up by a PR firm employed by a consortium of the larger brewers who felt that the scheme and the existence of too many small brewers affected their profitability.
No one is saying big bad, small good. The current scheme tries to level the playing field because smaller breweries have much higher init costs than big ones. It is far from perfect and needs reform. A "reform" allowing the biggest brewer to increase their profit at the expense of small and medium size brewers can never be good. It will mean a reduction in choice and CAMRA's campaign has always been for freedom of choice.
