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Latest Cask Ale Report gives hope to pubs 2009-11-22 There’s a glimmer of light in the gloomy world of pubs and beer from the latest Cask Ale Report. Although beer drinking is in overall decline, the report says cask ale’s share of the market is growing, if modestly, ‘in volume terms, cask ale is out performing not just all other draught beers, but every other drink on the bar including wine and most spirits….’ Cask ale also attracted 400,000 new drinkers in 2008 and was distributed to 3,000 more pubs. The number of women trying cask ales is rising with the number of regular women cask ale drinkers having doubled in the past two years. The number of British cask ale brewers has increased to 771, up more than 10%, a remarkable vote of confidence in the midst of a financial crisis. In 2009 the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) saw its membership smash through the 100,000 mark. For pubs, the revival of cask ales has been a real shot in the arm, with customers seemingly willing to try something different. Small and regional breweries have faired better than the multinationals. Pub sales of microbrewery beers are up 16% on the previous year. Not so satisfactory from the pub’s point of view is the smaller profit margin on cask ales, but as the report says, cask ale is only available in a pub and a cask ale in a bottle isn’t the same experience, this could explain why cask drinkers go to the pub more often than non-cask drinkers. The trend of strengthening cask ale sales is borne out in the 2009 Nielsen trade report, published by the Publican magazine, which lists the top 200 selling pub drinks brands. Although Guinness and lagers dominate the top 10 with John Smith’s keg the sole bitter, regional real ale brews such as Fuller’s London Pride and Greene King IPA are continuing to rise steadily and are now in the top 20. Bass has also made a comeback, while Sharp’s Doom Bar, a new entry, has shot straight to number 70. Wider distribution of these brews outside their region has enabled their success, but it this also reflects a general growth in demand and awareness. |
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