Everything you ever wanted to know about cask ale!
This years Cask Ale Report is now available to download from www.caskreport.co.uk. It is aimed at publicans but is also of interest to those who enjoy a pint of the lovely stuff!
The Cask Ale Report is written by Pete Brown and supported by CAMRA, SIBA, the Family Brewers of Britain and Cask Marque.
To summarise briefly cask ale has done really well, in what has been a tough year for pubs, it continues to outperform other on-trade drinks.
So put your feet up, and take a few minutes to give it a quick read!
Also have a quick read of marvelous Marverine Cole www.beerbeauty.co.uk
Cask Ale is the boost British pubs need!
Posted by BEER BEAUTY on September 26th, 2011
So the big beer news that’s out today is that CASK ALE is STILL COOL Excuse me while I dance a little jig of joy. Since I’ve been a beer fan cask ale has ALWAYS been cool. But there was a dim and distant past when it wasn’t cool. But I now see the light.
And there’ll be some of you reading this who still can’t see what all the fuss is about. As the Beer Beauty, I know it’s a chic, elegant and sophisticated drink, and I spread that word by this blog and the parties I throw for beer-curious women. But if you’re not on board with beer yet, then the Cask Ale Report that’s published today, explains EXACTLY WHY you should consider trying cask ale for the very first time/giving cask ale a second chance/drinking more cask ale (delete where applicable!)
Excuse me while I gather my papers, and put on my Trevor McDoughnut reading glasses. Shuffle, shuffle, eerrrm HERRRRRMMMM! The Cask Ale Report is a big like beer’s school report. Top beer writer and chum, Pete Brown, has the mammoth and unenviable task of putting all the stats together (and anyone who can wrangle with stats over a prolonged period of time gets a thumbs up in my book). You’re bound to hear him on the radio or read his comments about the report in the press this coming week. And a date for your diary to coincide with this is Saturday 1st October – the start of Cask Ale Week – a celebration of all things cask ale, so we can spend a WHOLE WEEK singing, dancing and supping our fave beers in celebration of the fact that cask ale is uber-cool! Can’t wait! More about that later.
Beer has some tricky obstacles in its sights:
•overall beer sales being down, pubs closing at a rate of 25 a week
•certain sectors of society and the media continuing to portray beer as The Hooded Claw, the baddie
•the British beer drinker paying a RIDICULOUS amount in tax compared to the rest of Europe: the UK represents 12% of the EU population and 13% of total beer consumption but our Beer Tax bill has now reached £3.2 billion per year – over 5 times as much tax as the total paid by German beer drinkers, who drink twice as much beer as us Brits.(British Beer & Pub Association figures, Sept 2011*)
But despite those critters, cask beer is defying all the odds. The report says cask beer has OUTPERFORMED the on-trade beer market: i.e. it’s outselling other beers sold in pubs. Pete says cask beer can help pub ‘survive‘ and ‘thrive‘. Serving cask ale is attracting new drinkers into pubs and there’s lots of evidence to see that the good word about the beauty in beer is spreading:
The interest in cask ale is really building when you see that
•2,500 new pubs and clubs started to sell cask ale last year – a 4% increase in distribution
•7.8 million people drink cask beer in theUK– an 11% increase since 2007. One in five people who drink alcohol will drink cask at some point
•The number of 18-24 year old cask drinkers increased for the second year running and the number of women drinkers has doubled since 2008
•Cask is recruiting new drinkers: 37% of current drinkers tried it for the first time within the last 10 years and 10% within the past 12 months
The myth of cask ale being an old working class Northern man’s drink has been turned on its head: the truth is that cask ale drinkers get more upmarket every year – 69% are in social class ABC1 (The Times readers, Newsnight watchers who earn over £50k a year-ish) – and younger – 1.6 million are under 35 while the number of 18-25 year-olds, and women, is growing. One in six cask drinkers is now female. 38% of cask drinkers live in London and the South East, compared to 27% in the North.
Some of my Beer Beauties at my Malmaison party (March 2011)
Cask ale is very popular but one of the reasons that it isn’t seeing stunning growth in terms of sales is because as cask ale drinkers, we’re ‘adventurous” , we aren’t ‘set in our ways’ or ‘traditional’ in any sense of the word.
Cask ale drinkers don’t only drink cask ale, we like wine, cider and spirits – obviously not all in the same glass. That would be damaging. Nay, foolhardy.
