Industry experts are challenging suggestions that the much maligned cask ale market is in terminal decline, while consumer and market trends are converging to make cask the ‘intelligent choice’ for beer retailers.
Their findings are published today (26 September) in a new sector report, The Intelligent Choice, a unique alliance of industry and consumer groups.
Written by independent author Pete Brown and jointly published by the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA), the Independent Family Brewers of Britain, the Society of Independent Brewers, the Cask Marque Trust and the Why Handpull group, the report paints a bright picture of Britain’s iconic, traditional and world famous tipple.
Most notably, The Intelligent Choice presents evidence to dispel gloomy predictions that the cask ale market is in permanent decline.
Pete Brown said: “How can cask ale be suffering this way when we have more brewers in the UK than at any one point in the last 50 years, many of whom are reporting soaring sales?
“The number of pubs stocking cask ale is increasing, while consumer group CAMRA is boasting record membership and bumper attendances at its beer festivals.
“We feel we have overwhelming evidence to challenge the doom and gloom merchants outside of the trade that take one look at market data and conclude the British beer industry is in steep terminal decline.”
The report suggests that the top-line five percent decline in the ale market gives a misleading impression since most of the losses come from the ‘big four’ multinational brewers. They dominate the UK beer market and account for 56 percent of the total ale market, but are systematically withdrawing support from their cask brands.
At the same time, where regional and local brewers are enthusiastically supporting their ales the market is seeing strong volume and growth. In fact, independent and local brewers are growing by an average of 7.5 percent year on year.
Pete said: “If this trend continues cask ale is forecast to return to growth within the next few years, as the decline from the multinationals levels out.
“Wherever people are actively investing in cask ale, they are reaping the rewards. Many regional brewers are seeing sustained growth in their brands and some are starting to become national in their scope and reach.”
Additional headline findings published in The Intelligent Choice include:
- Good quality cask ale is good for pub businesses, accounting for as much as 40 percent of a pub’s beer sales where it is kept well
- The social climate is right for a cask ale revival. Consumers are becoming increasingly affluent and show an interest in different and more complex flavours
- Forget style bars, the traditional pub is back in fashion, which suits cask ale products
- Consumers are starting to favour buying local produce and cask ale clocks up far fewer ‘food miles’ than imported lager brands or wines
- The strength of the cask ale market is its diversity, from small craft brewers producing a few barrels a week, to fast growing regionals selling hundreds of thousands every year
Pete concludes: “The cask ale market is more vibrant than ever, but if we’re being honest the one thing that has plagued it over the years is confusion in the minds of publicans, consumers and the media alike.
“This report is unique in that it contains unified views from key industry figures and interpretation from an independent author. It is a supportive but honest look at cask ale, which we hope can be relied on for accurate and useful market information.”
ENDS
For further information or publication day interviews please contact:
- Nick Trueman / Oliver Du Croz, Seal Communications, 0121 200 0780
- Pete Brown, Intelligent Choice author, 07941 123048
- Mike Benner, Chief Executive, CAMRA, 07971 591224
- Keith Bott, President, Society of Independent Brewers, 07831 235768
- Paul Nunny, Director, Cask Marque, 07768 614065
- Nigel McNally, Why Handpull / Managing Director, Wells & Young’s, 01234 272766
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Fact File: the Cask Ale Market
- The cask ale market is worth around £1.4 billion a year and accounts for 11 percent of all on trade beer volume
- Approximately 2.4 million barrels of cask ale are drunk every year
- Cask ale is found in 40 percent of the nation’s pubs
- Regional breakdowns show cask ale sells particularly well in London and the Midlands
- Multinational brewing corporations (InBev, Coors, Carlsberg and Scottish & Newcastle) account for 56 percent of the total cask ale market
- Small regional, local and independent brewers account for 26 percent; the remaining 18 percent comes from large regional brewers (eg Greene King, Marston’s, Wells & Young’s, Adnams, Caledonian, Everards and Fullers)
- A massive 80 percent of the volume decline in cask ale sales comes from the big four multinationals
- There are 5.4 million people claiming to be cask ale drinkers (just over one in ten adults, or 15 percent of all pub goers)
- Most cask ale drinkers – 60 percent – are aged between 35 and 64, but the overall age spread, particularly from 25 and upwards, is very broad
- While only one in ten drinkers is female, that still equates to over half a million people
- Cask ale drinkers are generally affluent, with 78 percent graded ABC1
- CAMRA claims six out of ten adults in the UK have never tried cask ale, which means most of those rejecting the product don’t actually know what it tastes like
What is Cask Ale?
Literally a living, breathing product, fresh and entirely natural. Unlike lagers or keg bitters, cask ale still has yeast in it (the agent responsible for turning sugar into alcohol in the first place) when it gets put into casks for storage.
This enables a long, slow, secondary fermentation to take place inside the cask, which gives the product a richer, deeper taste and a sparkling carbonation that is entirely natural. This production method means cask ale is only ever sold in pubs.
Dispelling the Myths
Cask ale is NOT:
- Served warm
- Flat
- Always bitter
- Always dark brown, chewy and heavy
- Full of chemicals
- Fattening and unhealthy
About The Intelligent Choice
The report has been funded by a variety of brewers and organisations from across the industry and the content guided and approved by the following bodies:
- Why Handpull, the ‘think tank for cask ale’
- The Society of Independent Brewers (SIBA)
- Independent Family Brewers of Britain (IFBB)
- The Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA)
- The Cask Marque Trust
Members of the above bodies also own thousands of the nation’s pubs between them, ensuring the views of the publican have also been reflected.
The Intelligent Choice is the first report of its kind to take in views from across the cask ale industry and present them in a single, unified voice.
About the Author
Pete Brown:
“I'm the author of Man Walks into a Pub and Three Sheets to the Wind, two books that try to approach the subject of beer with both the thoughtfulness and irreverence it deserves. I write stuff in newspapers and magazines about beer, and occasionally talk about it on the telly too.
“From September to December this year, I’ll be recreating the historic journey of India Pale Ale from Burton-on-Trent to Kolkata (Calcutta) and basing my next book all about the experience (due out Summer 2008).”
Editorial Contacts:
For further information please contact Nick Trueman or Oliver Du Croz at Seal Communications
T: 0121 200 0780 E: nicktrueman@sealcommunications.co.uk
Also contact Seal for:
- Photography
- Interview requests (Pete Brown and industry supporters of the report)
- Feature ideas regarding cask ale
- Additional market data
- Copies of the Intelligent Choice Report (hard copy or electronic)