As cask ale drinkers we’re really valuable to pubs: we drink more beer, we bring friends and introduce them to new beers, we spend more money there, most times enjoying beer with our food. Celeb chefs have been lining up to agree beer is WAY MORE COMPLEX than wine when it comes to matching beer with food.
Glass of beer with a seafood platter (Pic courtesy of www.beergenie.co.uk)
Cask ale drinkers are quite demanding when it comes to what we want to see on the handpulls in a pub. We want to try something new. We want a range of beers to choose from . A 2:1 ratio of beers we know/are familiar/are beers we’ve tried before (or have at least heard of) versus one guest ale, is what the report reveals. If the number of beers we don’t know outweigh the familiar ones we get a bit antsy.
BUYING LOCAL remains massively important to us all: a beer brewed locally always puts a smile on our face and the good thing is that many microbreweries only supply cask beer, so going to the pub is the best way to find a local brew. The Society of Independent Brewers (SIBA) said that volume sales of SIBA brewers’ beers grew by 8.8% last year.
But there’s still a long way to go. People NEW to beer feel a little daunted with the whole arena. Saturday 1st October marks the start of CASK ALE WEEK. 7,500 licensees across the country are taking part: you can go into as many watering hols that serve cask ale as you like and TRY BEFORE YOU BUY – which is something I always advocate and that most pubs do. This week – make sure you go out of your way and have a few sips of some new beers to decide if you want a pint or a half of it!
I’ll be celebrating by kicking off my Hen Night that night with a few cask beers. And introducing my entire HEN PARTY to beer. How will you be celebrating and supporting British beer? Let me know what you’re going to do, where you go and what beers you try out!! (don’t forget to make a note of the name of the brewery as well as the name of the beer)
And for more on the Cask Ale Report, click here.
21st Harbury Beer & Cider Festival this weekend. Friday and Saturday 2nd/3rd September
A collection of ales from Warwickshire and the Yorkshire Dales inc our Duck Soup 4.2% amber malty goodness! www.camrahow.co.uk
RUGBY BALL STITCHER IPA was voted CAMRA Heart of England Beer of the Year 2011
last night at The Merchants Inn, Rugby thanks to everyone who voted.
SIZZLING ADDITION FOR LEAMINGTON FOOD & DRINK FESTIVAL
The mouth-watering ‘pork, ale and mustard’ banger marks a sizzling addition to the Festival being held in Leamington’s Royal Pump Rooms’ Gardens, and will be barbecued to perfection to a special recipe devised by Nigel Brown, the award winning executive chef at The Moorings and The Stag at Offchurch.
The handmade free range pork bangers have been produced by Aubrey Allen Butchers in Leamington Spa with the added ingredient of Darling Buds ale from Warwickshire Beer Company which is served in both The Moorings and The Stag pubs.
The new gourmet sausage is destined to be a winner amongst visitors to the Festival at just £3.00, and will be offered in a freshly baked bap, complemented by homemade apple and Darling Buds chutney.
Visitors to The Moorings stand at the Festival will also have the chance to win ‘dinner for two’ in the free prize draw and the recipe for the special apple and Darling Buds chutney can be found by visiting either www.themoorings.co.uk, www.thestagatoffchurch.com, www.aubreyallen.co.uk or www.warwickshirebeer.co.uk
Additionally, the gourmet sausages will be making their debut on the lunch menu at The Moorings at Myton and be available at Aubrey Allen Butchers in Warwick Street during September following the Festival.
For more details on the festival click the following link http://www.leamingtonfoodfestival.co.uk
DUCK SOUP is now available!! We haven’t brewed it for some time but the amber favorite is now back and ready for sale. http://www.warwickshirebeer.co.uk/ales/cask-ales/duck-soup-cask
The WarksBeerCO. Real Ale bar at The LANDROVERmax!
Stoneleigh Showground last weekend was a massive success.
Thanks to everyone who visited us and enjoyed a pint or 3! Lets just say the Duck Soup literally ‘flew’ out!
sales@warwickshirebeer.co.uk or Twitter @WarksBeerCo
Tel : 01926 450747
Get yourselves to THE MARKET TAVERN -SOUTHAM on Wednesday evenings as it is Quiz Night. Good standard of comp if you think you have what it takes or fancy a giggle.
Our 1st Tap House The MARKET TAVERN – Atherstone has undergone a refurbishment and will shortly be gaining a new Landlord & Landlady. We will keep you posted…
Its first weekend with party in the square went down really well, Queen’s Brian May rocked the square. (not sure if Angie Watts AKA Anita Dobson- Eastenders made an appearance?)
